A Rural Physician

Asenath Nicholson

Ireland's Welcome to the Stranger

1847

Chapter V (8) | Start of Chapter

We entered the house of a man calling himself a doctor, who showed us to a beautiful garden, when he whispered in the ear of my friend, that he wished the privilege of removing a wart from my face. I supposed some of his medicinal herbs were to be the medicine. I declined for the present, when he assured me it was by saying a few words over the wart that he could remove it, my guide testifying that he had known many a cure in the same way. I begged the miracle might be deferred till I could call again, and he then insisted I should wait and be sent in his car. Assuring him the walk would be pleasant, we passed out, and were invited into a smoky cabin, and I went through the etceteras of an Irish welcome.

Ireland’s Welome to the Stranger is one of the best accounts of Irish social conditions, customs, quirks and habits that you could wish for. The author, Mrs Asenath Nicholson, was an American widow who travelled extensively in Ireland on the eve of the Great Famine and meticulously observed the Irish peasantry at work and play, as well as noting their living conditions and diet. The book is also available from Kindle.

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An American widow’s account of her travels in Ireland in 1844–45 on the eve of the Great Famine:

Ireland’s Welcome to the Stranger

Sailing from New York, she set out to determine the condition of the Irish poor and discover why so many were emigrating to her home country.

Mrs Nicholson’s recollections of her tour among the peasantry are still revealing and gripping today.

The author returned to Ireland in 1847–49 to help with famine relief and recorded those experiences in the rather harrowing: Annals of the Famine in Ireland.

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