Schull Board of Guardians
IE CCCA/BG/145
Content & Structure
Scope & Content The surviving minutes of Schull Board of Guardians (BG/145/A) cover only the last four years of its existence. It would appear that earlier minutes and other records were lost when the workhouse burned down in June 1921. As no records for Skibbereen board of guardians have survived, the history of poor relief in this large area of west Cork is sadly largely undocumented. The Great Famine (1845-49) is known to have had a catastrophic impact on the region, but information on this period may only be gathered from other sources, such as the records of the Poor Law Commissioners. The development of poor relief and public health services in the Schull area in the later part of the nineteenth century, and the changing structures which followed the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, are also not recorded in the present collection. The surviving minutes, for the period from May 1920 to April 1924, do shed light on the last days of the workhouse, and on out door relief and the dispensary district system. The boarding out, or fostering, of children is a recurring subject. The changing relationships with the Local Government Board, the Local Government Department of Dail Eireann, Cork County Council, and other unions and institutions are also recorded. Dealings with Bantry, Clonakilty, and Cork unions, in the context of the proposed amalgamation of unions, and the loss of workhouses, first in Bantry and later in Schull, are particularly interesting. The minutes also reflect the politics of the time. Many selections from the minutes for this final period in the union’s history are included in the list below. Arrangement The collection consists of a series of minutes of meetings of the board of guardians. The arrangement of Board of Guardian records is based on that devised for Poor Law records nationally by Sean McMenamin of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (see Appendix 2 to McMenamin’s article in Irish Archives Bulletin Vol 1, No 2, October 1971). Please note that minutes prior to May 1920 are not present.
Headings
1. Minute Books
A1- 3 Board of Guardian Minute Books
1920-1924 (3 items)
Conditions of Access & Use
Access : Open by appointment to those holding a current reader ’ s ticket.
Language: English
Finding Aids: Descriptive list.
© All Rights Reserved Cork City and County Archives 2011
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