Descriptive list of the archive of Clonakility workhouse/poor law union Board of Guardians. Items are in hard copy and may be accessed by appointment.
Cork City and County Archives Clonakilty Board of Guardians (Ref. IE CCCA/BG/65) Descriptive List
Table of Contents Identity Statement ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Context ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Creator(s): ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Archival History ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Administrative & Biographical History............................................................................................... 2 Content & Structure ................................................................................................................................... 4 Scope & Content .................................................................................................................................... 4 Arrangement ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Conditions of Access & Use ..................................................................................................................... 5 Allied Materials:........................................................................................................................................... 5 Ar chivist’s Note: ......................................................................................................................................... 6 List of Items and Descriptions ................................................................................................................. 7 1. Minute Books .................................................................................................................................. 7 BG/65/A Clonakilty Board of Guardians Minute Books .................................................... 7 BG/65/AD/1 Clonakilty Board of Guardians Statistical Minutes ................................... 24 BG/65/AJ/1 Rosscarbery Dispensary Committee Minute Book..................................... 24 BG/65/AL/1 Rural Sanitary Authority Minutes (Labourers’ Acts) ................................. 25
BG/65
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Identity Statement
Reference Code:
IE CCCA/BG/65
Title:
Clonakilty Board of Guardians
Dates:
1850 – 1924
Level of description:
Fonds
Extent:
78 items
Context
Creator(s): Clonakilty Board of Guardians
Archival History The surviving records of the Clonakilty Board of Guardians were deposited in the Archives in the early 1980s.
Administrative & Biographical History The Clonakilty Board of Guardians was the governing body of Clonakilty workhouse and poor law union. Clonakilty Poor Law Union was established under the Poor Law (Ireland) Act, 1838. It was one of 16 unions in the overall County Cork area. Each union was centred on a city or market town and its hinterland, and this union area sometimes ignored existing parish or county boundaries. In this central town was situated the union workhouse (usually built between 1838 and 1852) which provided relief for the unemployed and the destitute. The order declaring Clonakilty Poor Law Union came into effect on 3 October 1849. Clonakilty Union was created from areas formerly in the Bandon, Dunmanway, and Skibbereen Unions. Reservation Orders of 5 December 1849 reserved accommodation for Clonakilty paupers in the workhouses of these unions, pending completion of Clonakilty workhouse. Clonakilty Board of Guardians was financially responsible for these inmates. The order declaring Clonakilty workhouse open was received on 5 December 1851. The Union area consisted of three rate collection and relief districts, and, from 6 February 1852, the three dispensary districts of Clonakilty, Rosscarbery, and Timoleague. Each dispensary district had a district medical officer and dispensary house. The Clonakilty district dispensary house was based in the town’s old fever hospital building. The Clonakilty District Medical Officer was generally also the medical officer of the workhouse.
Each workhouse was managed by a staff and officers under the charge of a workhouse master, who reported to the board. Overall responsibility rested with the union's board of guardians,
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some of whom were elected, and some of whom were ex-officio members appointed usually from amongst local magistrates. The board appointed its own inhouse committees, and received reports from workhouse officers and from dispensary district committees and district medical officers. It also made resolutions on internal and poor law matters and, sometimes, on wider political or social issues. Poor law services were principally financed by a poor rate levied on propert y owners in the union’s districts, and collected by rate co llectors appointed by the board. Central government also provided loans. From 1899 on, the newly-created Cork County Council collected rates and funded Cork boards of guardians based on an annual estimate and demand. Each union was under the central supervision of the Poor Law Commissioners up to 1874 and thereafter of the Local Government Board (later Local Government Board for Ireland). These government-appointed bodies received reports from the board and its officers, appointed inspectors and auditors, sanctioned or rejected proposed expenditure, appointments, and policies, and made the final decision on major administrative issues. On 25 June 1920 the board resolved to accept the authority of Dail Eireann, instead of that of the LGB. The responsibilities of the guardians increasingly encompassed public health, and to medical relief for the destitute at the workhouse and ‘outdoor’ relief though a system of dispensary districts were added other functions including overseeing smallpox vaccinations, the boarding- out of orphan and deserted children, monitoring contagious diseases in animals, and providing labourers’ cottages an d improved sanitation. The workhouse buildings included an infirmary and a fever hospital. The workhouse also provided nursery care and education to child inmates, and employed school teachers. Hospital and other medical services were available to all, not just the poor, although the latter received free treatment when inmates, or through the system of tickets issued by relieving officers and medical officers. The guardians’ changing responsibilities were governed by legislation, including the Public Health (Ireland) Acts 1874 and 1878, Medical Charities Acts, Vaccination Acts, Dispensary Houses Act, the Nuisances Removal and Diseases Prevention Acts (1848-49), Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act 1878, and Labourers’ Acts (1883 -86). While these acts tended to increase the role of the board, the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 saw rate collection and many of its public health functions taken over by the newly-created Cork County Council and the Clonakilty Rural District Council. The board continued to administer the workhouse and its hospital, and to supervise dispensary services, outdoor relief, and the boarding out of children. In December 1918 a portion of the workhouse premises was occupied by the British military, who evidently continued to use the workhouse and other premises (including Rosscarbery Dispensary) for temporary accommodation in succeeding years. In January 1922 the board confirmed that none of its premises were occupied, although the Clonakilty Dispensary was later occupied by troops of the National Army, in March 1923. The new Home for the Aged and Infirm for the Western District of Co Cork opened in Clonakilty in August 1922, but the workhouse continued to function. As other West Cork workhouses closed from 1918 on, inmates were transferred to Clonakilty from Schull, Skibbereen, Bandon, and Bantry Unions. The Local Government (Temporary Provisions) Act 1923 led to the abolition of the workhouse system, and its replacement with the formation of the county boards of health and public assistance. The last recorded meeting of Clonakilty Board of Guardians took place on 25 April 1924.
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Content & Structure
Scope & Content The minutes of Clonakilty Board of Guardians provide an almost unparalleled record, in that they extend from May 1850, just after its creation, to its final abolition in 1924 without any gaps [BG/65/A/1-74]. The Great Famine (1845-49) had a devastating impact on the West Cork region, and while the minutes commence as famine was finally abating, they document its lingering effects and provide information on the number of inmates in 1849 and 1850 (totals for one, two, and three previous years noted in minutes 1850-52). ). The ordinary minutes include statistical information on workhouse inmates and details of workhouse life and administration. From the 1850s the volumes contain minutes of proceedings under the Medical Charities Acts and, from the 1870s, the Pub lic Health Acts, documenting the board’s increasing role in health and sanitation, and the work of dispensaries and medical officers in the dispensary districts. Twentieth century minute books also document the boarding out of orphaned and deserted childre n. The selections from the minutes summarized or quoted in this list focus on the Union’s early years in the shadow of the famine, and on its final years as it became the last ‘working’ workhouse in west Cork. Newscuttings inserted into some of the later minute books giving verbatim reports of some discussions add colour to the official record. Selections are also given from minutes from 1881 and 1914-15, as a sample of other periods. Also present is a set of statistical minutes from 1905 to 1920 [BG/65/AD/1]. Often bound with general minutes in the minute books of other unions, these formal returns were bound as a separate set by the clerk of Clonakilty union. The weekly returns confirm that union registers and other records have been examined, and provide information on consumption of provisions, the average costs of maintaining inmates, and expenditure by relieving officers on outdoor relief. One dispensary committee minute book, for Rosscarbery Dispensary district, has survived, and covers the long period from 1852 to 1899 (BG/65/AJ/1). Whiles the board’s dealings with dispensary committees are covered in the main board minutes, the present volume gives greater detail on the provision and management of public health and sanitary services on a local level. The final item is a minute book relating to the board’s work as a Rural Sanitary Authority under the Labourers’ Acts 1883 and 1885 [BG/65/AL/1]. A record of meetings on preparing and delivering schemes for erecting cottages for the labouring classes, the volume documents the beginnings of the provision of rural social housing in the Clonakilty area.
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Arrangement The collection consists of a series of minutes of meetings of the board of guardians, and three other minute books relating to statistical returns, a dispensary committee and the provision of Labourers’ Cottages . 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 M cMenamin’s article in Irish Archives Bulletin Vol 1, No 2, October 1971).
Headings
1. Minute Books
A1- 74 Board of Guardian Minute Books AD1 Board of Guardians Statistical Minutes
1850-1924 (75 items) 1905 – 1920 (1 item) 1852 – 1899 (1 item) 1886 1887 (1 item)
AJ1 AL1
Rosscarbery Dispensary Committee Minutes
Labourers’ Acts Minute Book
Conditions of Access & Use
Access : Open by appointment to those holding a current reader ’ s ticket.
Language: English
Finding Aids: Summary descriptive list.
Allied Materials:
Related Material
CCCA:
Board of Guardian records for other poor law unions in West Cork (BG/42 Bandon; BG/43 Bantry; BG/59 Castletown; BG/83 Dunmanway; BG/145 Schull) Cork County Boards of Health and Public Assistance records, 1921-66
Clonakilty Rural District Council records, 1919-1925 Clonakilty Town Commissioners Records, 1899-1925 Cork County Council records, 1899- (including rates valuation books)
Elsewhere:
National Archives of Ireland:
Archives of the Poor Law Commissioners Archives of the Local Government Board for Ireland Archives of the Department of Local Government
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Archivist ’ s Note: Timmy O Connor Local Government Archivist, CCCA July 2011
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List of Items and Descriptions
1. Minute Books
BG/65/A
Clonakilty Board of Guardians Minute Books
Scope and Content: A record of meetings and decisions made by the board of guardians in administering the workhouse and poor relief generally. At meetings, officers’ reports and committee findings were heard, correspondence read and considered, and applications decided on. Matters arising with regard to the workhouse, staff, provisions, bills, finance, the Poor Law, the Poor Law Commissioners, the Local Government Board and the Local Government Department, and other issues, were also discussed. The minutes also include weekly statistics of admissions, discharges, and deaths in the workhouse, and of outdoor relief. Note: the earliest volume present came to light after the other volumes had been numbered and packaged, and so was given the reference number BG/65/A/1a, being following by BG/65/A/1, BG/65/A/2, and so on.
Date : 10 May 1850 – 25 Apr 1924
Level : Series
Extent : 75 volumes
1a.
10 May 1850 – 27 Dec 1850
The volume is indexed. Includes:
10 May 1850 Finance Committee report considered regarding the necessity for a hospital for feve r patients in Clonakilty, and ‘the ad visability of withdrawing our paupers from the Skibbereen and Dunmanway Unions to auxiliary houses to be provided in Clonakilty’. [See also 17 May 1850, when the matter is deferred, ‘it not appearing to this board that any extraordinary fever or sickness prevails at present, and that we have ample room for our destitute poor in the Bandon, Skibbereen, and Dunmanway unions’.] 21 Jun 1850 Resolution objecting to accounts submitted for payment by Skibbereen Board of Guardians, noting that rates for the divisions formerly in Skibbereen Union have not been transferred to Clonakilty Union as ordered by the PLC. 28 Jun 1850 Resolutions regarding a hospital at Rosscarbery [‘in a ruinous state’ by 10 Jan 1851] , and plans for the new workhouse (one referring to the use of Courtmacsherry slate).
23 Aug 1850 Resolution passed setting rates for each electoral division for the
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support of the poor and for establishment and other union charges for six months. Resolutions fixing three collecting districts and three relieving officers districts in the union area. (No 1: Ardfield, Cahermore, Castleventry, Coolcraheen, Rathbarry, Rosscarbery; No 2: Argideen, Clonakilty, Kilkeranmore, Kilmoylerane, Kilnagross, Knocks, Rossmore; No 3: Abbeymahon, Butlerstown, Courtmacsherry, Kilmaloda East, Kilmaloda West, Templemallus, Timoleague). 6 Sep 1850 ‘State of the Workhouse’ table records 590 inmates [ie, Clonakilty inmates in workhouses in adjoining unions. This is the first such return in the volume. Subsequent tables are completed more fully, although figures are often corrected or revised in red ink]. 13 Sep 1850 Resolution regarding the statement of the Bandon magistrates, which the board observes ‘confirms our assertion that the cases admitted at Bandon are not bona fide admissions by the Master but are sent in by others through the relieving officers, and it is plain when paupers not properly admissible find they can get into the House in this way having been rejected by us they will naturally flock to Bandon for the purpose’. 20 Sep 1850 Resolution praising Mr Deane, clerk of works at Clonakilty workhouse, ‘for the satisfactory way he has discharged his duties’ [Deane is leaving the district].
27 Sep 1850 Letter read from Irish Tenant League respecting parliamentary voters [no details].
4 Oct 1850 Resolution, in the context of rates, urging the PLC ‘to hasten the final adjustment of the accounts with the adjoining unions’, and stressing ‘the hardship in calling on us to levy money on divisions having a large balance to their credit’. A recurring issue; see also, e.g., 27 Dec 1850]. 18 Oct 1850 Details of Establishment Account for half-year to 30 Sep 1850 recorded (page 4). Res olution asking for branch pipes to supply yards ‘for washing purposes’ and raised stand pipes for the kitchen in the new workhouse. 15 Nov 1850 ‘State of the Workhouse’, ‘Observations’ column notes numbers of inmates in each adjoining workhouse. Bandon: 370; Dunmanway: 10; Skibbereen: 157. Total: 537). [Noted in subsequent returns]. 22 Nov 1850 Resolution suggesting that the whole of the workhouse building be raised to a uniform height of three storeys ‘for which we shall gain two additional dormitories of 28 feet long affording accommodation for not less than 30 paupers’. [See also 20 Dec 1850]
27 Dec 1850 Received from PLC, sealed order of 23 Dec 1850, “General Order for Rate in Aid”.
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1.
3 Jan 1851 – 26 Dec 1851
The volume is indexed. Includes:
3 Jan 1851 Total inmates: 583 (Bandon: 403; Dunmanway: 8; Skibbereen: 172) [ A note reads ‘No in House – Saturday December 29/49 – 882’. Such notes of numbers of inmates a year previously are included in most ‘State of the Workhouse’ tables in this volume . See also 10 Oct below]. Resolution passed submitting a list to the PLC of eight paupers charged to Clonakilty by the Bandon Union ‘to which we believe we are not liable’. [Disputed admissions a recurring subject] 10 Jan 1851 Resolution noting ‘the whole of this union is divided into dispensary districts and the dispensaries are all in full operation’, and expressing the view that dispensary physicians (who are paid from the county rate) should ‘vaccinate all persons applying to them for the purpose’ and that ‘payment of another officer for the same duty... would be needless expense’. [PLC states that the board is required to provide vaccination by contract].
31 Jan 1851 PLC Circulars read regarding the duties of the returning officer and registry of owners and claims to vote in elections of guardians.
14 Feb 1851 Letter from the master of Bandon workhouse stating that an inmate (of Clonakilty union) ‘requests that her religion may be changed from Protestant to Roman Catholic’. 21 Mar 1851 PLC letter asking why certain paupers were discharged from Bandon. The clerk is to state ‘that the guardian of the Knocks electoral division promises to give them employment’. 2 May 1851 Letters read (1) from the Census Commissioners asking that any errors in census forms be corrected; (2) Collector of Customs, Cork, regarding rating of coast guard stations [see also 9 May; re police barracks, see 4 July].
23 May 1851 Total inmates: 651 (Bandon: 415; Dunmanway: 21; Skibbereen: 215). Note ‘No in House Saturday May 18/1850 – 1116’.
30 May 1851 Clerk’s note explaining to the PLC an application for terms of payment from the National Deaf and Dumb Institution and the Catholic Institution for the Deaf and Dumb on behalf of a boy seeking admission under the Poor Law Acts. Resolut ion referring to relieving officers ‘absenting themselves’ during board meetings, and directing them ‘to continue in attendance and not to depart from the court house until so directed’. 6 Jun 1851 Letter from the War Office stating that two children of a soldier from Clonakilty who died at Corfu will be sent from Parkhurst. Resolved, ‘that the claims of the Bandon and Skibbereen Unions for the payment of debts due to them for maintenance of our paupers be referred to the Finance Committee’ [a recurring su bject; see, e.g., 7 Feb, 4 Jul].
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25 Jul 1851 Resolution requesting that the PLC ask the Treasury to extend the period of annual payments from 20 years to 40 years [advances to townlands made to date converted to annuities by legislation]. The board refer to the ‘peculiar circumstances’ of the union, noting much of it is by the sea coast ‘where the population is very dense and very poor, composed of small farmers and fishermen who during the years of distress through which we passed suffered severely from f ever and famine’. Relief loans, heavy rates to meet costs of inmates in other workhouses, and the building of the new workhouse are all cited as reasons for seeking the longer repayment term. [Repayment of townland annuities a recurring subject among unions. See, eg, 26 Sep 1851] 8 Aug 1851 Resolution seeking clarification from the PLC of ‘the terms on which the workhouse ground has been taken… so that the guardians may represent the nature of the tenure to Mr Griffith… [and] so that there may be no delay to taking possession of the house’. They also ask about water supply. [See also 5 Dec, reference to deed between PLC and the earl of Shannon] 5 Sep 1851 Resolution explaining to the PLC figures included in the rates for unoccupied houses. It is noted ‘as a general principle the greater number of the houses valued under £4 are going out of a state of repair and many will never again be occupied. Numbers of the small houses in Clonakilty which are built for the last 7 years have never yet been occupied’. Resolution asking that the 7 Clonakilty paupers in Dunmanway workhouse be transferred to Bandon and Skibbereen, to avoid expenses for the next half- year under the Reservation Order, their own workhouse being nearly ready.
3 Oct 1851 Resolved ‘that it is the will of this board to have its paupers in the new workhouse by the 1 st November’.
10 October 1851 Total inmates: 448 (Bandon: 305; Skibbereen: 143). Note records numbers of inmates on 6 Oct 1849 (818) and 5 Oct 1850 (546) [1849 figures also noted in ‘Observations’ on subsequent tables]. Resolved, that wokhouse officers be appointed on 24 Oct at stated salaries. 14 Nov 1851 First reference to supplemental minutes under the Medical Charities Act. [See 5 Dec, when the board resolves to propose three medical districts under the new bill: No 1 Rosscarbery, No 2 Clonakilty, No 3 Timoleague]. 5 Dec 1851 Rec eived, ‘Sealed order declaring workhouse fit for reception employment clasification and relief of destitute poor persons therein, dated November 29 th 1851’. P LC letter stating that Captain Huband states ‘that t here should be at least an accommodation for 1500 persons including the new workhouse’. [The board resolves that accommodation for 800 to 900 persons would be ‘an ample provision’, and would be provided by the workhouse ‘and the former fever hospital of Clonakilty which can be obtained at any time’.]
26 Dec 1851 Total inmates: 515 (Clonakilty: 477; Bandon: 28; Skibbereen: 10). [Inmates in Clonakilty, 19 Dec: 288; 12 Dec: 63; 5 Dec: 7].
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2.
2 Jan 1852 – 31 Dec 1852
The volume is indexed, and includes a distinct index for Medical Charities proceedings. A supplemental sheet for these proceedings follows the ordinary minutes. The ‘Observations’ field of the ‘State of the Workhouse’ table preceding each set of minutes includes a note of total Clonakilty inmates on corresponding dates one and two years previously (three years from 8 Oct). The includes notes following refer primarily to the final transfer of Clonakilty inmates to the new workhouse from other unions, and are not intended to give a broad sample of this volume’s content. Includes: 2 Jan 1852 Total inmates: 521 (Clonakilty:483; Bandon: 28; Skibbereen: 10). Resolution asking the PLC to rescind or modify the reservation orders for Clonakilty inmates in Bandon and Skibbereen workhouses. 9 Jan 1852 Total inmates: 545 (Clonakilty: 539; Bandon: 3; Skibbereen: 3). PLC letter regarding a resolution ordering discharge of a woman and her children ‘as she will not prosecute her husband for desertion’. Resolved, to lay proposed stated dietary before the PLC for approval. [PLC response (16 Jan) notes ‘no meat included’ . See also 6 Feb]
16 Jan 1852 Visiting Committee report making a number of recommendations including ‘that a burial ground be procured in the vicinity of the workhouse’.
23 Jan 1852 Medical officer’s report calling attention to several deficiencies, including ‘the want of hospital accommodation’, the lack of union clothing for boys (many of whom are ‘still wearing their own filthy rags, without any covering for their feet’), and the fact that ‘the soup for dinner is made without vegetables of any kind’. 30 Jan 1852 Report of the visiting committee on the workhouse, consisting of answers to PLC queries and general observations. They note that ‘it is absolutely necessary’ to build fever sheds and that hot water is ‘much wanted’. PLC Orders received altering the reservation orders with Bandon and Skibbereen [one inmate in Bandon and two in Skibbereen at this time]. Resolution seeking PLC permission to order medicines for Rosscarbery and Timoleague districts ‘for the present emergency’. 6 Feb 1852 Sealed order received declaring dispensary districts and giving instructions on forming committees of management. [In a resolution, the board considers salaries for dispensary physicians adequate, ‘numbers of those who would have been entitled to medical relief having been admitted to the workhouse and the population of each district being greatly reduced by emigration’. A resolution of 13 Feb suggests that ‘in a few years there will be very little work for dispensary physicians to do’, noting ‘in the parish of Clonakilty alone it is believed 400 persons emigrated last summer’ ].
27 Feb 1852 Reports of the Dispensary Committees regarding accommodation and other arrangements.
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2 Apr 1852 Sealed order received rescinding the reservation order for accommodation of Clonakilty inmates in Skibbereen workhouse. [No Clonakilty inmates in Skibbereen, one in Bandon, at this time].
8 Apr 1852 Notice of motion to have the chargeability of 11 paupers changed [a recurring subject].
16 Apr 1852 No inmates under reservation orders.
30 Apr 1852 Sealed order received rescinding the reservation order for accommodation of Clonakilty inmates in Bandon workhouse.
7 May 1852 Visiting committee report recommending that the board purchase a capstan mill for 30 men, and that buildings for it be erected. [Consideration postponed by board until September] Letter received from 2 nd Regiment stating that a recruiting party is to attend in Ba ndon ‘and that if any paupers in the workhouse are willing to enlist that they may get directions to proceed to Bandon’.
8 Oct 1852 Total inmates: 292 (on 6 Oct 1849: 818; on 5 Oct 1850: 546; on 4 Oct 1851: 448)
5 Nov 1852 Deed of charge for repayment of £900 to be advanced by the Public Works Loan Commissioners signed and sealed. [For remaining workhouse building costs. See 3 Sep] 19 Nov 1852 PLC letter stating that the adjustment order for Clonakilty Union will be issued ‘at an early date’. [ Sealed order dated 29 Dec 1852, being adjustment of liabilities between the unions of Clonakilty, Bandon, Dunmanway, and Skibbereen, opened on 7 Jan 1853 (see BG/65/A/3.] 24 Dec 1852 Resolution admitting a man and his family, but expressing the view that it is ‘unjust’ that this man ‘who was resident in England for 12 years... should now when broken down in health and in destitute circumstances be thrown as a burden and expense on this union’. 31 Dec 1852 Master’s report stating that the parties prosecuted by the p orter at Macroom sessions [for stealing clothes] were convicted and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.
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3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
7 Jan 1853 – 30 Dec 1853 6 Jan 1854 – 29 Dec 1854 5 Jan 1855 – 28 Dec 1855 4 Jan 1856 – 26 Dec 1856 2 Jan 1857 – 26 Dec 1857 1 Jan 1858 – 31 Dec 1858 7 Jan 1859 – 30 Dec 1859 6 Jan 1860 – 28 Dec 1860 4 Jan 1861 – 27 Dec 1861 3 Jan 1862 – 26 Dec 1862 2 Jan 1863 – 25 Dec 1862 1 Jan 1864 – 30 Dec 1864 6 Jan 1865 – 29 Dec 1865 5 Jan 1866 – 28 Dec 1866 4 Jan 1867 – 27 Dec 1867 3 Jan 1868 – 25 Dec 1868 1 Jan 1869 – 31 Dec 1869 7 Jan 1870 – 30 Dec 1870 6 Jan 1871 – 29 Dec 1871 5 Jan 1872 – 27 Dec 1872 3 Jan 1873 – 19 Dec 1873 2 Jan 1874 – 25 Dec 1874 1 Jan 1875 – 31 Dec 1875 7 Jan 1876 – 29 Dec 1876 5 Jan 1877 – 28 Dec 1877 4 Jan 1878 – 27 Dec 1878 3 Jan 1879 – 3 Jan 1880 3 Jan 1880 – 9 July 1880 16 Jul 1880 – 31 Dec 1880
10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.
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32.
7 Jan 1881 – 30 Dec 1881
Partially indexed (ma inly sanitary matters indexed under ‘S’). Ordinary minutes are followed by supplemental sheets for proceedings under the Medical Charities Acts and as a Rural Sanitary Authority. Includes: 7 Jan 1881 Total inmates: 262. Out door relief: 8 persons. List of Works recommended by the board, for the Extraordinary Baronial Sessions for the Barony of Ibane and Barryroe. [The ‘relief works’ referred to below (21 Jan). Other works submitted at later meetings, eg, 11 Mar] 21 Jan 1881 ‘A very large body of labourers assembled in the visiting hall... in order that they might apply to the guardians for either work or relief... They stated they and their families were starving and famishing from the severity of the weather. The guardians sympathised with them and regretted that they were unable to afford them out door relief and promised to do all in their power to have the relief works commenced’. 28 Jan 1881Sealed order authorising the board to administer relief in food and fuel to able-bodied men with their families until 12 Feb next [in response to the board’s resolution on the foregoing]. Sealed order dated 20 January 1881 ‘declaring the proportions of the sum of £2000, expended in providing the intercepting hospital at Queenstown payable by each of the Riparian Nuisance Districts abutting on the Port of Cork’. [See also, eg, 7 Jan]
4 Mar 1881 Total inmates: 274. Out door relief: 136 persons.
1 Apr 1881 List of approved payments includes maintenance of inmate at St Mary’s Blind Asylum. Committees of Management elected for Dispensary Districts. [Wardens appointed on 22 Apr.] 8 Apr 1881 LGB letter referring to the report of their inspector which states that ‘cleanliness is now fairly observed’ but noting certain points, including ‘that the children are not regularly taken out for exercise and drawing attention of the visiting committee to their duties’. [The board replied in a long resolution of 22 Apr. They state ‘we have for a long time been aware of the inability of the master to keep order among and control a certain class of inmates… as may be seen by the frequent prosecutions before magistrates and the corrections as entered in his report and punishment book and we are surprised the LGB inspector has not before taken notice of it’. Regarding industrial training t hey note ‘the boys are too young to be apprenticed to any trade’ and so they are kept at school ‘and moreover they are frequently taken out of the house by farmers as soon as they are able to work’.] 29 Apr 1881 Master’s report and medical officer’s repor t claiming that the hospital nurse was under the influence of drink (the latter complaint confirmed by the chaplain). The board asks the LGB to send an inspector. [See also 13 May]
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LGB letter regarding ‘the prevalence of fever in the dispensary district of Timoleague’, noting their inspectors have called attention to ‘the defective condition of the privies attached to the Timoleague National Schools’. [A recurring matter.] LGB letter regarding relief works in the Rosscarbery area, the guardians reporting ‘there is great distress in the locality’. 10 Jun 1881 Report by Dr Garde, Sanitary Officer, calling attention to the scarcity of water in the villages of Butlerstown, Courtmacsherry and Timoleague. 17 Jun 1881 Letter on behalf of trustees of the will of lord Carbery stating that they are willing to meet one-third of the cost of the proposed Ross waterworks, this grant not to exceed £210. [See later sanitary minutes eg 1 Jul]
1 Jul 1881 List of approved payments include salaries of officers to 30 June.
22 Jul 1881 Master’s report stating ‘there are two inmates in the hospital who are suffering from dementia and are at times uncontrollable’. He recommends that they be sent to the asylum or a place be provided where they could be restrained. The board refer the matter to the magistrates. Resolution regarding a letter from the Commissioners for Public Works directing payment of £1077 first instalment on the seed loan due. The board state they do not have the funds and add ‘the farmers whose rates are due are unable to pay. The poor rate would be paid by them if taken without the seed rate ’ . They also ask that the second instalment be remitted, noting ‘the seeds cost about twice the ordinary price in consequence of the difficulty of procuring good seed’. [Seed rates a recurring subject] Caretakers appointed to Ardfield, Kilgarriff and Kilkeranemore graveyards.
5 Aug 1881 Numbers of persons vaccinated for the half-year to 30 June: Clonakilty district: 96; Rosscarbery: 47; Timoleague: 72.
2 Sep 1881 Chairman declines to entertain a resolution regarding the appointment of assistant commissioners under the Land Law (Ireland) Act. [Notice of motion given stating that in refusing to put a resolution of which notice had been legally given the chairman has ‘forfeited th e confidence of this board’. Mr Beecher, chairman, tendered his resignation on 9 Sep, insisting his refusal ‘was actuated by no feelings of party spirit’. Resignation withdrawn at the request of the board.] 30 Sep 1881 Resolution regarding ‘uncontrolled roaming’ by inmates as noticed by the LGB inspector. This is attributed to mothers resorting to the hospital for dietary for children entered on the hospital books. This procedure has been changed. The [visiting] committee also remark on the doors not being kept locked ‘as they ought to be and that the power of punishment for insubordination has not been sufficiently exercised’. [See also 7 Oct (matron to explain ‘ insub ordination & c among the female inmates’) and 21 Oct.] Letter from Rt Hon WE Gladstone acknowledging the board’s resolution regarding ‘the appointment of practical agriculturalists under the land act’.
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7 Oct 1881 Resolution regarding a rate collector seeking additional remuneration for collecting seed rate. The board state ‘we deny any lawlessness existed within this union that would prevent the collector from collecting the rates’. Resolved, ‘that no child be allowed to go out to service from this house without first learning from the chaplain whether or not such child is sufficiently instruct ed in its religious duties’. 21 Oct 1881 LGB letter forwarding a copy of a letter sent to Clonakilty Town Commissioners confirming the provisional order separating the town of Clonakilty from the Rural Sanitary District of Clonakilty and constituting the town an Urban Sanitary District. Letter from Medical Officer, Timoleague, reporting a case of smallpox. [Case apparently admitted to workhouse and isolated, 28 Oct.] 25 Nov 1881 Letter read on behalf of the Promoters of the Clonakilty Railway, stating that the bill has become law and asking ‘ as the line will pass through a portion of the workhouse land’ whether the guardians would accept payment in shares. Approved. [See also 9 Dec] 9 Dec 1881 Master’s report referring to his prosecution of ‘four “casuals or tramps”’, where a magistrate questioned his power to discharge them. One was given hard labour for stealing an inmate’s shoes. The board order that the master be empowered to get stones and that casuals be required to break a fixed quantity of stones before breakfast. [See also 16 Dec] 16 Dec 1881 Resolutions received regarding ‘Mr Parnell and other political prisoners’ and the Land Law (Ireland) Act [read, not adopted] Total inmates: 234. Out door relief: 55 persons.
33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54.
6 Jan 1882 – 29 Dec 1882 5 Jan 1883 – 28 Dec 1883 4 Jan 1884 – 26 Dec 1884 2 Jan 1885 – 24 Dec 1885 1 Jan 1886 – 31 Dec 1886 7 Jan 1887 – 30 Dec 1887 6 Jan 1888 – 28 Dec 1888 4 Jan 1889 – 27 Dec 1889 3 Jan 1890 – 19 Dec 1890 2 Jan 1891 – 25 Dec 1891 8 Jan 1892 – 30 Dec 1892 6 Jan 1893 – 29 Dec 1893 5 Jan 1894 – 28 Dec 1894 4 Jan 1895 – 3 Jan 1896 10 Jan 1896 – 18 Dec 1896 1 Jan 1897 – 31 Dec 1897 7 Jan 1898 – 30 Dec 1898 13 Jan 1899 – 4 Aug 1899 11 Aug 1899 – 1 June 1900 6 June 1900 – 24 May 1901 6 June 1901 – 2 June 1902 6 June 1902 – 22 May 1903
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55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66.
2 June 1903 – 20 May 1904 2 June 1904 – 2 June 1905 7 June 1905 – 11 May 1906 25 May 1906 – 26 Apr 1907 10 May 1907 – 24 Apr 1908 8 May 1908 – 7 June 1909 18 June 1909 – 3 June 1910 6 June 1910 – 16 June 1911 30 June 1911 – 5 June 1912 14 June 1912 – 5 June 1913 13 June 1913 – 26 June 1914 10 July 1914 – 11 June 1915
The volume is indexed. The minutes are generally in typescript, and ordinary minutes are followed by a supplemental sheet for proceedings under the Medical Charities Acts. A form ‘Record of Attendance an d Voting of Guardians’ precedes each set of minutes. Newscuttings containing reports of meetings are inserted loose into many of the minutes. Includes: 10 Jul 1914 Total inmates: 135. Out door relief: 153 persons. Master’s report stating that the fever hospital is now closed, and reporting on other matters, including two insane inmates and exercise for children. [Fever hospital opened and closed and staffed as and if required]. Letter from TW Russell MP regarding the board’s resolution ‘respecting the orders in force restricting the movement of cattle in Ireland’. Letter from Archdeacon McFetridge resigning as one of the workhouse chaplains [to be replaced by his successor as rector of Kilgarriff]. Child boarded out on terms of 12 shillings a month with an allowance of £1 a year for clothing [boarded out children a recurring item in most minutes]. 7 Aug 1914 Visiting Committee’s report, expressing pleasure t hat plates were provided for all inmates and recommending that knives and forks also be provided. They refrain from commenting on the master’s request for a paid attendant until a list of females in the house is supplied. The master’s return showed that of 15 women, 8 were infirm and 3 lunatics, leaving 4 ‘available for the washing, cleaning, cooking & c of the establishment’. There are also 5 ‘pauper assistants’ employed in the hospital under the ‘Nun Nurses’. Resolved, ‘that the question of building Rosscarbery Dispensary and Residence be adjourned for six months’ [See 24 Jul when matter was debated, a notice of motion claiming ‘consent to build a dispensary was obta ined by the misrepresentation of a Ross guardian’. See also, eg, 10 Oct 1919.]
21 Aug 1914 Resolution adjourning meeting in memory of Pope Pius X.
4 Sep 1914 LGB circulars regarding ‘relief of distress consequent on the war’. [See also 27 Nov, circular r egarding dependants of ‘interned aliens’.]
18 Sep 1914 LGB letter sanctioning a contribution of £3 to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Letter from Post Office Telephones asking ‘whether in the event of the telephone service being extended to Clonakilty the guardians would wish to
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have an installation at the workhouse’. [‘Clerk to reply in the negative’.] List of tenders accepted for food and consumables.
30 Oct 1914 Master’s report stating that ‘Mrs Bence Jones kindly sent a large supply of apples for distribution among the patients and inmates, which were much appreciated’. LGB letter regarding vaccination defaulters to 30 Sep (Clonakilty: 67; Rosscarbery: 29; Timoleague: 45), asking the board to enforce strict compliance. [See also 15 Feb and 14 May 1915] 27 Nov 1914 Visiting Committee report stating that they have visited the hospital kitchen, drying-room and laundry, recently burned down. They recommend a temporary drying room and that ‘steps be taken to re -roof and make good the buildings’. 1 Jan 1915 Master’s report stating that Messrs Deasy and Co supplied a barrel of stout for Christmas Day, and that Lady Carbery ‘sent a supply of cakes, fruit, & c for distribution amongst the children’. [See also 11 Dec] Resolved, that £4654 is the estimated amount required to meet liabilities for the coming year, to be provided by Cork County Council. Resolved, in the case of a deserted child, the guardians ‘take on themselves all the rights and powers of the parent of such child’. 22 Jan 1915 Copy of report of the Inspector of Lunatics. Six inmates are classed as insane – four male and two female – and there are ‘three epileptic idiot children’. The report is generally positive, but it is recommended that some ‘primitive’ sanitary arrangements ‘be replaced by modern sanitation’. 19 Mar 1915 LGB letter regarding irregular school attendance by some boarded out children. The board note ‘owing to inclement weather during past three or four months it was impossible for children to attend regularly ’. Tenders for supply of medicines and medical and surgical appliances received. 30 Apr 1915 Visiting committee report in which it is strongly recommended ‘that the very young children get butter with their potatoes in place of fish for dinner... the tea chers informed us it had a very bad effect on them’. 14 May 1915 Resolution condemning ‘the atrocious murders that have been committed by the sinking of the Lusitania’ and expressing admiration ‘of the gallant manner in which the Courtmacsherry Life Boat Crew answered to the call of duty, as usual, being altogether at sea from 3pm to 1am practically rowing all the time with superhuman efforts’. 11 Jun 1915 Resolution regarding charges made against a relieving officer in the LGB inspector’s report, stating that the board are satisfied that the officer’s methods of distributing relief ‘do not in any way injure the poor people’, and referring to the officer’s letter of explanation and his recent domestic difficulties. They ask the LGB for ‘favourable consideration’. [Relieving officer’s letter printed in newscutting inserted on pages 662 -63.]
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67. 68. 69. 70.
25 June 1915 – 9 June 1916 23 June 1916 – 28 Sept 1917 12 Oct 1917 – 22 Nov 1918 6 Dec 1918 – 23 Jan 1920
The volume is indexed. A record of attendance precedes each set of minutes. A supplemental sheet for proceedings under the Medical Charities Act follows ordinary minutes. Newscuttings containing reports of proceedings inserted, loose and pasted in, into many of the minutes. Includes: 6 Dec 1918 Total inmates: 125. Out door relief: 168 persons. Special meeting held to consider notification from military authorities that they intend to take over the men ’s building at the workhouse to accommodate 80 to 90 Yorkshire Yeomanry – C Company. The board voted 7 to 5 against granting permission and suggested the military use the vacant Dispensary. Captain Shaw stated that in the meantime ‘he would be obliged to take possession of the men’s building’. [See, eg, 13 Dec, especially newscutting]
3 Jan 1919 Resolved, to adopt an estimate of £6820 for the coming year [an increase of £2154 since the war commenced (newscutting). See 2 Jan 1920].
14 Feb 1919 Master’s report stating that a case of diphtheria was admitted to the fever hospital. [See also newscutting referring to the expense of hiring attendants for a single case, and to whooping cough cases in Timoleague. JP Collins promises to raise the diphtheria case with the Town Council, it being thought to have originated in the town]. 28 Feb 1919 Master’s report stating that the military have occupied the boys’ dormitory and schoolroom. [See newscutting, in which Chairman Miss Minnie M McCarthy protests ‘as a Catholic’ against the boys sleeping in a room adjacent to that in which the girls sleep. She also objected to allowing the military to use a plot of ground for technical instruction (‘I propose we give nothing at all belonging to this place to the military’) but the board granted permission, the chairman dissenting, calling them ‘a pack of cowards’]. 8 Mar 1919 Master’s report stating that 38 Influenza cases from Timoleague District were admitted to the hospital. A telegram is to be sent to the LGB seeking a second doctor or the use of a motor car for the district medical officer ‘urgent, many lives in danger’. [28 Mar: death of workhouse doctor] 11 Apr 1919 Visiting committee report referring to the work of the hospital nuns ‘during this terrible epidemic of Influenza’, the dietary of 15 old infirm men, the provisions store, the school children, and the sch oolmaster’s rooms. LGB circular withdrawing the wartime prohibition on the permanent filling of vacancies in the Poor Law Medical Service. 25 Apr 1919 Resolution urging that a bonus be granted to Nurse O’Neill, if not extra remuneration, for her work duri ng the ‘formidable’ Influenza epidemic, noting the impossibility of securing other nurses and the untimely death of the medical officer, and expressing the view that the LGB’s
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insistence that the terms of Miss O’Neill’s engagement be adhered to ‘is unfair and unjust’. 70 patients were in attendants’ charge for nearly four weeks. Resolved, that the Admiralty and War Office are asked to immediately demobilise PL O’Driscoll (Medical Officer, Timoleague District) and Charles Nyhan (Medical Officer, Clonakilty District). [See also 9 May]. [LGB letter and newscutting regarding celebration of ‘Peace Day’: see 11 July 1919.] 27 Jun 1919 Resolution accepting with regret the resig nation of Sister O’Hare and directing the clerk ‘to issue advertisements intimating that we will appoint on 11 th July a Sister of Mercy to fill the vacant positio n’ [of Nun nurse]. 8 Aug 1919 Master’s report referring to Petty Sessions cases arising out of charges of assault in the workhouse kitchen, noting that the schoolmaster and his wife were fined a shilling each. He also refers to seeing them leave the workhouse with bags of clothes. The board order ‘we think this report as far as the schoolmaster and his wife is quite unnecessary’. [See also 25 July] 12 Sep 1919 LGB letter regarding the dietary and health of the schoolmistress, asking the number of children in the school. The board reply ‘the two schools are now amalgamated. Three boys and four girls are at present in the school’. [A further letter asks the board to consider abolishing the schools. See 10 Oct] 2 Jan 1920 Resolved, ‘in consequence of the ever increasing expenditure of this union’, that the LGB make inquiries ‘to remodel’ the ‘antiquated system’. [See also 23 Jan, including estimate totals for neighbouring unions 1916-20] 9 Jan 1920 Total inmates: 97. Out door relief: 128 persons. Union ledger surcharge made by the Auditor against the matron for deficiencies not accounted for in the Clothing Receipt Book.
71.
13 Feb 1920 – 10 June 1921
Indexed. Includes:
7 Feb 1920 Total inmates: 104. Out door relief: 129 persons.
25 Jun 1920 Resolved, to acknowledging Dail Eireann ‘as the duly elected government of the Irish people, and undertakes to give effect to all decrees duly promulgated by the said Dail Eireann in so far as same effects this board’. [See also, eg, 23 Jul, 13 Aug. On 12 Nov the board resolved not to open books for audit by any LGB auditor (see note on 26 Nov below)]
9 Jul 1920 Master’s report stating that on 5 July the military ‘dispossessed the male inmates fr om their apartments’. [Condemned by the board’s resolution]
23 Jul 1920 Letter from the Irish Transport and General Workers Union asking for salar y increases for ‘officers (members of the Union) in their employment’. 26 Nov 1920 Dail Eireann (Local Government Department) letter referring to the Conciliation Board (‘to arrange salaries of certain officers of the union’), and ‘pointing out that as the guardians have repudiated the English Local
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