Following on from last week’s post, where we briefly discussed the Board of Guardians and the Minutes Books’ they kept every year that the Workhouse was open, in this post we are going to look into who the Board of Guardians were, what purpose they served, and who sat on the Board of Guardians. Before we dive into the subject, it’s important to have some understanding of the Irish Poor Law Act of 1838 and what we mean when we talk about Poor Law Unions. It should be stated that the list of people who served on the Board of Guardians is quite extensive, so to keep things short and sweet we will include the list of people who served on the Board of Guardians as a PDF document for your convenience.
What was the Poor Law?
The Irish Poor Law Act of 1838 saw a series of acts by Government that were meant to address destitution in Ireland. Richard Whately, the Anglican Archbishop of Dublin, who also sat as chairman of the Royal Commission on the Poorer Classes in Ireland (1833-1836), said that vagrancy, starvation, and lack of job opportunity were the underlying causes of Irish destitution. While the Poor Law attempted to address homelessness and starvation in the construction of the Irish Workhouses, it seldomly (if at all) fulfilled its purpose and did nothing to provide inmates with training that could lead to paying jobs. The Irish didn’t need another system installed by the English government, which was meant to punish those who availed of it. They needed land reform and economic development so the destitute could get back to work, take care of themselves, and provide for their families. There was no form of out relief in the Workhouses in Ireland either, so the potential work force was robbed of the chance of pursuing work and getting back on their feet. The Poor Law Act was established on the 31st of July 1838 and was abolished in 1925 after the Irish Free State was formed on the 6th of December 1922, a year after the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed on the 6th of December 1921.
What was the purpose of the Irish Poor Law Act 1838?
The Poor Law Act was designed to reduce the cost of poor relief in Ireland, forcing paupers into unpaid labour, such as grinding corn and stone, laying stone for the roads, working the bakeries and laundries on the site of the Workhouse. As compensation for their efforts, the inmates received food, work uniforms, and lodging, all intended to be of an inferior quality than what the general labourers of the days had. The idea was that it would incentivise the ‘lazy’ and ‘undisciplined’ to seek employment rather than continuing to seek poor relief. Given that the Poor Law Act did nothing to address unemployment, it was completely ineffective. Inmates worked to no benefit of themselves, learning no employable skills in their labours.
Often times, it was preferred that paupers and inmates emigrate rather than continuing to seek residence in the Workhouses where space was limited, essentially forcing the problem onto someone else and frequently pushing the former inmate into a worse situation than they were before entering the Workhouse; instead of dying in the fields and ditches of Ireland, inmates died in the streets and slums of some foreign city which offered no refuge. So, at the discretion of the Master (in the case of male inmates) and the Matron (in the case of female inmates), inmates would be offered the opportunity to emigrate under the guise that a bright future awaited them. Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States of America were the most common choice of destination for paupers and inmates.
What was a Poor Law Union?
A Poor Law Union was a geographical territory within the country in which the destitute received poor relief. Initially, there were 130 such territories in Ireland, but during and after the Great Hunger (1845-1852), a further 33 territories were established in Ireland, bringing the grand total of Poor Law Unions in the country up to 163.
They were paid for by taxing the parishes and landlords within the Union, with these taxes being referred to as poor rates. Co. Laois, then Queen’s County, was divided into three such territories; Abbeyleix, Donaghmore, and Mountmellick Poor Law Unions.
Abbeyleix Poor Law Union provided poor relief to the electoral divisions of Aghaboe, Abbeyleix, Aughmacart, Ballinakill, Ballyroan, Castletown, Coolkerry, Killermogh, The Raheen, Timahoe, and Durrow (which was part of Co. Kilkenny at the time and was returned to Laois in 1846).
Donaghmore Poor Law Union provided poor relief to the electoral divisions of Ballybrophy, Borris-in-Ossory, Donaghmore, Errill, Clonmore, Grantstown, Kilcoke, Kildellig, Kyle, Moneenalassa, Moneymore, Rathdowney, and Rathsaran.
Mountmellick Poor Law Union provided poor relief to the electoral divisions of Ballybrittas, Ballyfin, Castlebrack, Clonaslee, Coolbanagher, Maryborough (now Portlaoise), Mountmellick, Mountrath, Rearymore, Rosanallis, East Upperwoods, West Upperwoods, East Ballykean, West Ballykean, Cloneyhurk (or Cloneyhurke), and Portarlington (the latter four being electoral divisions in Co. Offaly, which was then King’s County).
The Poor Law Union of Donaghmore was dissolved on the 30th of September 1886, with its territories being divided between Abbeyleix and Roscrea Poor Law Unions, as it was prior to the formation of the Donaghmore Poor Law Union on the 7th of June 1850.
Who were the Board of Guardians and what was their purpose?
The Board of Guardians were elected members and local magistrates who resided within the electoral divisions which the Poor Law Union provided poor relief. They were in charge of the Workhouse and collecting the poor rates from the parishes and landlords within the electoral division they managed. They oversaw the admission of inmates into the Workhouses, the discharge of inmates from the Workhouse, recorded the births and deaths that occurred in the Workhouse, and the transfer of inmates between Workhouses (like Donaghmore and Roscrea Union Workhouses). They kept records of all the goings on in the Workhouse in the form of the Minutes Books they kept, including the food, clothing, and bedding the inmates received. The Board of Guardians were also responsible for making sure that the Workhouse they directed was staffed, as such they hired the Master, the Matron, the doctor who provided health care for the inmates, the caretakers and porters, as well as teachers for the children who resided in the Workhouse.
Overtime their responsibilities broadened when after 1851 they acted as the local authority for public health and infrastructure. They managed dispensaries and hired doctors to care for the destitute outside of the Workhouse. The mismanagement of sewerage and wastewater could lead to dire circumstances, so the Guardians were installed as the Rural Sanitary Authority, responsible for preventing illnesses such as cholera, typhoid, and typhus. They also provided mandatory vaccinations for diseases such as smallpox. When the Contagious Disease Act (Animals) was introduced in 1878, the Guardians were made responsible for the slaughtering of diseased livestock, as well as paying compensation to farmers for the loss of their animals. By 1883 the Guardians were responsible for social housing, providing rural cottages for agricultural labourers, replacing what were damp and unsanitary cabins which were often made of mud. On the 30th of September 1886 the Board of Guardians for Donaghmore Poor Law Union were disbanded after they appealed to have the Workhouse closed and Poor Law Union dissolved.
In Donaghmore, names like Roe, Rudd, Steele, and White appear in the Board of Guardians Minutes Book with frequency, names often associated with British Heritage or Anglican beliefs. A full list of the Guardians from the Minutes Books we have access to can be seen below. Please bare in mind that portions of the Minutes Book from 1851 have degraded to the point where parts are illegible, so some of the Guardians may be missing.
