P. E. Reilly and The Board of Guardians of the Ennistymon Union 1845-1867

In a attempt to combat the ever increasing numbers of destitute people in Ireland, the Poor Law was introduced in 1838,  It divided Ireland into one hundred and thirty districts called Unions.  Each Union was controlled by a Board of Guardians.  Most of these Guardians were elected from local landlords with a Magistrate appointed to each Board.  Landlords had significant political power in 19th century Ireland.  They were often appointed as magistrates and formed the Boards of Guardians which controlled the taxes required to support the Workhouse. The Guardians had the right to place a tax on the Union and to use that revenue to support the local poor. They also formed grand juries which ruled Irish counties  Ennistymon Workhouse It was generally believed by the middle and upper classes that if people were poor it was because they were lazy. It is interesting to note that these Guardians were the first elected local bodies in Ireland When any person in the Union area needed help, they were sent to the Workhouse.  This was not a pleasant prospect as conditions in the Workhouse were very basic with only two meals a day consisting of a breakfast of seven oz of oatmeal and a pint of buttermilk. Dinner consisted of three and a half lb of potatoes and a pint of buttermilk,  Tea, alcohol and tobacco were not allowed,and meals were to be eaten in silence. The most inhuman part of the system was that families were segregated ~ husbands from wives and children from parents, each living in separate houses.  The Workhouses were laid out on similar lines to a prison.  Ennistymon Workhouse The theory was that the inmates of the Workhouse had to earn their keep ~ the men breaking stones, the women by spinning and knitting.  The Workhouse was an option resorted to ONLY when all else had failed. It was simply seen as a means of survival.

The Workhouse of Ennistymon Union, which opened in 1845, was built to house 600 inmates but, by 1846, it was operating at full capacity. 


As disease spread in the county, medical officers continued to warn Guardians against taking any inmates with illnesses because most workhouses were not large enough to have separate infirmaries so illness and disease would spread throughout the buildings. 

Famine Memorial in Ennistymon

In the mid-1840s a fever hospital was built. 

In his role as a Guardian of the Union, P E is mentioned on almost every page of the Ennistymon  Union’s Book of Minutes. 

He was an active participant whose opinions, solutions and advice were sound and he seems to have been respected by the other members on the Board.

 EXAMPLES


April 3, 1856 ~ It seems like there was some discord among the Guardians of the Union.

At this meeting, Mr Rielly (sic) proposed Mr Thomas Lucas for the office of Deputy Vice Chairman and he was elected.

Afterwards, there was a heated discussion regarding “party feeling” on the Board.

Finally, the Chairmen put an end to the discussion by reminding the members of the purpose of the Board.

March 18, 1858

Mr Reilly’s proposal regarding the Union’s adherence to their dietary code was unanimously resolved.

January 11, 1864

Mr Reilly’s proposal regarding the charging of certain registration fees to Poor Law Unions was passed unanimously.

January 1864:

P E resolved to send a petition to Parliament to protest the unjust tax rates imposed on the Poor Law Union,

September, 1864

“Resolved that P.E. Reilly be appointed Treasurer.”

March 20, 1864

P E objects to the wording of a resolution which seemed to insinuate that the Board practiced favoritism toward its friends.

August 2, 1867

September 27, 1864

“Proposed by Mr Reilly to increase the salaries of the Dispensary Medical Officers of the Union.

November 1, 1867

“Mr Rielly (sic) proposed a resolution to the effect that “James O’Brien, Esq, DL, of Ballyvaughan be appointed vice-chairman in the room (sic) of the late George O’Brien, Esq, DL of Birchfield.

“Mr Pat Higgins seconded the Motion which was carried unanimously.

“The Chairman: I don’t think there could have been a better selection made.

“Mr MacNamara then rose and said that in the absence of Mr O’Brien, he begged to return his sincere thanks to the meeting for having unanimously elected him to the office of vice-chairman of this Board….

These have been just random minutes from P E's attendance and participation at Board of Guardian meetings. 

He seems to have never missed a weekly meeting and he always contributed something positive to the discussions

Some say that the Boards of Guardians did not do enough to allievate the horrors of the Famine. 

And, perhaps they are correct.

Some say they were just a corrupt group of landlords who couldn't care less about their starving neighbors.

And, there might have been some heartless Guardians who took advantage of the chaos.

But, through reading dozens upon dozens of Minutes from the Ennistymon Board Meetings, I feel that its members did care about those in need but were greatly overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation. They were not equipped to deal with the tremendous scope of the suffering.

From the Minutes that I have read, for the most part, this group of Guardians did care and did try but the situation was way over their heads.

We should be proud of our ancestor's civic conscientiousness during this difficult period in Irish history.