Irish Genealogy Myths and Falsehoods

mickmackey1

Coolnabacky1873 wrote: »

There is some chatter on twitter about the current research of Dr. Ciaran Reilly at NUI Maynooth who is investigating 1908 Old Age Pensions and 'the night of the big wind' proof.

He is saying that he believes it is a myth.

Although it seems the pension 'myth' was already established as early as 1932...

shanew

an extract from the Indo 25 Sept 1908 mentioning of problems proving year of birth and mentioning 'The Big Wind...'

'In Belfast before 5 o'clock between two and three hundred had filled up at the head office in Royal avenue. Not a few were in difficulty with regard to year of their birth, and various calamitous periods were quoted as evidence of age such as the "Famine" and "The Big Wind" (1839), and other portentous events...''

shanew

extract from an article in Freeman in July 1909 that shows at least one borderline case was accepted for a reduced pension pending further checks based in part due to remember the big wind, and another accepted without mention of the census search on evidence years married etc and of her remembering the Night of the big wind..

'Castlerea, Thursday - At the meeting of the Castlerea Sub-Committe on to-day, under the Old Age Pensions Act, V. Rev. Canon Harte P.P. presiding, 68 old age pensioners who had been in receipt of the old age pension since January were disqualified by the Local Governemt Board. In all cases grounds the grounds of disqualification was that the pensioners had not attained the statuary age of 70 years..'

Applicant : Anne Kirwan - found age 11 on 1851 (so born c1840 and would qualify), not found on 1841

'Mr. Fitzgerald did your people always live in the same townland ?
the applicant replied in the affirmative. Mr. Grogan - Do you remember the nigh of the "Big Wind" ? applicant - Oh worra, tis as many a year that night. The committee decided to continue her as 5s a week and let the Local Gov. Board look up the census again...'

A second person, Mrs Grogan, stated she is 80, and after questions on age at marriage, how many years married, and age of a grandchild plus remembering the "Big Wind" when she was 3 years old is granted her pension on the basis that 'evidence should be enough'

Think different local pension sub committees might have had slight variances in their level of proof, so might not be the same in other areas.

pinkypinky

It really does seem bizarre to me that they just took it on face value. "Yes I remember it." I know we're all a lot more aware of history now but surely people were just as adept at lying in the past.

shanew

didn't really expect this to be true, especially based on the first article, but certainly looks like the topic was raised on some occasions at the time, and sometimes counted in some way as evidence.

I suspect however that this was this along with other evidence, not necessarily mentioned in articles like the one above e.g. local knowledge, ages of grandchildren possibly known to people on the committees, families living at the same townland for a long time etc.

some details below from a Dublin point of view from a Pettigrew & Oulton entry on the storm written just a year later :