The Great Famine and the old County Home in Mayo
by Johnny Mee
IN my Auld Stock articles over the years I have regularly referred to the Great Famine in Ireland and the shocking affect it had on the people of Mayo, town and country. In the 1840s, potatoes were the staple diet of the majority of the people in Ireland.
The main variety of potatoes at the time were Lumpers.
Farmers and people in towns lived in small thatched cottages without toilet facilities and running water.
In rural areas of Mayo people often slept in the same room as livestock. There were practically no medical facilities and many people died at an early age.
In my lifetime I remember many people who died very young.
My brother Tony died when he was six years old; my sister Bridget died when she was just three months.
My little neighbours, Alphonsus Feeney and Kathleen Roach, both died at an early age. In modern times in all probability those children would have lived.
When Dr. Anthony MacBride, a native of Westport, was house surgeon in the County Infirmary, Castlebar, he and the nursing staff carried out wonderful work with little facilities at their disposal.
At the height of the Great Famine, Nancy Quinn, a native of Staball, Castlebar, was admitted to the County Home when she was seriously ill. She was one of the lucky ones to be admitted to the Home. She told the nurses she had prayed night and day she would allowed to enter the Home.
Not so lucky was Pat Langan, Spencer Street, Castlebar, a cripple, who was refused admission to the County Home as his wife would not accompany him.
He had a daughter, who stayed at home; she was nervous she would be separated from her father, a most distressing situation as Pat Langan was forced to return to his humble dwellling. Those instances I have mentioned were repeated in county homes all over Mayo.
Many eldely people died from staravation just at they reached the front door of the County Home in Castlebar.
At the moment the health services in Ireland appear to be totally inadequate to deal with many thousands of people waiting for operations and other services.
The medical, nursing and other staffs in various hospitals do a wonderful jobs under difficult circumstances and should be respected for their immense dedication.
A young man on the staff of University Hospital Castlebar told me he was spat at on a number of occasions.
This is blackguardism of the worst kind and is totally unacceptable.
Today the Sacred Heart Hospital, Castlebar, is a beacon of patience, understanding and compassion.