As mentioned in a previous post, in 1825, under the direction of Peter Robinson, my great-great grandparents, Patrick and Margaret Heffernan, participated in a government-sponsored experiment/scheme and emigrated from Ireland to Canada.
In 2017, researching this part of my family history led me to spending time in the areas of Ireland where my ancestors lived. Recently, I have posted a series of photos that were taken while traveling in Ireland. These photos provide a visual reference of the landscape – homeland - that the Peter Robinson group of Irish emigrants left behind in 1825. Certainly, during the past two hundred years the area has undergone changes and updates but there are aspects of the countryside that are much the same as they have been for hundreds of years. As can be seen in the photos, the landscape is beautiful and green with evidence of successful farming throughout. For generations, the ancestors walked upon and farmed that land. They travelled along the Coach Road and crossed the rivers. They had historical, family connections to towns, churches/cemeteries, and other landmarks. The impact on the people leaving Ireland in 1825 who knew that they would never return was immense and long-lasting. I heard my mother say that people have mused about the water in the port at Cobh saying that it is salty because of all the tears shed by the thousands of people who were forced to leave Ireland. My grandmother, who was born and lived her entire life in Canada, use to call Ireland ‘home’ without having ever been there.
How did Patrick and Margaret Become Subjects in the Peter Robinson Experiment?
It took a very long time to become subjects in this experiment. It required centuries of rivalry for power and dominance in Ireland which by the early nineteenth century culminated in a system of extreme inequality – a 'have' and 'have-not' society. In 1800, Patrick and Margaret were born into ‘have-not’ families of landless, tenant farmers in Munster. Their prospects were grim. By that time, laws which required families to subdivide their allotments with each subsequent generation had been enacted. By the early 1820s, the political decision to set a lower tax rate on pastureland urged landowners to reduce the amount of farmland, and crops had failed in recent years due to excessive rainfall. G. Moran wrote,
“The crisis of 1821-22 was particularly severe: Virtually all counties along the western seaboard and Munster were severely hit, affecting 2.9 million people, nearly half of the country’s population. The economic depression that also occurred in industrial Britain, and the subsistence crisis in Ireland, forced the government to look for solutions. (Moran, G. Sending Out Ireland’s Poor: Assisted Emigration to North America in the 19th Century).”
A large population of vagrants who had been evicted for non-payment of rents roamed the countryside in search of any food available. These hardships and the lack of employment opportunities were credited for the growth of lawlessness. Secret societies such as the Rockites and Ribbonmen carried out serious acts of rebellion. The government and landowners became extremely anxious, and viewed sponsored emigration to the colonies as a viable solution.
It was decided that paupers/landless tenant farmers would be selected for the experiment/scheme to determine whether this type of government expense would be successful in reducing the ‘have-not’ population problems in Ireland while at the same time transforming the land in Canada into productive farms. By 1825, Patrick and Margaret had become well-suited to participate in the proposed Peter Robinson Experiment. They only needed to be two of the 2 024 people who were selected from approximately 50 000 applicants.
Mary English-Cooper
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