Irish Family History

The Irish Mariners website is a must for anyone with Irish merchant seafarers in their family.  Developed by David Snook, the site launched on 1 April 2008. 

The website contains an index of Irish born merchant seamen contained in the CR10 series of index cards in the Southampton Civic Archives. The CR10 Archive holds 270,000 cards covering the multinational workforce of the British Merchant Marine during the period from late 1918 to the end of 1921.

The origin of the identity card scheme is in the manpower crisis of 1918. The government wanted to check that men registered as merchant seamen went to sea, and were not using the system to avoid conscription.

All ranks and jobs at sea are covered from master to scullion. A unique feature of the CR 10 cards is that they usually contain a good photograph of the seaman. At this time RS2 Identity books, with matching photographs were issued to the seamen.

Image of Nicholas Kelly, born 5 May 1893, Co.Wexford.

Courtesy of Southampton Archives Services.

Irishfamilyhistory.ie caught up with David Snook to find out more about the Irish Mariners Website. We asked David, who moved to Rush, Co. Dublin in 1982, how he first became interested in seafarers’ records. ‘When I was young in 1940s Bristol, my grandmother told me stories of my grandfathers adventures in the Royal Navy during the Great War,’ explains David. ‘My favourite story was how he survived the sinking of his ship HMS Goliath in the Dardanelles in 1915.’

In the mid 1990s, David decided to check out the story by visiting the PRO at Kew. ‘I found the casualty lists and correspondence involved when 580 men are killed from a crew of 750,’ he says. ‘Around 50 of the casualties were Irish naval reservists which meant that they had been merchant seamen before the war. There was a letter to the Mercantile Marine Office in Dublin detailing the County Dublin casualties. The first name on the list was from Rush.’

This prompted David to start looking for information. After doing a few courses he eventually found the CR10 cards. These are index cards that were created for merchant seamen to check that they were going to sea during the Great War. Each card lists personal and foreign voyages detail for the seaman together with a photograph to match that on the seaman’s identity card. There is a wealth of information in these cards and David explains ‘I found 50 men from Rush for an exhibition I put on in 2002-3.’

The Irish Mariners database is a great tool for researchers. How did David come up with the idea? ‘The idea occurred to me in the summer of 2006,’ David says. ‘I saw what others had done on merchant seamen data and tried to build on their ideas. There is a case study in the book Databases in Historical Research by Charles Harvey and Jon Press (MacMillan 1996). I was also impressed by the website www.welshmariners.org.uk .’

In fact, David tells us ‘I was fortunate that this website designer, Nigel Callaghan, agreed to design the irishmariners website. I designed the database and update it while Nigel puts the database on to the website.’ The logo and banner for the website were designed by Gary Reynolds, and the website was launched on April 1 2008 with 10,000 names. There is still a lot of work to do however. David estimates that it will ‘around 1,000 hours of work to transcribe the 25,000 Irish seaman records with probably another 1,200 to 1,300 hours to put them on the database.’

The team working on the project is very small. David explains: ‘My younger daughter was part way through a degree course at Dundalk IT. She couldn’t get a job during the summer break and I thought that if I employed her for summer 2007 we might be able to get an idea of the number of Irish seamen in the CR10 records in the Southampton Archives. As she wants to be an archaeologist it would also help her CV. My wife thought it was a good idea so the research team grew to three.’

The team’s first three day visit to Southampton was in December 2006 and David tells us that his next visit will be number twenty. ‘Most of the visits are with 2 people with our daughter joining us during her summer breaks,’ he says. ‘I applied for a grant from the Heritage Council, but was unsuccessful, so I have funded the work myself. We aim to have the data transcribing complete by January 2009.’

So what information can researchers expect to find on the website? ‘The database website contains personal details, including a photograph, and foreign voyages of Irish born seamen active in the British Merchant Marine between August 1918 and December 1921,’ explains David. ‘There are currently 16,000 seaman records on the website which will rise to 18,000 by early September. The final total is expected to be around 25,000 which I aim to reach early in 2009.’

We asked David what plans he has for the future. David explains, ‘My focus after completing the database will be on the exhibitions planned for 2009 at Dundalk, Newry and Skerries. I will be interested in the feedback I get there.’

Visit the Irish Mariners website.

 

It is thought that Irish dancing masters first originated in Munster sometime during the late eighteenth century.

Arthur Young , who travelled to Ireland in 1776, noted that ‘dancing masters of their own rank travel through the country from cabbin to cabbin, with a piper or blind fiddler; and the pay is six pence a quarter.’

The excitement would be great when the dancing master arrived in a village, normally for a period of six weeks known as ‘a quarter.’ He would certainly cut striking figure, attired in brightly coloured clothes and holding a long staff.

Although most children had to pay six pence as described by Young, the children of whichever farmer offered lodgings to the dancing master would be given lessons free of charge. Children considered it a great honour to have the dancing master stay at their house.

While he was in the village, the dancing master would teach the children to dance. One technique used was to tie straw or hay to the childrens’ feet so by calling out ‘lift the straw foot’ they were able to understand which foot to move.

The jig and the reel were the first two dances that would be taught, and all children would learn group dances. However, individual dances were reserved for the most highly skilled pupils.

Dancing masters were also known for their ability to invent new dances – as well as being able to teach the best dance masters were expected to be creative too. They were also fiercely competitive, and ‘dance-offs’ would take place between rivals, particularly when one dance master encroached on another’s territory.

From the 1850s, no self-respecting follower of fashion in London, Paris or New York would be without an item crafted from Irish Crochet Lace.

The handiwork was of such a fine quality that it was literally fit for a queen, with Queen Mary’s wedding dress being hand crocheted in Ireland, reputedly by three ladies from Foxpoint, Co. Mayo, where the Congested Districts Board had set up a lace school and cottage industry at the Lodge.

Irish lacemaking, having been little more than a past-time or an activity associated with nuns, became an important source of income following the famine.

Lace schools were opened across Ireland, and by 1853 the Illustrated London Magazine stated that there were ‘upwards of 20,000 people obtaining a livelihood by lace and ornamental needle and tambour work in Ireland.’

Ten years later, Jessie Boucherett in her book ‘Hints on Self-Help, a Book for Young Women’ published in London stated that ‘in the last ten years no less than fifteen millions of pounds have been paid for Irish lace, embroidery and crochet-work.’

The earnings derived from the women and girls working in the Lace Schools often surpassed those of other types of work. They created many beautiful items; you can take a look at some examples that were exhibited in ‘Irish Crochet Lace - 150 Years of a Tradition’ at Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, Berkley, California during 2005 – view the slide show, or read the exhibit brochure.

There were lace schools all over the country. The one based at Foxpoint, Co. Mayo was replaced by a new one at Muings in 1914. As fashions changed, so did the demands for lace and gradually the focus became the production of Aran patterned knitwear. The school at Muings remained open until 1999 when it was forced to close due to competition from the Far East as well as staffing problems.

A voluntary group was set up in 2005 with the aim of acquiring, restoring and adapting the premises of Muings Lace School for the creation of a small-dedicated Heritage centre and folk Museum. This would create awareness, interest and recall for the community, past employees and home workers, visiting and returning émigrés. It also aims to exhibit Irish crochet lace and hold lectures and classes on how it is made.

To find out more about the group, take a look at their website, Save Muings Lace School.  You are invited to leave a message of support on their forum, or sign up to their newsletter.

Imagine Media has produced a documentary about the 70,000 or so Belfast women who helped give Belfast the name of ‘Linenopolis.’  The documentary, produced and directed by Fiona Keane, aired on BBC Northern Ireland this evening and provided an interesting account of the rise and fall of Belfast’s linen industry.

During the nineteenth century the linen industry began to take off in Northern Ireland.  A descendant of Thomas Mulholland explains how his son Andrew managed the York Street cotton mill, which succumbed to a fire in 1828.  Given that this cotton mill was in fierce competition with the Lancashire cotton trade he decided to change strategy and rebuild it as a linen mill. 

It was the American Civil War that really turned Irish linen making into a global industry.  Because of the war, raw cotton could not be transported to Lancashire and this led to a recession.  Linen was used in its place; because of its strength and durability it could be used in the creation of a wide range of items from underware through to hosepipes.

Working in the mills was a tough job.  While many people considered women’s jobs as providing ‘pin money’ in actual fact many of the millies were supporting their entire family through their work, even when they were heavily pregnant.  In those days there were no benefits or family allowances.  The conditions were tough - the flax fibres were separated again and again making the environment very dusty.  Without extractor fans, many women subsequently suffered from chest conditions. The noise of the weaving looms was extremely loud too and deafness was also common.  The mill was a hot and humid place to work; some rooms were filled with steam to keep the thread moist which prevented it from breaking, so many women worked there barefoot and wore waterproof jackets.  Another downside to working in the mill was the smell that came from the proces of breaking down the flax using scalding water - the smell was very strong and no matter how much the women washed, they could not get rid of it.  Injuries were commonplace.

Women working at the mill were commonly referred to as ‘millies.’  Often they would start off as ‘doffers’ - women responsible for tying up full spindles and replacing them with empty ones.  While the term ‘millie’ was used in a condescending way by some people, the millies themselves were very proud of their work and there was a strong sense of community.  In fact, all the women who were interviewed in the documentary had enjoyed the community feel, and the fact that mothers, daughters and neighbours all worked together.  Interestingly throughout its history, Catholics and Protestants have worked side by side in the linen mills; even during 1970s and the ‘Troubles’ the women would not discuss their differences; their friendship overrode this.   Traditionally, if any woman was having difficulties there would be a ‘whip-round’ to help her out; everyone who contributed knew that the same would be done for them if they fell on hard times.

During the First World War, the Belfast linen industry saw an increase in demand, making bandages, tents, kit bags and aircraft fabric among other things. In 1918 production was at an all-time high and a quarter of the MPs at Stormont were linen manufacturers, demonstrating the importance of the industry to the city.  After the war, America became the world’s centre of power - and so the 1922 Wall Street Crash affected people everywhere.  The economic depression meant that by 1930 flax prices had risen by 34%.  The Belfast linen industry had to organise lay-offs - there were no contracts or notice periods and times were very hard since there were no benefits either.

Linen was required again during World War II - the MOD required 1,000 yards of linen to cover a lancaster bomber for instance.  However, during this period other countries such as New Zealand had set up their own linen markets and so these countries became competitors. They were using the latest machines too.  But another post-war development also contributed to the decline of the Belfast linen industry - the opportunity to buy man-made fibres - clothes in nylon and rayon for instance which required much less care than linen when washing and ironing.  People also preferred the convenience of paper tissues.  By the early 1960s some of the linen mills (including York Street) had started to close.  While some mills remained open during the 1970s and the Troubles, it was only in the 1980s that the government tried to rescue the business but it was already too late at that stage.

The documentary shows two of the ‘millies’ visiting a linen business in Estonia run by an Northern Irish company.  The conditions are much better than theirs had been - they remark on the chill-out room and the coconut oil handcream that the contemporary linen workers are provided with - and they all wear ear plugs and face-masks.  We are also told that some of the machines from Belfast are now being packed up and sent to India for people there to use.

Although the linen industry has gone from Belfast, there is a current reminder of it: the Northern Ireland Assembly have used the linen flower as their symbol.  The ‘millies’ consider this very appropriate because for them the little blue flower represents a community where everyone worked together side by side - where there was no divide between green and orange.

This was a very interesting documentary, brought alive by the interviews and first hand accounts of former millies, many of whom are now in their eighties and nineties.

Further Information

• Find out more about Imagine Media’s documentary, Millies
• Take a look at how a spinning mill worked in Victorian times
• Learn about the linen industry today from the Irish Linen Guild