article

Culture and class among the "large" farmers of eastern Ireland

American ethnologist15 (4) • Published In 1988 • Pages: 678-693

By: Wilson, Thomas M..

Abstract
In this article, the author focuses on Ireland's large commercial farmers, the "big men" of County Meath, a county with the greatest number of cattle, the most fertile land, the largest farms and the richest farmers in Ireland. Since the eighteenth century it has sold fattened beef to Dublin, Britain and, after 1973, the European Common Market. Catholic and middle class, Meath farmers were skilled agricultural workers and former tenants who purchased land when the gentry left the country after the First World War. The farmers soon came to dominate the local economy and politics. They own or rent the best land, control the cattle trade, serve as merchants and cattle agents, and run the farmers' cooperatives, organizations, and livestock marts. The largest landowners are the few remaining descendants of the Protestant Ascendancy class. The author identifies a third class of Catholic agricultural laborers and discusses the sociocultural world and the politics of each class.
Subjects
Domesticated animals
Tillage
Real property
Inheritance
Classes
culture
Rural Irish
HRAF PubDate
2016
Region
Europe
Sub Region
British Isles
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard; 2014
Field Date
1976-1987
Coverage Date
1973-1986
Coverage Place
County Meath, Leinster, Ireland
Notes
Thomas M. Wilson
Includes bibliographical references (p. 691-693)
LCCN
74644326
LCSH
Ireland--Rural conditions