Ballinglass Incident

The so-called Ballinglass Incident was the eviction of 300 tenants on 13 March 1846, in the context of the Great Famine in Ireland (1845–1849).At this time, Ireland was ruled by Great Britain, and most of the land in Ireland belonged to English landlords. The Irish farmers were tenants, producing cereals, potatoes and livestock. But only the potatoes remained as food for the farmers themselves; the other products were used for paying the rent and exported from Ireland to England. These exports continued when the potato crop failed in 1845.

Farmers who weren't able to pay the rent in this situation were evicted from their homes and land. It is estimated that tens of thousands were evicted during the famine.

The 300 inhabitants of the village of Ballinglass in Galway County were relatively "wealthy" and able to pay their rent. But despite this fact, they were evicted on 13 March 1846 because the landlord, a woman whose name was Mrs. Gerrard, intended to establish a grazing farm where the village was situated.

The houses of Ballinglass were demolished by army and police; the people slept in the ruins in the following night. The next day, police and army returned to evict them definitely. Their neighbours were not allowed to take them in.

References

* Cecil Woodham-Smith, "The Great Hunger. Ireland 1845-1849", ISBN 0-14-014515-X (p. 71–72)