Congested Districts Board for Ireland

The Congested Districts Board for Ireland was established by the Chief Secretary, Arthur Balfour in 1891 to alleviate poverty and "congested" living conditions in the west of Ireland.^[1]

William Lawson Micks worked with the Congested Districts Board (CDB) for the full term of its existence, first as Secretary and from 1909 as a member.^[2] The board was dissolved in 1923 and its staff was absorbed into the Irish Land Commission when its functions were assumed by the Department of Fisheries and Rural Industries.

The CDB was part of the Conservative policy of 'Constructive Unionism' or 'killing Home Rule with kindness'.^[3] The purpose of the CDB was to alleviate poverty by paying for public works, such as building piers for small ports on the west coast, to assist fishing, modernising farming methods or sponsoring local factories to give employment and stop emigration from Ireland. Regions under the Board's authority were areas where the rateable valuation was less than 30 shillings. The entire area which was so categorised came to 3,500,000 acres (14,000 km²) in 1901 with a population of 500,000.

Funds for the CDB came from the Church of Ireland but by 1912, other funds had been allocated and its assets totalled £530,000 (equivalent to £40 million at 2010 values).

Following the Wyndham Act of 1903, the CDB was authorised to purchase extra land from large estates to enlarge the small holdings of tenants. In 1909, it was granted compulsory powers of purchase and began redistributing over 1,000 estates totalling 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km²).^[3]

It was acutely criticised by the nationalist Frank Hugh O'Donnell in 1908. O'Donnell considered that the CDB that was run by local Catholic priests, was not properly supervised by the government and was being used to fund church projects such as Industrial schools where the young workers were underpaid. He felt that capital loaned to real businesses would be more effective than advancing the money to parish councils run by priests. He considered that the £100,000 paid to build St Eunan's College and the Cathedral of St. Eunan and St Columba in Letterkenny was too great a burden for its 2,000 inhabitants, and found that the CDB head Bishop O'Donnell had indirectly applied grants towards the buildings.^[4]

One legacy of the CDP was the Co-Operative Movement which was founded by Sir Horace Plunkett who had been shocked by his experiences working as a member of the first Board.

See also

Congested Districts Board (Scotland)

References

1. ^ The Congested Districts Board, 1891-1923 Ciara Breathnach 2005 ISBN 1-85182-919-9
2. ^ Micks, 1925, p.2
3. ^ ^{a b} A Dictionary of Irish History, D.J.Hickey & J.E.Doherty, Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1980. Pp. page 87. ISBN 0-7171-1567-4
4. ^ O'Donnell, F. H. (1908) Paraguay on Shannon. Dublin: Hodges & Figgis

• Micks, W. L. (1925) An Account of the Constitution, Administration and Dissolution of the Congested Districts Board for Ireland from 1891 to 1923. Dublin: Eason & Son

Sources

• (Disposal Of Funds) Regulations, 1928. Irish Statute Book.