Ballinrobe Union Workhouse deaths during the Great Famine, April 1849

Background. Ballinrobe suffered greatly during the Great Famine of 1845 to 1849. Its workhouse was so overcrowded that, at the height of the famine, it held 2,000 inmates; the passage does not state the workhouse's exact location within the town. Separately, in January 1847 the national government abandoned its policy of noninterference and turned to a mixture of indoor and outdoor direct relief, the former administered in workhouses through the Irish Poor Laws and the latter through soup kitchens. The passages do not link this policy change directly to the Ballinrobe workhouse's conditions.

Relief Policy. In June 1847, the Poor Relief (Ireland) Act 1847 was passed, embodying the principle, popular in Britain, that Irish property must support Irish poverty. The 'Gregory clause', a successful Tory amendment to the Whig poor-relief bill that became law in early June 1847, was described by Donnelly as a 'vicious amendment' whose potential as an estate-clearing device was widely recognised in parliament, although not in advance. Also in 1849, Chief Poor Law Commissioner Edward Twisleton resigned in protest over the Rate-in-Aid Act, which provided additional Poor Law funds through a 6d in the pound levy on all rateable properties in Ireland; the passage does not state the Rate-in-Aid Act's enactment date.

Demographic Impact. The population of County Mayo fell from 388,887 to 274,830 between 1841 and 1851, initially triggered by starvation during the Great Famine. Emigration during the famine years was primarily to England, Scotland, South Wales, North America, and Australia. The 1851 census provides a framework for the medical history of the Great Famine, though it is criticized for underestimating mortality.