Blacksod Emigration |
|
![Picture](/uploads/3/9/4/5/39454319/7182424_orig.png)
James Hack Tuke was born in York, Yorkshire in 1819.
Educated at the Religious Society of Friends, he later became the treasurer of
the Friends Foreign Mission Association. These particular organisations were
commonly referred to as “ Quakers ”. He
spent a good deal of his life and money in helping the destitute of Ireland. He
visited Connaught at the height of the famine in 1847 and witnessed at first
hand the distress of the starving population. What he saw in Belmullet made a
huge impression and he strove to improve the situation. He continued to work
tirelessly to highlight the plight of the Irish poor. He returned to the West of Ireland in 1880.On this
occasion he stayed 2 months distributing relief which had been collected from
fellow quakers in England. On his return to England he had articles relating to
his experiences in Ireland published in various high profile newspapers. He
also had a pamphlet published entitled Irish
Distress and its Remedies. Gladstone and his government gave credence to
Tuke’s observations, especially to his suggestions on family emigration. Another group of influential
Englishmen convened at the home of the Duke of Bedford in March 1882. Here
they formed a group called the “ Tuke Committee “. A member of this group was W.E.Forster.
Forster had been Tukes companion on his 1880 excursion and was now Chief
Secretary (Hickey & E., 1987). Substantial sums of
money were raised by this committee which allowed Tuke to instigate his family
emigration scheme. 3,300 of the poorest folk took advantage of this scheme in
North Mayo. The scheme had been very well planned out. Tuke had spent a good
deal of time in both America and Canada ensuring conditions would be suitable
on the emigrant’s arrival. There were certain conditions attached to
applications to partake in the scheme.
By insisting on entire families going, their farms became vacant which allowed those that remained to improve their holdings. Successful applicants would only be informed on their eminent departure 10 days in advance. This would be done so they would have crops planted in case of something going wrong. The scheme lasted for 15 months from1883 to1884. It involved 15 sailings using 11 ships of the Allen line. 9 went to Boston and 6 to Quebec. The families came from Achill, Newport and the majority from the Belmullet area. A similar scheme took place in Connemara, also under the stewardship of Tuke. Emigration was nothing new to Mayo and continues to this very day. For example during the years 1940 -1951 Mayo had the highest emigration rate in all of Ireland (Lyons, 1985).
What part did Blacksod Lighthouse play in the CisteTuke ?. Families arriving early found shelter here and were also given sustenance. It is also fair to say that the last part of mainland Ireland would ever to see again was Blacksod Lighthouse.
By insisting on entire families going, their farms became vacant which allowed those that remained to improve their holdings. Successful applicants would only be informed on their eminent departure 10 days in advance. This would be done so they would have crops planted in case of something going wrong. The scheme lasted for 15 months from1883 to1884. It involved 15 sailings using 11 ships of the Allen line. 9 went to Boston and 6 to Quebec. The families came from Achill, Newport and the majority from the Belmullet area. A similar scheme took place in Connemara, also under the stewardship of Tuke. Emigration was nothing new to Mayo and continues to this very day. For example during the years 1940 -1951 Mayo had the highest emigration rate in all of Ireland (Lyons, 1985).
What part did Blacksod Lighthouse play in the CisteTuke ?. Families arriving early found shelter here and were also given sustenance. It is also fair to say that the last part of mainland Ireland would ever to see again was Blacksod Lighthouse.