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Organising the Irish Migratory Potato Workers: The Efforts in the Early Twentieth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Heather Holmes
Heather Holmes
Affiliation:
Department of Print Media, Publishing and Communication, Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.
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Extract

In the writing on institutional organisation and collective strike action among agricultural workers in Lowland Scotland during the early twentieth century until the outbreak of the Second World War, Richard Anthony has provided an extensive discussion on farm servants.2 However, in general, little attention has been given to casually employed workers. One such group, known as the Achill workers or the Irish ‘tattie howkers’, employed to harvest the potato crop in south-western and central Scotland, attempted to organise themselves and pursued collective strike action on a number of occasions. That group, which comprised some 1,500 to 2,000 workers, undertook strike action in 1907. That action was followed by intensive campaigns in 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, and 1938; a further attempted strike was also reported in 1912. Much of their collective action was assisted by institutional support from unions which were already organising workers. But workers also attempted to organise themselves with the assistance of these existing unions in the years 1918 to 1921, 1925, 1926 and 1929, and to form their own union in 1909, 1910 and 1938. This paper will examine these attempts during this period.

Type
Research Article
Information
Rural History , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , October 2000 , pp. 207 - 229
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000

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References

Notes

1. Tlie Ayrshire Advertiser, 24th June 1919.

2. For farm servants see Anthony, Richard, Herds and Hinds: Farm Labour in Lowland Scotland, 1900–1939: Scottish Historical Review Monograph Series No. 3 (East Linton: Tuckwell Press, 1997)Google Scholar, chapter 3.

3. O'Dowd, Anne, Spalpeens and Tattie Hokers: History and Folklore of the Irish Migratory Agricultural Worker in Ireland and Britain (Blackrock: Irish Academic Press, 1991).Google Scholar

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9. O'Dowd, Anne, p. 192.Google Scholar

10. Holmes, Heather, ‘Potato Harvesting in the Lothians 1870 to 1995’, unpublished Ph.D thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1995Google Scholar; Holmes, Heather, ‘The Kirkintilloch Bothy Fire Tragedy of September 16 1937: An Examination of the Incident and the Resulting Legislation’, Review of Scottish Culture 9 (1995–1996), 57–75.Google Scholar

11. National Archives of Scotland (hereinafter NAS), DD13/1591, ‘Irish Migratory Labourers in Scotland. Second report by Miss G. Thornton. The Edinburgh District’, p. 1.Google Scholar

12. Ibid.

13. Western People, 20th April 1918.

14. Forward, 25th September 1937.

15. O'Donnell, Peadar, ‘The Irish in Britain’, The Bell VI:5 (1943), 370.Google Scholar

16. Holmes, Heather, ‘Potato Harvesting’, chapters 10 and 11.Google Scholar

17. Ibid, p. 189.

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19. Heather Holmes, ‘Potato Harvesting’, chapter 11.

20. Connaught Telegraph, 19th January 1910.

21. The Ayrshire Advertiser, 20th June 1912.

22. Connaught Telegraph, 22nd January 1910.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.

25. The Ayrshire Advertiser, 14th July 1910.

27. Ibid.

28. Ibid.

29. Heather Holmes, ‘Potato Harvesting’, chapter 11.

30. Holmes, Heather, ‘Improving the Housing Conditions’, pp. 57–74.Google Scholar

31. ‘Strikes in Ireland, 1914–1921’, Saothar June, 29–31.

32. Ibid.

33. Ibid.

34. Western People, 20th April 1918.

35. O'Dowd, Anne, p. 192.Google Scholar

36. Glasgow Trades Council, Executive Committee, meeting held at 156 George Street, 10th July 1910.

37. Western People, 20th April 1918.

38. Ibid.

39. Evening Telegraph, Dublin, 12th July 1918.

40. Western People, 15th March 1919.

41. Voice of Labour, 17th May 1919.

42. The Ayrshire Advertiser, 24th June 1919.

43. The Ayrshire Post, 25th June 1920; The Bulletin, 23rd June 1920.

44. The Ayrshire Advertiser, 7th July 1921.

45. Anthony, Richard, Herds and Hinds, From table 3.2, p. 122.Google Scholar

46. Irish Opinion: Voice of Labour, 29th June 1918

47. Dublin Saturday Post, 29th June 1918.

48. NAS, DDI3/1S91, ‘Migratory workers in Scotland. Report by Fr. Joyce’.

49. Irish Opinion: Voice of Labour, 26th January 1918.

50. Western People, 20th April 1918.

51. Evening Telegraph, Dublin, 6th July 1918.

52. The Irish News and Belfast Morning News, 8th July 1918.

53. Glasgow Trades Council, Executive Committee, meeting held at 156 George Street, 10th July 1910.

54. Irish Independent, 9th July 1918.

55. Evening Telegraph, Dublin, 9th July 1918.

56. Irish Opinion: Voice of Labour, 13th July 1918.

57. Evening Telegraph, Dublin, 13th July 1918.

58. Dublin Sunday Post, 13th July 1918.

59. Glasgow Herald, 18th July 1918.

60. Minutes of Industrial Committee, Glasgow Trades Council, 11th September 1918.

61. Evening Telegraph, Dublin, 13th July 1918.

62. Irish Independent, 20th July 1918.

63. Irish Opinion: Voice of Labour, 27th July 1918, 3rd August 1918.

64. Glasgow Herald, 22nd June 1920.

65. Ibid, 17th July 1918.

66. Scottish Farmer, 20th July 1918.

67. NAS, AF59/64, ‘Carrick District Committee. Extract from minutes of state meeting held at Maybole on Monday 2nd September 1918’.

68. North British Agriculturist, 20th June 1918, 27th June 1918, 4th July 1918.

69. Scottish Fanner, 13th July 1918.

70. The Ayrshire Advertiser, 11th July 1918.

71. Ibid, 18th July 1918.

72. Scottish Farmer, 20 July 1918, 27th July 1918.

73. The Ayrshire Advertiser, 25th July 1918.

74. ‘Vale of Girvan notes’, The Ayrshire Advertiser, 26th June 1919.

75. ‘Rural Affairs’, The Ayrshire Advertiser, 18th July 1918.

76. Western People, 15th March 1919.

77. Minutes of meeting of Industrial Committee, Glasgow Trades Council, 28th May 1919.

78. The Ayrshire Advertiser 1st July 1919.

79. ‘Rural affairs’, The Ayrshire Advertiser, 24th June 1919; ‘Ayrshire Potato Harvesters’ Dispute’, Ayrshire Advertiser, 1st July 1919.

80. Scottish Farmer, 19th July 1919.

81. Ibid.

82. Ibid.

83. Ibid.

84. Ibid, 8th May 1920.

85. Scottish Farm Servants' Union (hereinafter SFSU), Meeting of Executive Committee, 18th October 1919 (held in Mitchell Library, Glasgow).

86. Ibid, Executive Committee, 18th June 1920.

87. Ibid, 18th June 1920.

88. The Bulletin, 23rd June 1920.

89. Glasgow Herald, 22nd June 1920.

90. Irish Independent, 22nd June 1920.

91. Glasgow Herald, 22nd June 1920.

92. The Bulletin, 23rd June 1920.

93. Ibid.

94. SFSU, Meeting of Executive Committee, 12th 02 1921.Google Scholar

95. Ibid, Executive Committee, 30th April 1921.

96. The Ayrshire Advertiser, 30th June 1921.

97. The Freeman's Journal, 7th July 1921.

98. The Ayrshire Advertiser, 7th July 1921.

99. Ibid.

100. SFSU, Executive Committee, 17th 10 1920.Google Scholar

101. Ibid, Executive Committee, 25th and 26th December 1920.

102. SFSU, Executive Committee, 12th 02 1921.Google Scholar

103. SFSU, Executive Committee, 10th 10 1921.Google Scholar

104. The Ayrshire Advertiser, 7th July 1921.

105. SFSU, Executive Committee, 10th 10 1921.Google Scholar

106. SFSU, Executive Committee, 11th and 12th 03 1922.Google Scholar

107. SFSU, Executive Committee, 8th and 9th 11 1924.Google Scholar

108. SFSU, Executive Committee, 26th and 27th 10 1929.Google Scholar

109. Mayo News, 17th October 1925, 24th October 1925.

110. Ibid, 17th October 1925.

111. Ibid, 8th May 1926.

112. For example, Mayo News, 8th June 1929.

113. SFSU, Executive Committee, 26th and 27th 10 1929.Google Scholar

114. Ibid.

115. For a full discussion of the tragedy see Holmes, Heather, ‘The Kirkintilloch Bothy Fire Tragedy’, 57–75.Google Scholar

116. Ballina Herald, 8th January 1938.

117. Irish Press, 9th June 1938

118. Ibid.

119. Irish Press, 9th June 1938.

120. Irish Press, 4th June 1938.

121. Ballina Herald, 8th January 1938.

122. Mayo News, 5th February 1938.

123. Ballina Herald, 8th January 1938.

124. Mayo News, 19th March 1938.

125. Ballina Herald, 28th May 1938.

126. Irish Press, 3rd June 1938.

127. Ibid, 4th June 1938.

128. Ibid, 7th June 1938.

129. Ibid, 9th June 1938.

130. Irish Independent, 10th June 1938; Glasgow Herald, 14th June 1938.

131. Ibid; Irish Press, 10th June 1938; Irish Press, 14th June 1938.

132. Irish Press, 9th June 1938.

133. SFSU, Sectional Committee, 10th 12 1938.Google Scholar

134. SFSU, Sectional Committee, 1st 04 1939.Google Scholar

135. SFSU, Sectional Committee, 29th 07 1939.Google Scholar

136. O'Dovvd, Anne, p. 188.Google Scholar

137. SFSU, Executive Committee, 25th and 26th 12 1920.Google Scholar

138. SFSU, Executive Committee, I7th 10 1920.Google Scholar

139. SFSU, Executive Committee, 10th and 11th 12 1921.Google Scholar

140. Dublin Saturday Post, 6th July 1918.

141. Irish Weekly Independent, 26th July 1919.

142. The Ayr Advertiser, 29th July 1920.

143. NAS, DDI3/1591, ‘Irish Migratory Labourers in Scotland. Second Report by Miss G. Thornton’.

144. Ibid.

145. SFSU, Executive Committee, 1st 10 1921.Google Scholar

146. Irish Opinion: Voice of Labour, 31st August 1918.

147. SFSU, Executive Committee, 10th and 11th 12 1921.Google Scholar

148. NAS, DDI3/1591, ‘Irish Migratory Labourers in Scotland. Second Report’.

149. SFSU, Executive Committee, 10th and llth 12 1921.Google Scholar

150. NAS, DD13/1591, ‘Irish Migratory Labourers in Scotland. Second Report’.

151. Ibid.