"The Hiring
Fairs" is a 60 minute DVD dealing
with country life in Ireland as it
was from the middle of the 18th century up
until the end of World War Two. It explains
how poor country people seeking work, were
herded like cattle in a market place and
hired for 6 months labour to the highest
bidder. Conditions at best were harsh,
food was scarce and unvaried and the wage
for a 6 month term would have been no more
than ten pounds.
The hiring of farm
servants was well established by the
eighteenth century. Young people looking for
work would gather in the centre of the town
and farmers looking for servants would
inspect them there. Servants judged how they
were treated mainly by the food they were
given. A farmer who had a good 'mate house'
had no difficulty finding workers.
Based on the memories
of Sam King, Maggie Faulkner and Jim McAuley
who were "hired" themselves during
the 1920s and 30s. This video traces the
fortunes of 16 year old Mary Mullan and her
brother Jimmy who was 8 years old.
Mary and Jimmy were
hired for six months to a rich farmer from
Co. Antrim. At the end of 6 months
their mother would receive £10. In those
days a £10 note could have held the balance
between eviction and survival.
Most of the people who
were hired in mid-Ulster came from
county Donegal and in the centre of
Letterkenny there is a bronze monument which
shows several children standing with there
bundles under their arms waiting to be
hired. The bundle under the arm was the
sigh that this person was seeking work, the
farmer would come up to them and make a an
offer for a 6 monthly term.
One Derry trickster
recalls how he filled a bundle with straw
and old boots, gave it to the unsuspecting
farmer, took a deposit of a few
shillings and ran off with the money.
Sam King born in 1912
remembers his accommodation which was a
small attic room and he remembers well the
rats running out of the room as he entered
it. Sam also remembers that during the many
years he was hired that he never received an
egg for break fast. Stories and songs from
that period of Irish History are retold
and captured on this DVD -
"The Hiring Fairs"
This DVD Days Of Hunger is now available
to buy online or by contacting John Thompson
Click here to buy now
Tel: 028 295 58688
