Agriculture And Settlement In Ireland

Published in association with the Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement and the Agricultural History Society of Ireland, this collection explores the relationship between Irish settlement and agricultural practice from the Neolithic to the 18th century. The types of farming that took place in any particular period of Irish history had a powerful impact on the development of settlement. Interdisciplinary studies in this volume address key periods to illustrate that process: from the spread of Neolithic pastoralism, the very basis of farming on the island; through the medieval focus on tillage, which gave rise to manorial villages and granges; to the 18th-century agricultural revolution and the impact that had on urban and rural landscapes. Contents include: an introduction to agriculture and settlement * the early medieval farm * the evolution of cattle and of cattle farming systems * the Cistercian grange: a medieval farming system * agriculture and the medieval manor * the creaght: farming system or social unit? * the changing structure of Irish agriculture in the 17th century * Collon, Co. Louth: the landscape legacy of an 18th-century estate * Irish farming systems. [Subject: History, Irish Studies, Agriculture, Medieval Studies]

Cattle have been the mainstay of Irish farming since the Neolithic began in Ireland almost 6000 years ago. Cattle, and especially cows, have been important in the life experiences of most Irish people, directly and/or through legends such as the Táin Bó Cuailnge (The Cattle-raid of Cooley). In this book, diverse aspects of cattle in Ireland, from the circumstances of their first introduction to recent and ongoing developments in the management of grasslands – still the main food-source for cattle in Ireland – are explored in thirteen essays written by experts. New information is presented, and several aspects relating to cattle husbandry and the interactions of cattle and people that have hitherto received little or no attention are discussed.

The changing methods of crop and livestock production during the 'Age of Improvement' in Ireland, and some of the ways in which they shaped rural society and the landscape. It shows how sensible farmers were, in developing systems and techniques that fitted their resources, or lack of them, making Ireland a major agricultural producer, and overcoming huge environmental and social obstacles to ensure the survival of millions of people. -- Publisher description

This edition of Cormac O'Grada's study expands upon his central arguments about the agricultural and demographic developments surrounding the Great Irish Famine. It provides new statistical information, new appendices and integrated responses to the new research and writing on the subject that has appeared since the publication of the first edition in 1987.

After the Famine examines the recovery in Irish agriculture in the wake of the disastrous potato famine of the 1840s, and presents an annual agricultural output series for Ireland from 1850 to 1914. Michael Turner's detailed 1996 study is in three parts: he analyses the changing structure of agriculture in terms of land use and peasant occupancy; he presents estimates of the annual value of Irish output between 1850 and 1914; and he assesses Irish agricultural performance in terms of several measures of productivity. These analyses are placed in the context of British and European agricultural development, and suggest that, contrary to prevailing orthodoxies, landlords rather than tenants were the main beneficiaries in the period leading up to the land reforms. After the Famine is an important contribution to an extremely controversial area of Irish social and economic history.