In 1846, before the Whigs took control of the British Government, there was an effort to offer incentives to landowners to put money into improvements that would also allow for the employment of many people who were struggling to make ends meet. Major Denis Mahon offered to apply 500 pounds to the construction of new roads that would link Strokestown to Carrick-on-Shannon and Lanesborough. Since the government programs were scratched in July of that year under the Whigs, the projects never really take off. I point this out because at least it shows that Major Denis Mahon saw a need to invest in the infrastructure that would help him in managing his estate, but would also operate to help those who lived on his lands.
Still, this next part of the museum focused on Major Denis Mahon's practices and his assassination. There is considerable discrepancy as to whether or not he was the intended target, however, his practices with the tenants seem to show little regard for their personal well-being. The life of one who lived in the Big House was dramatically different than the life of one who only held a tenancy on the property. The most basic thing, food, was still readily available to those who lived in the Big House, while those around them starved.
Because of the concerns about bringing in an unsavory element and disease, a workhouse had to be constructed. It opened just outside the town of Cloonslanor in 1852 and closed in 1920. All that is left of it now is "bully's acre" which is a prehistoric earthwork that was used as a cemetery.
The Workhouses were not a refuge from the ravages of the famine, rather, they were places where many people died after working long hours for small amounts of food and no sick care. In Dublin there were those who would rather go to jail for stealing food than have to seek assistance at the work houses.
Major Denis Mahon inherited the estate in 1845 when Maurice Mahon died, though Denis had been the guardian of the estate since 1835 when Maurice was declared insane. The estate was supposed to draw an annual rental of 10,000 pounds, but in 1845, there were 13,000 pounds in rent arrears that had accumulated.
Below is excerpts from a letter found in the estate archives, showing the desperation of the tenants during the famine years:
This practice outlined below, allowed Major Mahon to keep people working the land but made it easier for him to put them off of it and withdrew any possible tenancy and thus any requirement to support the tenant.
The ships were referred to as "Coffin Ships" as so many died on board, many due to the spread of typhus. The Captain of Erin's Queen had to bribe the seamen with money for each body they brought out of the hold. Some had to be dragged out with hooks because people were afraid to touch them.
There is a monument at Gross Ile which says:
"In this secluded spot lie the mortal remains of 5,424 persons who, fleeing from pestilence and Famine in Ireland in the year 1847 found in America but a Grave."
On March 23, 1846, Lord Brougham of the House of Lords stated: "...property would be valueless and capital would no longer be invested in cultivation of land if it were not acknowledged that it was the landlord's undoubted, indefeasible and most sacred right to deal with his property as he list."
Bothersome in this line of thinking is the underlying reality that these landowner families were given the land after displacing others who also laid claim to it, and then it stayed in their families through inheritance, and those who were displaced got nothing. Also, the idea that Protestants would be harder workers than Catholics and thus should be offered the tenancies did nothing to help the landowners. At Strokestown, the effort to evict tenants and get in Protestants failed, as none came forward to take over an offered tenancy.
The eviction process was quick and violent, displacing thousands of families who fell victim to the famine and the shrinking economy.
This implement was used to pull down the tenant's home.
Below a tenant family stands in front of their demolished home. They were not allowed to remain on the property in any way thereafter.
The above is a photo of Meagher and Smith O'Brien in prison.
The Assassination of Major Denis Mahon:
For Major Denis Mahon, a rent strike began shortly after he actually inherited the property, though one should recall, he was already acting as guardian for the manager of the estate 10 years earlier. There are conflicting ideas as to who committed the murder and why.
Nicholas Pakenham Mahon was the son of Olive and Wilfrid. He writes eloquently but I do think that Major Denis Mahon's actions in the time of the famine bear closer examination. His characterization as a victim is accurate only insofar as one is discussing the actual murder, in my opinion. It seems to me that steps taken with more compassion during this turbulent time may have served everyone better, and at the least he exercised poor judgment in dealing with his distraught and starving tenants.
I suppose I find the letter written by the Parish Priest of Strokestown to be the most persuasive on the cause for the assassination of Major Denis Mahon:
