A section of wall from County Clare, Ireland

The Famine walls were a series of walls built throughout western and southern Ireland in the mid-19th century, during the Great Famine. The walls were built as famine-relief works projects run by churches and landlords to provide work and income for unemployed peasants.[1][2][3][4] As payment, workers received food or money, and the walls served little practical purpose other than giving work to the poor and clearing the land of stones.[5]

The walls are generally around 8–10 feet high and 300 yards long.[2] Along some of the walls are periodic holes built in to the structures, which records say were a way for two parties to stand on opposite sides of the wall and touch fingers through a hole, signifying making an agreement or contract.[1][2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Stone Walls". www.dochara.com. 2008-12-29. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  2. 1 2 3 "Famine Wall at Maghery". www.discoveringireland.com. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  3. ↑ Kinealy, Christine (2017-03-14). The Great Irish Famine: Impact, Ideology and Rebellion. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-350-31722-2.
  4. ↑ "Famine-era wall in Ballyhogue made a protected structure". independent. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  5. ↑ "Ireland's Famine Walls Text". slkphotography. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
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