While it is popularly believed that Irish people were not great fish-eaters, this was not the case prior to the Famine. For instance, a traveller named Poco*cke, who visitedWest Cork in 1858 observed that the inhabitants of Dursey Island lived on fish and potatoes.[1]
In 1810, Townsendcommented on the diet of the poorer people:
Along the sea coast they depend principally upon fish, which (shell fish excepted) is never eat [sic] fresh. It is, from custom, considered more palatable when salted, and, what is of more consequence, goes much further. The poorer people, who live by the sea, collect different kinds of sea weed, which, when boiled, contribute something to the humble repast.[2]
Similarly, during his tour of the southern coast of Ireland Wakefield observed that ‘the people in the vicinity of the shore lived in a comparatively comfortable manner, in consequence of their using fish as a part of their food…’[3]
Wakefieldsuggested that religion played a role in fish consumption. Eating fish wasa necessity for the predominantly Catholic population during Lent and on fast days.
However, the consumption of fish was not uniform. Wakefield noted that ‘in the maritime counties of Ireland fish is not uncommon; but in inland parts, such as Carlow, it is exceedingly scarce’. He blamed this on the inconvenience and expense required to transport fish by land.[4]
The question is often asked, why didn’t the Irish eat more fish during the Famine? A lot of energy is required to work as a fisherman. Because people were starving they did not have the energy that would be required to go fishing, haul up nets and drag the boats ashore. In addition,some people may have sold their personal belongings in order to survive. This would have included their boats.
In 1856 theCork Constitution published an article onthe role of fish in the diet. It suggested that ‘except in some very poor countries fish is not a primary article of food or an absolute necessary of life’.
So what had changed? In pre-Famine Ireland, fish was seen as a luxury by those who did not live by the sea. It was eaten with bread or potatoes. When the blight struck the potato crops, people stoppedeating fish as well.
This reduced the demand for fish to the extent that themanaging director of the London and West of Ireland Fishing Companyclaimed that ‘the abundance or scarcity of potatoes was found to influence the demand for fish full 50 per cent…’[5]
Despite this, fish remained part of the diet for many of those living in the maritime region of West Cork. Inhabitants of Hare Island described how they storeddried fish at the end of the nineteenth century:
The space on each side of flue was called the “Cúloir”. This was planked from the cross-beam to gable, and cured dry fish was stored in the Cúloir. Every house used to have the two “Cúloir” filled with fish for the winter.[6]
Today, fish is once again popular in West Cork, not just at home but in the restaurants.
Next: Fish in Folklore
Footnotes
[1] Letter dated 2 August 1758, cited in Pádraig Ó Maidín, ‘Poco*cke’s tour of south and south-west Ireland in 1758’ in Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, 1958, Vol. 63, No. 168, pp. 88-9.
[2] Townsend, Statistical Survey, p. 221.
[3] Wakefield, Volume II, p. 93.
[4] Ibid., pp. 91-2.
[5] Cork Constitution, 11 September 1856.
[6] Michael Neill, aged 73, Inishodriscol or Hare Island, Co. Cork, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0296, Page 012.
Share on Twitter on Facebook on Google+
