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3,000 famine victims potentially buried in West Waterford field

3,000 famine victims potentially buried in West Waterford field

An archaeological survey in the Gaeltacht area of West Waterford has taken experts and locals alike by surprise - with the revelation that over 3,000 famine victims could be buried in a field on the outskirts of An Rinn.

Field archaeologist John Tierney, a Cork native, who has been living in Dungarvan for the past 20 years, started mapping hundreds of graves as a lockdown project.

Tierney took a keen interest in the field in the Pulla area of the Gaeltacht. Having received funding from the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) to carry out further research, Tierney used new technologies to expand his studies.

Local historian, Willie Whelan, of Waterford County Museum, explained the process to WLR.

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"John started with a lot of drone technology and lidar technology, which is essentially a photograph taken by lasers. They can measure distance, and see through vegetation and undergrowth. That allows them to see undulations and curves in the ground, that wouldn't be visible to the naked eye. On the current lidar photographs he has, you can actually see individual plots out toward the front of the Pulla graveyard. Out toward the back, there appears to be mass graves."

The effects of the Famine are still felt to this day, with the scale of the disaster only really coming to light nowadays. Whelan says Dungarvan is still nowhere near it's pre-Famine population.

"In 1840, we had a population of 10,000 in Dungarvan - when you strip away all the modern estates, you nearly ask yourself, where were all these people living? By 1920, we had 5,000, and we are still not back up to famine population levels in Dungarvan. In terms of the scale of the disaster in numbers, we had 4,000 people within the workhouses in Dungarvan in 1847. They were completely dependent upon the state food handouts."

There is a vast amount of knowledge among locals about those buried in the field, but up until now there was little to no information regarding where exactly the individuals graves are.

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In the centre of the town, there is also a field where up to 350 cholera victims from 1849 are buried - and Whelan says they were brought to graves in wheelbarrows, such was the rampant nature of the disease.

"On the N25, once you go over by the bridge near the Park Hotel - there's a metal cross in the ground. That probably contains up to 350 people who died in the cholera epidemic of the spring of 1849. Those people were brought to their graves in wheelbarrows."

A report on the research into the Famine graves is due to be submitted to the RIA next month. Whelan says it isn't beyond possibility that the people are buried in the 'long' famine graves - with existing graveyards in the area having became overwhelmed by the number of deaths in the period of Black '47 up to 1849.

The project is also set to help younger people in the area to find out more about the famine and the effects it had upon West Waterford communities. Local Heritage Officer with Waterford City & County Council, Bernadette Guest - is hopeful of developing a schools project in Dungarvan, Ardmore, Clashmore and An Rinn.

Whelan says if anyone will uncover more on the Pulla field, John Tierney will be the man.

"John Tierney is one of the best guys in that area. If anyone can determine what is happening, it will be John. Two things will hopefully come out of the project. The first thing is that we may discover the exact scale and location of the famine pits. I would be hopeful that would happen. The second thing is that people will start talking about and remembering the famine again."

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