0:00:02 > 0:00:06For nearly 20 years, actor Julie Walters has been getting
0:00:06 > 0:00:09stuck in to rural life...
0:00:09 > 0:00:11a far cry from the industrial Midlands
0:00:11 > 0:00:13where she spent her childhood.
0:00:14 > 0:00:19I didn't set out to live on a farm with a farmer.
0:00:19 > 0:00:20I never set out to do that.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23But even though I love a big urban city,
0:00:23 > 0:00:28I always thought, "I want to be living in the countryside."
0:00:28 > 0:00:31That was just like a little fantasy at the back of my head.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Come on.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36'Can't explain it. I love the feel of it.'
0:00:36 > 0:00:37It's earthy.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40What are you barking at?
0:00:40 > 0:00:44It is an utter and complete contrast, you know,
0:00:44 > 0:00:46to working in the business.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48LAUGHTER
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Julie's TV comedy performances are legendary.
0:00:55 > 0:00:56Two soups.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01On the big screen, she shot to international fame
0:01:01 > 0:01:04in the '80s with Educating Rita.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06While starring in Mamma Mia
0:01:06 > 0:01:10and the Harry Potter films has won her a new generation of fans.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16I think that our genes do hugely influence who we are.
0:01:16 > 0:01:21I was drawn to the countryside, so maybe there's some kind
0:01:21 > 0:01:25of link to way back - grandparents and great-grandparents - and I
0:01:25 > 0:01:28hope we're going to be able to find out what they're like,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31to see how much they've influenced who I am.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34I hope there are a few skeletons.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37It would be a bit dull if there aren't any.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39I just hope they're not too embarrassing.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41I want to be able to walk down the street.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44I want to go into Boots and buy my wipes and things like that
0:01:44 > 0:01:46without, "Did you see Who Do You Think You Are?
0:01:46 > 0:01:48"Blimey!"
0:01:48 > 0:01:51You know, I don't... Do you know what I mean?
0:02:28 > 0:02:31I'm just on my way to see my brother, Tom.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34He's kind of the keeper of the family archive, if you like,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38and he's also always had a fascination with where
0:02:38 > 0:02:40we're from and the history of us all.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Julie's mother, Mary O'Brien, grew up in Ireland.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51But in 1938, aged 23, she decided to leave.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Well, my mother, she was a very strong woman
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and she apparently said she was going on a little trip
0:03:01 > 0:03:05to England, and then just didn't go back.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07And then she ended up in Birmingham.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10She got a job as a barmaid, and met my father,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13who was a builder, and that was it.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16In six months they were married and there were letters
0:03:16 > 0:03:19from home saying, "Come home at once," from the grandparents,
0:03:19 > 0:03:24my grandparents, her parents. "Come home. Marrying a man in overalls."
0:03:24 > 0:03:26The couple had three children.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30As a young girl, Julie has vivid memories of her Irish grandmother,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Bridget O'Brien, coming to stay.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37I don't think they ever spoke to one another, her and my father.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40It was all this... She wouldn't look at him, you know.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43And I have to say, she was a bit of a snob.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45But I don't know anything about her history.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47I don't really know anything else.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58You've got the chain on!
0:03:58 > 0:04:01I thought it was the Jehovah's Witnesses again!
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Oh... How are you? For God's sake!
0:04:03 > 0:04:07- I'm all right, thank you, you old fart!- Thank you(!)
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Look at this lot.
0:04:12 > 0:04:13Oh, yeah.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Ahh... Mum and Dad.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19- I love that.- And, erm...
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Her hat. Looks like it's fallen from the ceiling
0:04:22 > 0:04:24- and just landed on her head. - Absolutely, yes.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31I mean, I guess I want to find out more about Mum's side of the family.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34- What's that?- Now, I bet you haven't seen this before.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35It's a reference for Mum,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38when she was coming over from Ireland to England.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Who is that written by?
0:04:40 > 0:04:43- The parish priest, Father McLoughlin.- Oh, I see.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Islandeady, County Mayo, you see. Here, you read that.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49"Mary O'Brien is a girl of excellent character.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53"She is honest, trustworthy, reliable, the daughter of
0:04:53 > 0:04:56"respectable parents, and I feel
0:04:56 > 0:04:58"sure that she will give satisfaction."
0:04:58 > 0:05:02She's the daughter of respectable parents.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05- Oh, yes.- Never seen this before. Fantastic.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Do you remember that one?
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Look at Grandma Bridget.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Me and you and Kevin.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Oh, yes, respectability was such a word from our childhood.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20"Not respectable. No, they're not respectable."
0:05:20 > 0:05:21- I mean...- Yes.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24This snobbery and concern with respectability,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26where does that come from?
0:05:26 > 0:05:30I'd like to know the roots of that.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34We don't know really where Granny... Grandma and Grandad came from.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37We don't know the history of Patrick and Bridget, do we?
0:05:37 > 0:05:38That's right, yeah.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41And you look at the photograph, they do look respectable,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44don't they, with their bowler hat and the ties and...?
0:05:44 > 0:05:46She always looked proud.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48- Proud woman.- Mm.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Have you seen this? Grandma's birth certificate.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Oh, my God!
0:05:54 > 0:05:55No, I've never seen that.
0:05:57 > 0:06:001878! She was born in 1878.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02How brilliant.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Where did this come from?
0:06:04 > 0:06:07- She was born in Westport, so she didn't travel far.- Islandeady.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Islandeady. Oh, my God!
0:06:10 > 0:06:14Bridget. Anthony Clarke.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17So her dad was Anthony and her mum was also Bridget.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24Anthony Clarke, he was a land holder. That's interesting.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27He owned the land. I had no idea.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Mum never told us anything about our great-grandparents.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33This is going to be really interesting, isn't it?
0:06:33 > 0:06:37I can't wait to find out about Anthony Clarke.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39So I guess... Well, I guess we have to go to Ireland.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Julie's great-grandfather, Anthony Clarke,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47was a land holder in County Mayo, on the west coast of Ireland.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Julie's heading to Westport,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08a town near the parish of Islandeady where her family were from.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16So I've got my grandmother Bridget's birth certificate
0:07:16 > 0:07:20and now I'm going to see what I can find out about Anthony Clarke.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Right. Anthony...
0:07:22 > 0:07:28It is Clarke... He's got an "E".
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Julie is searching the 1901 Irish Census.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36So I've put his name in and County Mayo. Right, OK.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41Head of family was Anthony Clarke. Roman Catholic.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Farmer. How lovely.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Oh, I didn't realise there were so many children.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51Seven children. Gosh.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Bridget was 20, she was right in the middle, my grandmother.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58I didn't know anything about this family.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02And now there's more information, it says here.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Oh, this is about the sort of house that they lived in.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09"Exact number of windows in the front of the house - four."
0:08:09 > 0:08:13So it was quite a substantial house.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18And so they had a proper stone-built house.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23So I guess what I want to find out now is how comfortable were they?
0:08:23 > 0:08:25How well off were they?
0:08:25 > 0:08:29What sort of farm was it? How much land?
0:08:29 > 0:08:32And more about Anthony Clarke.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35So I'd like to investigate a bit more.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Julie's on her way to the hamlet of Ballinamorogue, where the
0:08:46 > 0:08:47Clarke family lived.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51- Hello, Owen.- Hello, Julie.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56Today, Owen O'Malley owns the land once farmed by Anthony Clarke.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02So, Owen, is this where my great-grandfather's house was,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04on this spot where yours is?
0:09:04 > 0:09:06This is not it, but I'll tell you, Julie,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09I'll bring you to it now. It's just down the road a couple of hundred
0:09:09 > 0:09:12yards. It starts there. You see the green field beside us?
0:09:12 > 0:09:15- This is where their land starts, here?- Yes, I'll show you it now
0:09:15 > 0:09:16as we pass it by.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19- I've often heard stories of Anthony Clarke.- Have you?!
0:09:19 > 0:09:21A bull attacking him one time.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25- Oh, really? Legendary!- Yes, yes.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Is the house still there?
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Part of the house is here, where the house was.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36- Oh that's...that's all that's left of it?- Yep.
0:09:36 > 0:09:37- So can we go in?- We can, yeah.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41- Even though it's a ruin?- There's one particular room still left in it
0:09:41 > 0:09:44- and it's just where the cattle go into now.- Oh, no!
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Don't expect anything posh.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50- No. No sofa for me to sit on? - There's definitely no sofa!
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Oh, my gosh! Oh!
0:09:53 > 0:09:56This is where the old windows were.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58- You can see them there where they're built up.- Yeah.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00This was their fireplace here.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Yeah. Let me just have a feel of the walls.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05They were here.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09Do you think this is the full extent of the house?
0:10:09 > 0:10:12- No, no.- Oh, it goes further? - It goes further down.
0:10:12 > 0:10:13The house runs down there.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17According to the census, there were four grown-up children
0:10:17 > 0:10:22and the parents and the younger ones, who weren't little,
0:10:22 > 0:10:23- all living here.- Yes.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28Cos it's extraordinary that this is where my grandmother was born.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31What a lovely house.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35I know there's not much left but...
0:10:35 > 0:10:39- There's not much left but at least there's something left.- Yes.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44So, Owen, how many acres do you think they had at that time?
0:10:44 > 0:10:48The Clarkes had roughly about 43-45 acres.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50- So they kept it well?- Oh, very well.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Front of the house was out into the garden.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55- Yeah, looking out. - Lovely flowers and everything.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01They were clearly comfortably off
0:11:01 > 0:11:05and to have a house of the size
0:11:05 > 0:11:07and also terribly well kept,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11with nice gardens and all of that.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15So I'd like to know just where all that came from.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16Did he inherit it?
0:11:16 > 0:11:20How did he come by it? That's what I want to know.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27Genealogist, Nicola Morris, has been researching the Clarke family.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- Hello.- Hello. It's lovely to meet you.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Hi, Nicola, lovely to meet you too.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Apparently my great-grandfather, Anthony Clarke, had 40 acres
0:11:36 > 0:11:41and the house looks pretty good to me, the whole set-up.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- Yes.- And I just wondered, you know,
0:11:44 > 0:11:48how comfortably off was he, do you think, to have this?
0:11:48 > 0:11:51I have some documents here that'll tell us
0:11:51 > 0:11:54a little bit more about the situation of the Clarke family
0:11:54 > 0:11:56and their land holding.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59So the record here was made in 1880.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03So it's two years after your grandmother, Bridget, was born.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05Yeah, yes, she was two. Right.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Anthony Clarke...
0:12:07 > 0:12:09And then this is the acreage here.
0:12:09 > 0:12:1143 acres. Right.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13So he owned quite a lot.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Yeah. But, thing is, they didn't own the property.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18So they didn't own it?
0:12:18 > 0:12:20They didn't own it, no.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24- Anthony Clarke would have been a tenant.- Oh.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30They were tenants, what we call tenants at will.
0:12:30 > 0:12:31So they didn't have a lease.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34That meant that if the landlord decided,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36or if they fell into arrears with their rent, there was
0:12:36 > 0:12:40- a very real possibility that they could have been evicted.- Yeah.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42And this is the landlord, Sir Roger Palmer.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44- Palmer.- Palmer.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Palmer was English and Protestant.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50So the Palmers came into possession of their land in Ireland
0:12:50 > 0:12:51in the 17th century.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59The Palmer family first became landowners in Ireland in the 1680s.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03At the time, the English Crown was seizing land
0:13:03 > 0:13:08from Irish Catholics and giving it to loyal English Protestant
0:13:08 > 0:13:10families, like the Palmers.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16In Anthony's day, 200 years later,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20the whole of Ireland was under British rule.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22His landlord, Sir Roger Palmer, was one of the most
0:13:22 > 0:13:28powerful in Ireland, with over 80,000 acres in County Mayo alone.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33So I have a picture of Roger Palmer,
0:13:33 > 0:13:38who would have been receiving the rents from this property.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41And this is Palmer's house in Dublin.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Oh, OK.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46SHE LAUGHS
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Honestly!
0:13:50 > 0:13:54So this would have been, I suppose, built on the income
0:13:54 > 0:13:57- generated from his estate.- Yes.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00- It is... It illustrates the comparison.- Yeah.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04The owners of the land were that privileged, wealthy minority.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06Living off the backs of these poor people.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Palmer could have decided at any point, whether for arrears
0:14:09 > 0:14:12of rent, or if he wanted to clear the land holdings, that he
0:14:12 > 0:14:16could have had any of the tenants on his land holding evicted.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17- So no security?- No security.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19- Oh, I can't imagine...- That fear.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22- Yeah.- They worked this land. They lived in this land.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23Yes. And worked hard.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26It wasn't as if they were shirkers exactly, was it?
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- No. But they could have lost everything at a moment.- Yeah.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31"We've decided we want the land, so we want them off.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34"Get those... Get the Clarkes off there,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36"we'll have that little bit of land."
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Oh. Yes, yeah.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41And also, the thing is, the quality of the land that they were
0:14:41 > 0:14:44living on wasn't very good quality land.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47And so I think it would have been a struggle for them.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57The boggy land in County Mayo was particularly difficult to farm.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Little would grow apart from potatoes.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05For Anthony, who had four young children to support,
0:15:05 > 0:15:07life was about to get harder still.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15What I have is an account on the State of the West, in the newspaper.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17So it was written in 1879.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21"Having recently made a tour in the west of Ireland, and should the
0:15:21 > 0:15:25"coming winter be as severe as the last, the suffering will be intense.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28"Ruined crops and blighted potatoes are almost universal
0:15:28 > 0:15:31"and hunger stares the people in the face.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35"The exceptional severity of the present year has reduced many
0:15:35 > 0:15:37"persons to the verge of starvation."
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Oh, God. Imagine the harshness of that existence.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47So this comes after several years where the crops had failed
0:15:47 > 0:15:53in Mayo, and it left families in absolutely dire situation.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56There are accounts where you see families who were found
0:15:56 > 0:16:01in small cottages, barely clothed and starving.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Oh, my God! What happened to Anthony, do you know?
0:16:05 > 0:16:08The tenants on this estate, through the parish priest,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10made an appeal to Palmer.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12And published in the newspaper.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15"To Major-General Sir Roger Palmer.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18"The petition of the tenantry of the parish of Islandeady,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22"petitioners wish to inform Your Honour that they feel
0:16:22 > 0:16:25"they will not be able to pay the rents now due in consequence of the
0:16:25 > 0:16:30"depressed state of the country from constant rain, failure of crops.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33"In addition, we wish to inform Your Honour,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36"that almost every tenant on your estate, in order to
0:16:36 > 0:16:40"support their families, have got themselves in debt.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44"For the purpose of seeking to keep their children from almost
0:16:44 > 0:16:47"starving or taking shelter in the workhouse,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51"petitioners humbly hope that Your Honour will direct your worthy
0:16:51 > 0:16:55"agent to give a fair reduction in the half year's rent now due."
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Oh, it's heart-breaking, isn't it?
0:17:01 > 0:17:03They're pleading.
0:17:03 > 0:17:04Oh, gosh.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07It's likely that Anthony Clarke would have been
0:17:07 > 0:17:09one of the petitioners to something like this.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12This would have been a very, very dark time for the Clarke family.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16Yeah. Such a sad little letter.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26It's a completely different story to the one I set out with, in a way.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Land holder didn't mean landowner.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Just the thought of having four small children.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38And also, the land not being brilliant land.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42So they would have had to work so hard, not knowing
0:17:42 > 0:17:45whether the next day you'd be turned off your land.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Can you imagine those circumstances?
0:17:53 > 0:17:55Anthony's landlord, Sir Roger Palmer,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59was well known for evicting farmers who couldn't pay their rent.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03To find out what the threat of eviction really meant,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Julie's on her way to a restored cottage nearby,
0:18:06 > 0:18:10where a family like Anthony's were forced out of their home.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17- Hello.- Hello, welcome. Mary.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Jack.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21And, Jack. Hello.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24This is the eviction cottage.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28I've just seen, erm, my own great-grandfather's cottage
0:18:28 > 0:18:32and I imagine that it would have been like this.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36- It's the same dimensions...- Yes. - ..more or less.- Yeah.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38Yes. We have photographs of the eviction.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Oh, look at them! Policemen.
0:18:41 > 0:18:4450 policemen were there on the day.
0:18:44 > 0:18:4650 policemen to get this little family out.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48To get this family out, yes, yes.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55Oh! Presumably, all these policemen are here in case they resist.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Yes. Yeah.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00And they battered the wall down.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Yeah. And this is the battering ram they used...
0:19:04 > 0:19:05Oh!
0:19:05 > 0:19:10..to demolish the front wall of the house and windows and doors
0:19:10 > 0:19:13so they couldn't get back into it, to live in it again.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15- No!- Yeah.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20How terrible. It's unbelievably inhumane, isn't it?
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- So sad.- So sad. Yeah.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Yeah, it was horrific.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29So you can't go back. Making the building useless.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31They couldn't possibly return to it.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34No. They must have lived in terror, the people around here.
0:19:34 > 0:19:35Yes. Yeah, yeah.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43WIND HOWLS
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Amazing, the wind.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52A family of nine lived in it.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Same number as Anthony Clarke's family.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59This was like my great-grandfather's house.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12You could never have relaxed, cos you'd never know, all through
0:20:12 > 0:20:17your life, whether you were going to be thrown out at a moment's notice.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Makes me want to cry.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45The thought of people huddling in places like this with no food.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48How desperate they must have been.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51They knew they couldn't pay the rent. The crops had failed.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53The winters were bad.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58And, of course, that petition that Anthony and his neighbours wrote
0:20:58 > 0:21:01to Palmer, has much greater significance,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04having seen this and the photographs.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08People need to be reminded of what happened.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12I don't think people realise... Well, I never did.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18The letter, you know, "Please, sir...", you know, humbly, you know,
0:21:18 > 0:21:23it's so painful to read that, and I wonder, did they get a response?
0:21:23 > 0:21:25What happened?
0:21:30 > 0:21:34The petition for a rent reduction was sent to Anthony's landlord
0:21:34 > 0:21:36in October 1879.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40To find out how Sir Roger Palmer reacted,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Julie's meeting historian Dr Carla King.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47Anthony Clarke, my great-grandfather,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49he petitioned, along with his neighbours.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52I just wondered if you could shed any light on that at all?
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Yes. I have this to show you.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58This is the Connaught Telegraph.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01"November 22nd 1879.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04"A large and important meeting of tenant farmers was
0:22:04 > 0:22:06"held in Islandeady.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09"Sir Roger Palmer is the principal landlord in the locality
0:22:09 > 0:22:13"and it was on account of his refusal to reduce his rents that the
0:22:13 > 0:22:16"meeting was summoned."
0:22:16 > 0:22:19- So Palmer didn't lower the rent? - He didn't lower the rents.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23He could have afforded to give them a rent reduction. He just wouldn't.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Palmer was a tough landlord.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30"No more evictions." It was like a demonstration.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32It was a demonstration. That's exactly... Yes.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Ah. Oh, yes.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37"Down with rack-rents." What does that mean?
0:22:37 > 0:22:39A rack-rent is a rent, it was too high.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42- Oh, right.- It's exploitative.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45"Reduction or no rent. The land for the people."
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Yes!
0:22:47 > 0:22:50And then you see, amongst those present. There's your...
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Oh, here, I can see his name here.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56"Anthony Clarke, Secretary." He was secretary.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58So what would that have meant?
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Well, he was the secretary of the local branch of the Land League.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03Right.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06- And this was a new organisation. - The Land League, this is?
0:23:06 > 0:23:07The Land League.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11And at first... It started first in Mayo, was really very important.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15It was small tenants taking on a system that had been
0:23:15 > 0:23:16there for centuries.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18So what were they actually fighting for?
0:23:18 > 0:23:20- Prevent evictions.- Yes.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24They were also trying to gain rent reductions.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27And in the long term, an end to the landlord tenant system.
0:23:27 > 0:23:28Mm. Yeah.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32So that people had their own property and their own land.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34"Land for the people.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37"For the purpose of protesting against eviction."
0:23:37 > 0:23:38"Pay no rent."
0:23:38 > 0:23:41So no-one had ever done that sort of thing,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44like withdrawn rent, no-one had ever done that before?
0:23:44 > 0:23:47No. These were people with really no power.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50- So what they use is strength of solidarity.- Yes.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Passive resistance.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54So Anthony was one of the people who started this?
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Right at the beginning, yes.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59- I'm so proud, really!- Yes.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04The Land League was a revolutionary movement.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09It was the first time tenant farmers had united against their
0:24:09 > 0:24:14British landlords, and Anthony Clarke was at the heart of it.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22"A meeting was held on Sunday in Islandeady.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25"About 2,000 or 3,000 persons present."
0:24:25 > 0:24:29Gosh, they must have come from miles around. Oh!
0:24:29 > 0:24:32"It was unanimously resolved that the Chair would be
0:24:32 > 0:24:34"taken by Mr Anthony Clarke.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36"Amongst those present were
0:24:36 > 0:24:41"Messrs Anthony Clarke, Denis Duffy, John O'Brien, Patrick O'Brien."
0:24:41 > 0:24:43Are these my relatives?
0:24:43 > 0:24:48Yes. John O'Brien, that's your great-grandfather.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54So John O'Brien is my grandfather, Patrick O'Brien's father?
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Yes.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58And he's my great-grandfather on the other side.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00- They were both here!- They were.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03They obviously knew one another, my two great-grandfathers.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07- Yes.- They probably lived a couple of hundred yards from one another.
0:25:07 > 0:25:13That's fantastic! Oh, gosh. Oh! Anthony Clarke.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15So he chaired this meeting.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17He was pretty significant, wasn't he?
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Yes. And it was a brave thing to do because...
0:25:19 > 0:25:23- Well, yes.- Yeah, there could have been reprisals.- Terrifying.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26He could have ended up in jail.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28But also, there was the danger of losing your farm.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31- If you were known as an agitator... - Yes.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33..then the landlord might have it in for you.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Yes. And he had a big family.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38- So he was taking...- So Anthony Clarke was taking a big risk.
0:25:38 > 0:25:39He was taking a risk.
0:25:45 > 0:25:51Landlords like Palmer refused to give in to Land League demands.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55Across the country, violent clashes erupted between the authorities
0:25:55 > 0:25:57and Land League supporters.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04With Ireland in turmoil, the British Government took urgent action.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Officials arrived from London to take evidence from both sides.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15In October 1880, Anthony found himself
0:26:15 > 0:26:18answering their questions at the local courthouse.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Julie, we have actual minutes of evidence
0:26:28 > 0:26:32- of what Anthony Clarke said before it.- Great.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36Oh, that's brilliant. "Mr Anthony Clarke."
0:26:36 > 0:26:41So the Chairman says, "Who is your landlord?" "Sir Roger Palmer."
0:26:41 > 0:26:44"Is Mr O'Donnell the agent there?" "Yes."
0:26:44 > 0:26:47"And your rent?" "£19."
0:26:47 > 0:26:51"Have you lost any land at any time lately?"
0:26:51 > 0:26:53"I did, sir," he says.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56"He took two acres of arable land that was worth what
0:26:56 > 0:26:59"we were paying for it - £1 an acre.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02"And then the rent was left the same on me."
0:27:02 > 0:27:04So they took the two acres and...
0:27:04 > 0:27:07- And still charged the same.- Yeah.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10"The rest of my land is almost entirely rock
0:27:10 > 0:27:15"and three-fourths of it is bog and one-fourth is cut-away bog."
0:27:15 > 0:27:18They put all that work in and reclaimed it and then
0:27:18 > 0:27:20they took the reclaimed land.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24"And you get no allowance for the part taken off?"
0:27:24 > 0:27:26he says to him. And he says, "No."
0:27:26 > 0:27:29It really means that he's standing before the commission
0:27:29 > 0:27:32to put his case for what he sees
0:27:32 > 0:27:34as the arbitrary powers of the landlord.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37When you say arbitrary power, you mean that the landlord can
0:27:37 > 0:27:40- just on a whim do what he wants, basically?- Can do what he wants
0:27:40 > 0:27:43and a lot of tenants would be frightened to speak.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Yes. Yes. So it's very brave, actually, isn't it?
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Yeah, I think it is, yeah. I think it is. It's dangerous.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Anthony's grievances against his landlord, Palmer,
0:27:55 > 0:27:57were now on record.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01The testimony that he and others gave
0:28:01 > 0:28:04laid bare the injustices of the system.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09So what came out of this report for tenant farmers?
0:28:09 > 0:28:15- Did they gain anything from this? - Yes. By the beginning of 1881,
0:28:15 > 0:28:19the British Government pretty well acts on their recommendations.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22The tenant has greater protections.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27The fixing of rent levels is no longer entirely up to the landlord.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31Right. Yes! How fantastic.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Although new legislation was introduced to set fairer rents,
0:28:40 > 0:28:45for tenant farmers like Anthony, it didn't go far enough.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49He could still be evicted from his home
0:28:49 > 0:28:52and had no right to buy his land.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55The battle for reform was far from over.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00So the fact that he stood up
0:29:00 > 0:29:05and was a key figure in the Land League, were there repercussions?
0:29:05 > 0:29:09This is not very long afterwards.
0:29:09 > 0:29:14"List of persons whose arrest is recommended under Provisions of
0:29:14 > 0:29:19"the Bill for the better Protection of Person and Property in Ireland."
0:29:19 > 0:29:23And if you look down the list, you will see here...
0:29:23 > 0:29:27Ah... Anthony Clarke. There he is.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31This is a list of local ringleaders,
0:29:31 > 0:29:36or dangerous persons, who they are going to intern
0:29:36 > 0:29:38without trial.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40Oh, my God!
0:29:40 > 0:29:44"The crime of which suspected -
0:29:44 > 0:29:49"organising many agrarian outrages." God!
0:29:49 > 0:29:52They're saying that he's inciting people,
0:29:52 > 0:29:57through his public speeches, so he is precisely the kind of person
0:29:57 > 0:30:03that they need to detain and stop all this Land League organisation.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06- Right. Get rid of the troublemakers. - Yeah.
0:30:06 > 0:30:07Just get them out the way.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09Everyone else will do as they're told.
0:30:11 > 0:30:16In October 1881, the British Government banned the Land League.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Its leaders were rounded up and imprisoned.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Anthony was now a marked man.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28Was he arrested? Is there evidence that...?
0:30:28 > 0:30:32We can't tell from this because all it's telling us
0:30:32 > 0:30:33is that he's listed for arrest.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37But we don't seem to have any evidence at all
0:30:37 > 0:30:41that he is actually detained.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44Yes, yeah. Gosh!
0:30:45 > 0:30:49But one of the really important movements
0:30:49 > 0:30:52when all of these men are locked up
0:30:52 > 0:30:55is, if you'd like to just have a look here...
0:30:55 > 0:30:58"Islandeady, County Mayo.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02"A branch of the Ladies' Land League has been established here
0:31:02 > 0:31:06"with the following officers - Miss Kate Doyle, president,
0:31:06 > 0:31:13"Mrs J O'Brien, treasurer." Is she a relative?
0:31:14 > 0:31:18Well, she's got to be John O'Brien's wife, my great-grandfather's wife.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22- Yeah. Your other great-grandfather. - Yes! How...?
0:31:22 > 0:31:24"Mrs J O'Brien."
0:31:24 > 0:31:25And she is, if you look carefully...
0:31:25 > 0:31:31And she's treasurer. Fantastic. How exciting.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35The Ladies' Land League.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38I'm absolutely thrilled that it wasn't just the men,
0:31:38 > 0:31:41that my great-grandmother was involved in the movement as well.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43How fabulous. As a woman, I'm just thrilled.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45I can't wait to find out more about her.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49- But we don't know that Anthony's been interned?- We don't know.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52In so far as we can work out, at the moment,
0:31:52 > 0:31:55the trail just goes completely cold on him.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57So what's happened to him?
0:32:06 > 0:32:08Nicola, I just wondered if you...
0:32:08 > 0:32:11Julie's calling genealogist Nicola Morris, to see
0:32:11 > 0:32:15if she can find out what happened to Anthony Clarke after 1881.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19OK. Bye-bye.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31While she waits to hear from Nicola, Julie wants to know
0:32:31 > 0:32:35more about her great-grandmother, Mrs John O'Brien,
0:32:35 > 0:32:39who was a treasurer in the Ladies' Land League.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43I'm absolutely thrilled that my great-grandparents
0:32:43 > 0:32:45were radicals, because I'd no idea.
0:32:46 > 0:32:51So maybe the snobbery thing of my grandmother, Bridget Clarke,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54obviously the daughter of Anthony Clarke, writing to my mother
0:32:54 > 0:32:57and saying, "Come home at once. Marrying a man in overalls!"
0:32:57 > 0:33:02You know, I think that was, "You come from these significant leaders
0:33:02 > 0:33:04"and, you know, the leaders of our community
0:33:04 > 0:33:07"and you're marrying a builder," sort of thing, you know.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09I think it was more that.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12It suddenly gave them... That's what I think, it gave them
0:33:12 > 0:33:17prestige and importance and don't forget it, you know.
0:33:17 > 0:33:18Do you know what I mean?
0:33:18 > 0:33:22They were real people standing up for their rights.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26And it seems my great-grandmother was part of the Ladies' Land League.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29I mean, I didn't even realise there was such a thing.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33I hope we can find out more about her and how radical she was.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45Julie's come to Dublin, where the Ladies' Land League
0:33:45 > 0:33:47had their headquarters.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54Key records are kept here at the National Library.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02There's a really interesting document here, Julie,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05that describes exactly what the Ladies' Land League were
0:34:05 > 0:34:08and why they were set up.
0:34:08 > 0:34:09Ah!
0:34:09 > 0:34:13"The Ladies' Irish National Land League. To Our Countrywomen.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15"Women of Ireland,
0:34:15 > 0:34:20"you must do your duty whilst your countymen do theirs.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23"Be ready at last to help the evicted sufferers
0:34:23 > 0:34:25"in every part of Ireland.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27"You cannot prevent the evictions,
0:34:27 > 0:34:32"but you can and must prevent them from becoming massacres."
0:34:32 > 0:34:34- This is 1881.- 1881.
0:34:34 > 0:34:35Yes.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38- Gosh.- So this was a call to the women of Ireland
0:34:38 > 0:34:41because all of the leaders of the Land League were in prison.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44The ladies collected money from all over the country.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46The idea was to try and get people to
0:34:46 > 0:34:48stay in their properties as long as possible and not be evicted.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50Heroines, they were.
0:34:50 > 0:34:51Heroines.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55Here is the Nation newspaper and the Ladies' Land League.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01"The weekly meeting of the Ladies' Land League was held on Tuesday.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03"There was a large attendance.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06"The treasurer announced that the grants to evicted tenants,
0:35:06 > 0:35:14"prisoners' families, etc, amounted to £889 11s 10d."
0:35:14 > 0:35:15Gosh.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19"The following sums have been received since -
0:35:19 > 0:35:22"Islandeady, Ladies' Land League, County Mayo,
0:35:22 > 0:35:28"per Mrs O'Brien, Miss Doyle and Miss Fitzgerald, £2."
0:35:28 > 0:35:32So they've raised £2. Oh, love them.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36Oh, that shows how poor they were in Islandeady. Aw!
0:35:38 > 0:35:40Being the first mentioned there,
0:35:40 > 0:35:44she's obviously of some significance, Mrs O'Brien.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46So do you know what her name was?
0:35:46 > 0:35:47Maria.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49- Maria.- Maria O'Brien.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52- Yes.- She was managing the money for all of these different funds.
0:35:52 > 0:35:53- So people who were evicted... - Yes.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57..had a fund. The prisoners were also given a fund.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59- Right. - And the prisoners' wives
0:35:59 > 0:36:02and families were also looked after by the Ladies' Land League.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05And it would have been your great-grandmother's job to
0:36:05 > 0:36:08make sure that all of this was properly accounted for.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11This probably would have been the treasurer with the pen there
0:36:11 > 0:36:13- or the quill.- Oh, how wonderful.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16That could be my great-grandmother Maria.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20It was absolutely essential that pristine accounting happened
0:36:20 > 0:36:23- in every single branch.- So they could never be questioned.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26There could never be a question raised about the financial
0:36:26 > 0:36:28management of the Ladies' Land League.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30How big was this organisation?
0:36:30 > 0:36:33Around about 400 branches of the Ladies' Land League existed.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35And this is the first time that women were
0:36:35 > 0:36:38organised like this in Ireland.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Let me show you this document.
0:36:40 > 0:36:41Gosh! Look at this.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44It's a little bit of light reading, Julie!
0:36:44 > 0:36:46- Yeah!- Here we go.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49The Archbishop of Dublin issued a pastoral letter that was
0:36:49 > 0:36:52read out in every church in his diocese
0:36:52 > 0:36:56and this is what he had to say about the Ladies' Land League.
0:36:56 > 0:37:01"The modesty of her daughters was the ancient glory of Ireland.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03"But all this is now to be laid aside
0:37:03 > 0:37:08"and the daughters of our Catholic people, under the flimsy pretext
0:37:08 > 0:37:13"of charity, to take their stand in the noisy arena of public life.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16"They are asked to forget the modesty of their sex
0:37:16 > 0:37:17"and the high dignity of
0:37:17 > 0:37:21"their womanhood by leaders who seem utterly reckless of consequences."
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Well!
0:37:26 > 0:37:29So what was the response to this?
0:37:29 > 0:37:32There was an immediate flood of new members of the Ladies' Land League.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35- No!- It had completely the opposite effect.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37So they... Oh, how wonderful.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40They... They went against it. Oh, I'm thrilled.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42I am thrilled.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45But still quite scary for them to have that.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48- It is...- Coming from above. Yeah, you stop this or else.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51- Stop what you're doing or else. - Yes.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54- The word feminism hadn't been invented then...- No.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56- ..but certainly this was... - Early...
0:37:56 > 0:37:58- ..a feminist movement. - Yes.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01It was an absolute, you know, display of civil disobedience.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03And strength and unity.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05- Strength and unity. - How fantastic.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08Nothing like this had ever happened before.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10At rallies all over the country, they would stand on the public
0:38:10 > 0:38:13platform and shout about their rights.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16So were any of the women arrested?
0:38:16 > 0:38:19Women were randomly, at different times.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21And nobody ever knew how long they would be kept for.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24- So your great-great-grandmother... - How terrifying.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26At that time that she joined the Ladies' Land League
0:38:26 > 0:38:28she had seven children.
0:38:28 > 0:38:29She had seven?
0:38:29 > 0:38:32She'd had a child in 1881, so she had a babe-in-arms.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34I mean, just with a small child,
0:38:34 > 0:38:37how vulnerable you would feel with having children.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39So proud of her.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46Patricia has found information that takes Julie back another generation.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51We know your great-grandmother Maria, her maiden name was Buchanan.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53Buchanan. Right.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57Right. And her father was Mr C Buchanan.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00We have this Connaught Telegraph that will tell you a little
0:39:00 > 0:39:03bit more about Mr Buchanan.
0:39:04 > 0:39:10"Westport Board of Guardians. To the Nobility and Gentry of Westport.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12"The five undernamed poor labourers of High Street
0:39:12 > 0:39:16"most humbly showeth that they and poor families are in a starving
0:39:16 > 0:39:21"and famishing state owing to the bad weather, having no employment.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25"Some of the poor petitioners had in the time that passed to sell
0:39:25 > 0:39:28"some of their little furniture and their cooking utensils to
0:39:28 > 0:39:31"provide a little food for themselves and families.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35"The poor petitioners most humbly beg the gentlemen of the board to
0:39:35 > 0:39:38"grant them a little relief and they will ever pray.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44"Mr John Louden proposed that they be allowed outdoor
0:39:44 > 0:39:46"relief for a fortnight."
0:39:47 > 0:39:50In the late 19th century, a grant of money was the most common
0:39:50 > 0:39:53form of outdoor relief.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57Without it, families risked ending up in the workhouse.
0:39:57 > 0:40:03"Against - Lord John Browne, JS Smith and C Buchanan."
0:40:03 > 0:40:07So Buchanan was against giving them some relief.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09I can't bear it! No!
0:40:11 > 0:40:15So this would be great-great-grandfather,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17Cummins Buchanan.
0:40:17 > 0:40:18I wonder why.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20And I mean...
0:40:20 > 0:40:24You know, his daughter was involved with the Ladies' Land League.
0:40:24 > 0:40:25Oh, I'd love to know more about him.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27Cummins Buchanan.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35To find out why her great-great-grandfather,
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Cummins Buchanan, voted against giving relief
0:40:38 > 0:40:42to the poor families, Julie is heading back to County Mayo.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56She's come to Westport House, the seat of the Marquis of Sligo.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58He was Cummins Buchanan's landlord,
0:40:58 > 0:41:02and one of the biggest landowners in Ireland.
0:41:02 > 0:41:03Hello.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06Hello, Julie.
0:41:06 > 0:41:11She's meeting Dr Sean Lucey, who's been researching her ancestor.
0:41:14 > 0:41:19Sean, I've found out my great-great-grandfather,
0:41:19 > 0:41:25Cummins Buchanan, voted against helping these poor labourers.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28And I just wondered why would he have voted against these men,
0:41:28 > 0:41:29do you think?
0:41:29 > 0:41:33It's undoubtedly supporting Lord John Browne,
0:41:33 > 0:41:38brother and heir to the Marquis of Sligo - Cummins' landlord.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42So presumably, Cummins Buchanan is in with his landlord.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47This will hopefully shed some more light
0:41:47 > 0:41:49on why he's been voting with his landlord.
0:41:49 > 0:41:50Ah.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52So if you have a look here.
0:41:52 > 0:41:59"Mr...Cummin Buchanan takes the land which has been
0:41:59 > 0:42:07"surrendered by Denis McDonnell at the yearly rent of £5 sterling."
0:42:07 > 0:42:08Oh, no.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12So he's been given land, someone else has had to take...
0:42:12 > 0:42:15surrender their... Why would O'Donnell have surrendered the land?
0:42:15 > 0:42:18Well, that indicates that the land was given up
0:42:18 > 0:42:20most probably because of eviction.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22Ah! I can't bear it.
0:42:25 > 0:42:32He was evicted and Lord Sligo gave the land to Cummins Buchanan.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35He was well in with his landlord, wasn't he?
0:42:35 > 0:42:37It looks like Cummins was a land grabber.
0:42:39 > 0:42:44Land grabbers took over the land seized from evicted tenant farmers.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Men like Cummins Buchanan,
0:42:48 > 0:42:53who profited from their neighbours' losses, were shunned by the community.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00You can imagine how contentious this would be.
0:43:00 > 0:43:01Yes, it would be.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05And surely his daughter, fighting with the Land League,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09and he's there, in the community, taking land.
0:43:09 > 0:43:10I mean...
0:43:10 > 0:43:12But they're actively on opposing sides.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Yes, actively. They weren't just... No, absolutely.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17For a woman in those days
0:43:17 > 0:43:21to politically stand out against her father in that position,
0:43:21 > 0:43:23that must have caused huge ructions in the family.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25Exactly.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27And we can see the motivation for supporting
0:43:27 > 0:43:30the landlord in that he gets access to this land.
0:43:30 > 0:43:36So it really, I think, demonstrates a lot about Cummins' personality.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39He probably felt safer staying on the landlord's side.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42Cos he had done well out of it, hadn't he?
0:43:42 > 0:43:43- Well, he had.- Yeah.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46And this particular plot of land, even though it's quite small,
0:43:46 > 0:43:48it is quite valuable.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52Yes. So hard to give up in those poverty-stricken times.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54For sure.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57Yeah. He's just a tenant farmer like everyone else.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00So to go and take it off another farmer...
0:44:01 > 0:44:05Land was just so, so precious, wasn't it?
0:44:05 > 0:44:08Gosh, an extraordinary thing.
0:44:08 > 0:44:10Is there anything else in here, do you know?
0:44:10 > 0:44:13Well, he does seem to drop off the radar.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Got a habit of dropping off the radar, my family, it seems,
0:44:16 > 0:44:18from what I've found out since I've been here.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20The other side have dropped off the radar as well.
0:44:25 > 0:44:30When I first saw that he'd turned down help
0:44:30 > 0:44:36for these poor, starving men, I thought, "Oh, no."
0:44:36 > 0:44:39My heart, I have to say, my heart sank.
0:44:39 > 0:44:44To then find that he had taken land... Not condoning it at all,
0:44:44 > 0:44:47but I can understand why if someone had the opportunity
0:44:47 > 0:44:50to get a bit more land that they would take it.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53And like everyone, really, he was, you know,
0:44:53 > 0:44:56doing the best for his family, as he saw it.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00I'm not going to get angry at him,
0:45:00 > 0:45:04although I think it's a dreadful thing to do.
0:45:05 > 0:45:10What comes out of this is how strong Maria O'Brien was
0:45:10 > 0:45:14in order to do what she did at that time, with that father.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17I mean, I found it difficult to go against my mother,
0:45:17 > 0:45:20an O'Brien, you know, to become an actress.
0:45:20 > 0:45:21That was really hard.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23I had to get people to stand in-between us.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26So you know, it's very easy to sort of vilify one lot
0:45:26 > 0:45:29and beatify the others, and I don't want to do that, really.
0:45:29 > 0:45:34But as I say, I would be on the side of Maria and John and Anthony Clarke.
0:45:39 > 0:45:44Back at Julie's hotel, a letter has arrived from genealogist Nicola.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49She's been on the trail of Anthony Clarke,
0:45:49 > 0:45:54Julie's great-grandfather, last heard of in 1881.
0:45:55 > 0:46:01"Dear Julie, have uncovered the following document in 1884."
0:46:01 > 0:46:03Right.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07"Report of outrage."
0:46:07 > 0:46:09Oh, my God!
0:46:09 > 0:46:13"Assault endangering life."
0:46:14 > 0:46:17So, what's that all about?
0:46:17 > 0:46:20"Westport, May 23rd, 1884.
0:46:20 > 0:46:25"I have to report that last evening, at about 5pm,
0:46:25 > 0:46:29"a man named Anthony Clarke assaulted an old car driver
0:46:29 > 0:46:34"named James Joyce in this town very seriously.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38"Clarke, who is a returned American,
0:46:38 > 0:46:41"was under the influence of drink
0:46:41 > 0:46:47"and..." and...looks like "rushing about in an excited manner
0:46:47 > 0:46:54"with an open pocket knife daring any Westport person to touch him."
0:46:56 > 0:47:02So Anthony Clarke... Anthony Clarke has been had up for assault!
0:47:02 > 0:47:03With a knife!
0:47:07 > 0:47:09My mother never told me anything about that!
0:47:11 > 0:47:15James Joyce, 75 years.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Not the playwright, I take it!
0:47:18 > 0:47:21That would have been slightly ironic.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24"Who is a returned American."
0:47:24 > 0:47:27He must have gone to America
0:47:27 > 0:47:30when he was put on a list to be arrested, presumably.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34"He was rushing about in an excited manner."
0:47:34 > 0:47:36"Come on!"
0:47:36 > 0:47:38One of those, was he, with the knife?
0:47:38 > 0:47:39"Go on, come on!"
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Anthony Clarke, the hero.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48God, he could have killed him, couldn't he,
0:47:48 > 0:47:50the knife and an old man?
0:47:50 > 0:47:52Could have been murder.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05Julie wants to know what happened next,
0:48:05 > 0:48:07so she's come to Dublin Castle.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12Historian Dr Heather Laird
0:48:12 > 0:48:15has found more records relating to Anthony's case.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20You've seen an outrage report already
0:48:20 > 0:48:21which talks about the assault.
0:48:21 > 0:48:22Yes.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25And about your great-grandfather being a returned American...
0:48:25 > 0:48:27American. So I imagined that
0:48:27 > 0:48:31because he'd been on an arrest list, he'd escaped to America.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34That is a possibility, but I think another possibility,
0:48:34 > 0:48:37he's there on fundraising activities for the Land League.
0:48:37 > 0:48:38Right.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42Now, it says here he has assaulted an older man.
0:48:42 > 0:48:43- Yes.- And...
0:48:43 > 0:48:44- James Joyce.- James Joyce.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46- Hopefully not the novelist?- No.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48Or his grand...or his antecedents.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50Not that we know of. There were a lot of...
0:48:50 > 0:48:53Joyce is a very common name in the West of Ireland.
0:48:53 > 0:48:54Yeah.
0:48:54 > 0:48:55So, following the assault,
0:48:55 > 0:48:59an investigation would have been opened up,
0:48:59 > 0:49:03and the records relating to that were kept here in Dublin Castle.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05Right.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09So this is a month... This is a few days later, isn't it?
0:49:09 > 0:49:11No, it's a few days later.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14"I beg to state that James Joyce,
0:49:14 > 0:49:17"who was assaulted by Anthony Clarke on the 22nd...
0:49:17 > 0:49:19"..died last evening
0:49:19 > 0:49:25"from the in...injuries he received on that occasion."
0:49:25 > 0:49:26Oh, my God!
0:49:27 > 0:49:31"A coroner's inquest will be held on the body tomorrow.
0:49:31 > 0:49:36"Anthony Clarke is in Castlebar Jail on remand charges
0:49:36 > 0:49:40"with the assault and will now be charged with murder."
0:49:40 > 0:49:41Oh, my God!
0:49:42 > 0:49:44Oh, my God!
0:49:46 > 0:49:49I'm, like, having a hot flush now.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53It's a dramatic... It's a very dramatic turn of events.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57Oh! Yes. Oh, my God!
0:49:57 > 0:49:59Oh, no!
0:50:01 > 0:50:06I have here a newspaper account of the inquest.
0:50:06 > 0:50:12"Inquest at Westport for which a man is at present in custody.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16"We find that the deceased, James Joyce, died suddenly
0:50:16 > 0:50:22"in Westport from an apoplectic seizure or natural causes."
0:50:24 > 0:50:25Right.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28So he didn't die from the effects of the attack?
0:50:28 > 0:50:30- No. Apoplectic seizure... - Apoplectic, yes.
0:50:30 > 0:50:31..is like a stroke.
0:50:31 > 0:50:36- Right, OK, so he died of a stroke. Or natural causes.- Yeah.
0:50:36 > 0:50:37But I think what's interesting here,
0:50:37 > 0:50:42if there was any injury on the body, that will be reported in an inquest.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45- So there's no mention of stab wounds?- No.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47Which I don't understand.
0:50:47 > 0:50:48Were there any witnesses?
0:50:48 > 0:50:52What the witnesses say is that James Joyce, who was a taxi driver,
0:50:52 > 0:50:54was driving through the town
0:50:54 > 0:50:58and Anthony Clarke crosses over and says something.
0:50:58 > 0:51:03All of the witnesses say that James Joyce carries on through
0:51:03 > 0:51:04the town down to the hotel.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06Yes, he obviously wasn't stabbed, was he?
0:51:06 > 0:51:09So if he was feeling... if he was badly injured,
0:51:09 > 0:51:12you're hardly going to carry on with your day's work.
0:51:12 > 0:51:13No.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16This has to do with the trial itself.
0:51:16 > 0:51:20"The Grand Jury ignored the bill for manslaughter and found
0:51:20 > 0:51:25"one for common assault, on which count the accused was convicted."
0:51:25 > 0:51:28So they got... So he was had up for common assault.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32Common assault, um, it's the lowest form of assault charge.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34Yes, like a slap.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36And actually, it doesn't even... you don't even have to physically
0:51:36 > 0:51:39touch somebody to be found guilty of common assault.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42Yes, because in the coroner's report, there's not even...he's not
0:51:42 > 0:51:45- saying he's got bruises or he's got anything.- There's nothing.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48All they were confident that they could convict him for
0:51:48 > 0:51:51was acting in a threatening manner.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53Yes. Threatening behaviour.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56Yes, so that first report was a gross exaggeration.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58Gross exaggeration.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02So it sounds like trumped-up stuff.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06Maybe the police had it in for Anthony Clarke in some way
0:52:06 > 0:52:11because he was an activist, a bit of a...seen as a troublemaker,
0:52:11 > 0:52:13anti-landlord sort of person -
0:52:13 > 0:52:15"Oh, let's get him, we'll get him now" sort of thing.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19I think so. And interpret the event in the worst possible way,
0:52:19 > 0:52:23- and we know already that they had wanted to imprison him.- Yeah.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25And clearly the charges, I think,
0:52:25 > 0:52:28have to be viewed in terms of that desire,
0:52:28 > 0:52:30- the desire to...- Get him.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32..to get him.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35Sounds as if there was a little bit of aggro on the street...
0:52:35 > 0:52:38- Yes.- ..and he finds himself in prison waiting for a trial...
0:52:38 > 0:52:40- Charged with murder!- Yes, exactly.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42That's awful. Yeah.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45And did they say he was drunk?
0:52:45 > 0:52:49The judge warns about the, you know, trouble with...the evils of alcohol.
0:52:49 > 0:52:50A drop might have been taken.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54Yes, yes. The judge simply dismisses the case and tells him
0:52:54 > 0:52:56that in future he should behave himself.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59The first report says he was running amok with a knife.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03- I know.- He was... I mean, one minute he was a hero,
0:53:03 > 0:53:04the next minute he's a criminal.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06I thought, "Oh, no!"
0:53:06 > 0:53:10Not only that, but the worst kind of criminal, he'd murdered somebody.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13Oh! I'm so relieved that he didn't murder anyone.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17I'm so relieved. Anthony Clarke.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19Have to write a script about him.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24What a life he's had!
0:53:25 > 0:53:28Gosh. That's great. Thank you.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37By 1903, after new legislation,
0:53:37 > 0:53:41many tenant farmers in Ireland were able to buy their land.
0:53:42 > 0:53:47For Anthony Clarke, his years of campaigning against landlords
0:53:47 > 0:53:51like Sir Roger Palmer finally looked set to pay off.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02So, Gerard, what happened to him?
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Did he ever get to own his land, Anthony Clarke?
0:54:05 > 0:54:08I have got a document here
0:54:08 > 0:54:11which might explain what has taken place.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16"Particulars of buildings and lands."
0:54:16 > 0:54:23Ah. "Anthony Clarke deceased, who died on the 31st October,
0:54:23 > 0:54:28"1918, Ballinamorogue, Islandeady, Mayo.
0:54:29 > 0:54:34"Tenure of deceased's interest. Tenancy from year to year."
0:54:36 > 0:54:38So he hadn't bought it when he died?
0:54:38 > 0:54:40No.
0:54:40 > 0:54:45- Oh, he still didn't get his land, after all that.- Exactly.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48- So sad.- Palmer declines to sell the estate.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Why? Why did he...
0:54:51 > 0:54:53It may have been that Clarke
0:54:53 > 0:54:58and Palmer had been at loggerheads for so long, maybe Palmer did
0:54:58 > 0:55:02not want to allow Clarke and the other tenants to own their lands.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06He still didn't get it. I think that's sad.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08After all that huge fight.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10It is, yes.
0:55:10 > 0:55:15Especially the fact that in 1917, 99% of the tenant farmers
0:55:15 > 0:55:20were now owners of their own land, but Anthony Clarke was not.
0:55:20 > 0:55:26- Wasn't. 99% owned their farms, and he didn't.- Exactly.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30It's awful, really, that after being an activist for all those years
0:55:30 > 0:55:36and putting his neck on the... on the line that he still never got
0:55:36 > 0:55:39to own his land, that Palmer would not give in.
0:55:39 > 0:55:46It is not until 1923 that the last landowners like the Palmers
0:55:46 > 0:55:49are forced to sell their Irish estates.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55He's dead then, of course.
0:56:00 > 0:56:06In 1923, a year after Ireland gained independence, new laws were finally
0:56:06 > 0:56:12passed forcing landowners to sell land to their Irish tenant farmers.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16But it came five years too late for Anthony,
0:56:16 > 0:56:19who died without ever owning his land.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23Hello, Joe.
0:56:23 > 0:56:27Julie's come to the Islandeady parish graveyard.
0:56:27 > 0:56:32Joe, I believe my great-grandfather is buried here.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35For sure we can know this because we have the obituary.
0:56:35 > 0:56:39- Right.- From the Connacht Telegraph in Castlebar.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42There's an awful lot of tenant farmers buried here,
0:56:42 > 0:56:46but they wouldn't have any money to erect a headstone.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48So his grave is unmarked.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50Right. Oh! Thank you very much, Joe.
0:56:50 > 0:56:51OK, Julie.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00"Death of Mr Anthony Clarke, Islandeady.
0:57:00 > 0:57:05"He was a man of 72 years. Not only was he well known and esteemed
0:57:05 > 0:57:10"in his native parish, but also throughout the County Mayo,
0:57:10 > 0:57:13"and his genial, straightforward and kindly disposition
0:57:13 > 0:57:16"made him a universal favourite,
0:57:16 > 0:57:20"and was an earnest and active friend of democracy."
0:57:21 > 0:57:23That's a great obituary.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29"An active friend of democracy." I'm so proud of him.
0:57:32 > 0:57:34He was brave.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37He was there at the very beginning of the movement
0:57:37 > 0:57:40that changed the land laws in Ireland.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46One of the great sadnesses of this story
0:57:46 > 0:57:52is that Anthony Clarke died without being able to buy his land,
0:57:52 > 0:57:55which is what he had fought for for 40 years.
0:57:55 > 0:58:00But his legacy's far greater than that bit of land.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02Changed history here.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08Him and many other brave men and women.
0:58:10 > 0:58:14It's extraordinary that a man that I've never met...
0:58:14 > 0:58:19never seen any photographs of, knew nothing of, not even his name,
0:58:19 > 0:58:22that I can feel so involved with him.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25You know, I feel...feel something for him,
0:58:25 > 0:58:27which is an extraordinary thing.
0:58:27 > 0:58:30I thought, "Do I love him, you know?
0:58:30 > 0:58:33"Is this...?" And yes.
0:58:35 > 0:58:38That's a wonderful feeling.