Bringing in the Potatoes

Story
A Burrishoole Lodge farmhand places recently dug potatoes in burlap sacks and then buries them under mounds of clay. These clay hillocks protected the harvest from vermin and weather. Later the potato sacks were transported to storage closer to the home. This image was taken on Helen Hooker O’Malley’s own farm at Newport, Co. Mayo.
Location
Burrishoole, Co. Mayo
Date
1943
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Newport Sheep Fair

Story
Market fairs for selling livestock was an important part in the life and economy of rural Ireland. This image portrays a sheep fair in Newport, Co. Mayo near where Ernie and Helen O’Malley lived and operated their own farm in 1943. A large weighing scale resembling a catapult is seen in the background. The photograph can be dated by the make and model of the motor cars appearing in the lower left of the town scene. It is a wet day, and the men are outfitted accordingly with their heavy coats, traditional caps, and walking sticks.
Location
Co. Mayo
Date
1943
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Raking the Hay, The Kelly Family

Story
Tom, Jack, Mary and Thomas Kelly are working to bring in the hay but pause their efforts for Helen to photograph the scene. The Kelly’s are near Granuaile’s Castle in Carraigahowley, Co. Mayo. Farmers usually wore work shirts while laboring. New shirts were worn on Sundays only, transitioned to weekday wear later, then became work shirts as they aged. The men wore galluses (suspenders) to hold up their trousers even when wearing a belt. During “The Emergency” years of the Second World War, clothes and other goods were scarce and beyond most people’s modest means. Mending was common as people made do with what they had.
Location
Carraigahowley, Co. Mayo
Date
1943
Purchase
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