Irish Farmers Quit Tobacco
Transporting Tobacco
The photo, from 1900, shows two horses and carts being led by two men in Market Square in Navan, Co. Meath. The carts appear to be specially constructed wagons adapted for the job of transporting tobacco leaves. Frames, supported by poles, are raised around the outer edges of the carts. The leaves are hung on the frames, allowing the circulation of air around them. Presumably the piling up of leaves on the cart would result in overheating, thus damaging the quality of the tobacco.
By permission of Meath County Library.Transporting Tobacco
By permission of Meath County Library.
By permission of Meath County Library.
Transporting Tobacco
The photo, from 1900, shows two horses and carts being led by two men in Market Square in Navan, Co. Meath. The carts appear to be specially constructed wagons adapted for the job of transporting tobacco leaves. Frames, supported by poles, are raised around the outer edges of the carts. The leaves are hung on the frames, allowing the circulation of air around them. Presumably the piling up of leaves on the cart would result in overheating, thus damaging the quality of the tobacco.
By permission of Meath County Library.World War One began in the late summer of 1914. Within months, there was a huge need for traditional food crops across Ireland and Great Britain. Therefore, most Irish farmers put their efforts back into growing food crops and grazing.
Saved Tobacco from Randlestown Estate
These are some dried tobacco leaves kept for eighty years by Brigid Reilly, a former maid in Randlestown House. They are dried and brittle now, but according to Brigid have kept their distinctive smell, even after all this time.
By permission of The Weekender, 28 August 1993.Saved Tobacco from Randlestown Estate
By permission of The Weekender, 28 August 1993.
By permission of The Weekender, 28 August 1993.
Saved Tobacco from Randlestown Estate
These are some dried tobacco leaves kept for eighty years by Brigid Reilly, a former maid in Randlestown House. They are dried and brittle now, but according to Brigid have kept their distinctive smell, even after all this time.
By permission of The Weekender, 28 August 1993.After the war ended in 1918, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles opened up sea lanes that had been closed before the war. This brought cheap tobacco from abroad. Many people preferred American tobacco and stopped buying Irish tobacco.
The last nail in the coffin of Irish tobacco farming was heavy taxation by the Irish government. This reduced the money farmers could earn from tobacco because they had to give a lot of it to the government.
Although it suited farmers very well in the beginning, tobacco farming in Ireland was finished by 1938. First the war, then cheap foreign competition, and finally government taxes convinced Irish farmers to quit tobacco.