Welfare Regimes under the Irish Poor Law, 1850-1921

This data was collected as a part of a project that set out to investigate the history of statutory poor relief in Ireland from the end of the Great Famine in 1850 to the establishment of an independent Irish state in 1922. Using qualitative and quantitative data, it explored the character, organisation and operation of the poor law in Ireland. The project combined macro and micro analysis to compile a picture of poor relief that moved from the national perspective, through the regional, to the local. Annual published returns of poor law statistics were used to identify national, regional and local trends in the provision and utilisation of relief, revealing the existence of what appear to be distinct welfare regimes with both regional and ideological characteristics. Case studies of twelve poor law unions throughout the country were then undertaken utilising the administrative records of the poor law boards in order to explore the influence of factors such as religion, politics and regional economics on the scope and character of relief practices. By analysing both general trends in relief policy and practice, and the micro-politics of relief, the project has produced new insights into the understanding and experience of poverty in post-Famine Ireland and the evolution of welfare systems.<br>