The cauldron pictured opposite is a direct link with the famine times in our area. It is a huge cast iron pot which holds two hundred and twenty gallons and was suspended from a crane in the farmyard of William Mairs (my grandfather) at Carrickaneady. The crane was brought fro ; Newport town for this purpose and the cauldron was .suspended from it over a large fire.
My grandfather supervised the distribution of soup to starving people driven by hunger to come from areas near and far to collect what was apportioned to them. Many weak and desperate men and women came with various j vessels to collect the soup for themselves and their hungry families at home.
Many of those who came were so weak and wretched they were unable to travel home again. They were given shelter and rest in the old thatched barns in the farmyard until they recovered enough strength to travel home again but sadly many were so weak and frail they died of sheer exhaustion in the barns.
At a later stage grain became available so instead of soup, 'stirabout', made from indian meal was provided.
The "Big Pot" (as we knew it as children) must have been the centre-piece of some very harrowing scenes -and it is a reminder of a terrible chapter in our history. Perhaps it is also a poignant reminder that some humane efforts were made on behalf of a downtrodden population.