TRAVELLING TO Scotland to work on the potato harvest was a regular seasonal activity and source of income for many Mayo and Donegal families in the first half of the 20th century.
The annual trek ended in tragedy for 10 young men from Achill – all Irish speakers, aged 13 to 23 – who died in a fire on the farm at which they had just arrived in Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow. They were among 26, mostly young, people from Achill who had gone to Scotland to pick potatoes in June 1937, working in Ayrshire before moving to Kirkintilloch the day of the fire. They were all staying in a bothy when the fire broke out as they slept. The 10 who died were in one room: one report said most of the bodies were found under a window that was eight feet above the floor. A man and his son (who raised the alarm) were sleeping in the kitchen, and 14 girls were in another room; they all escaped. An editorial in The Irish Timescommented on the tragedy:
Yesterday 10 young Irishmen lost their lives in a fire at a Scottish farm. They had arrived only a few hours earlier, having travelled, apparently, to the scene of their agricultural labours directly from their homes in Mayo. It is the inevitable practice of these migratory labourers who go to Scotland for the potato harvest to travel in family groups, and it is due to this traditional habit that one family has lost three of its sons, and two other families two sons.
While we can bespeak for the bereaved families the sympathy of all Ireland, and also of the sister countries in Great Britain, special words of comfort are needed for the Mangan, McLaughlin and Kilbane parents. The Mangan home has been bereft of three boys – they were no more than boys – whose combined ages reached a total of only 45 years, while the combined ages of the two Kilbane boys totalled but 34 years. The oldest member of the party was, apparently, John McLaughlin, whose age was 23, and he, with his brother, aged 16 years, lost their lives in the terrible fire.
These three families, all of which have their homes at Achill Sound, have been deprived of seven of their members, and three others have lost a boy apiece. By this appalling disaster an entire parish has been plunged into the depths of sorrow, and instead of the anticipated return of its sons with the wherewithal to supply food and shelter for the winter, what it must now receive is a tragic contribution of ten coffins. Achill Sound must mourn its ten lost sons; it will rejoice that sixteen of its children escaped from the holocaust.
For this restriction of the tragic consequences of the fire we have to thank all who took part in the work of rescue; for, without their timely arrival, the whole party of 26 might have perished.
Sympathy will be forthcoming in abundance; but this disaster must arouse everyone concerned to the idea that sympathy is not enough. There must be a searchingly thorough enquiry on both sides. In this country we shall wish to know why it is necessary for boys of 13 to 16, who ought to be at school, to go abroad for farming work. In Scotland there ought to be an examination of the conditions under which migratory workers are recruited and housed.