As the west of Ireland was beginning to recover from the Great Hunger, younger members of families in Donegal, often children as young as eight or nine, went off to work in the more prosperous farms in the eastern part of the region and across the water to Scotland. In fall and spring, merchants and farmers would come to Letterkenny to look over the children and negotiate with their parents a price for their work. It was a hard life and hard situation. As I sat by the statue on a quiet autumn evening, the spark of childhood play and the knowledge of work and separation to come lingered across the years in the faces of the children.
- Letterkenny Accommodation: The Hiring Fair Statue
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Written by Kerry Dexter
Kerry has been following music through Celtic lands for more than twenty years. Her work on history, travel, and the arts appears in publications including National Geographic Traveler, Strings, and The Encyclopedia of Ireland and the Americas. Kerry’s Tips | Website
- History Just Down the Street: Carlingford, Co Louth - June 17, 2012
- Mosaic at the Garden of Remembrance: Dublin City - June 17, 2012
- The Hiring Fair Statue: Letterkenny, Co Donegal - June 12, 2012
