Summary: Cottiers
Key dates:
The cottiers were the poorest of the Irish farmers who worked as labourers. They often had to give several days each year to the landlord as well as supplying him with produce such as eggs. Some of the cottiers had regular work.
The labourers who had no homes and who wandered around the country looking for work were called spalpeens. This illustration shows some peasants enroute to England for harvest work.
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