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Ireland's Welcome To The Stranger
In May 1844, the American educator and reformer Asenath Nicholson set out from New York on a fifteen-month visit to Ireland, determined to ‘investigate the condition of the Irish poor’. Nicholson travelled on foot through much of the island, reading the Bible to the local people and sharing their hospitality. She describes a rural society that, despite great poverty, received the American visitor with generosity and kindness. Nicholson’s rich and lively account of her travels is a unique glimpse of Ireland before the Great Hunger of 1845-52.
314 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Asenath Nicholson
36 books2 followersAsenath Hatch Nicholson (February 24, 1792 – May 15, 1855) was an American vegan, social observer and philanthropist. She wrote at first hand about the Great Hunger in Ireland in the 1840s. She observed the famine as she distributed bibles, food, and clothing.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 2, 2019
Extremely detailed, it is basically a very in-depth diary of an American woman who traveled around most of Southern Ireland just before the Famine hit. She paints the picture of people who are desperately poor, uneducated with virtually no rights of tenancy or to any other kind of life than either what was in their villages or, if they could manage it emigration to America.
I found it poignant. She tries very hard not to be judgemental of the poor, reserves most of her wrath for uncaring landlords and those who sell whiskey and beer (she was teetotal.) She compares the Irish peasant’s plight to that of slaves in the US South.
My only comment is that it is so detailed. She experiences the same things over and over, rain and mud, people who live in hovels but still share a corner with her, people who are very hospitable and sharing what little they had. But after ten chapters, I felt I had the picture.
I found it poignant. She tries very hard not to be judgemental of the poor, reserves most of her wrath for uncaring landlords and those who sell whiskey and beer (she was teetotal.) She compares the Irish peasant’s plight to that of slaves in the US South.
My only comment is that it is so detailed. She experiences the same things over and over, rain and mud, people who live in hovels but still share a corner with her, people who are very hospitable and sharing what little they had. But after ten chapters, I felt I had the picture.
May 23, 2008
I've wondered for years what Ireland was like for my ancestors, particularly in those troubled pre-famine years.
Nicholson was female, a New England Congregationalist missionary who fell in love with the Irish immigrants in New York City, and left for Ireland in 1844 to bring the Bible to the poor.
Which was not what they needed. What makes this book so fascinating is that Nicholson actually realized that what the poor, starving Irish needed was help. Compassion. Love. And so she put down the Bible-As-Stick and rolled up her sleeves, travelling aroud the country and helping in any way she could. Like the Quakers with their soup kitchens, and the occasional Church of Ireland pastor, she actually lived out the Gospel in evil times.
Nicholson was female, a New England Congregationalist missionary who fell in love with the Irish immigrants in New York City, and left for Ireland in 1844 to bring the Bible to the poor.
Which was not what they needed. What makes this book so fascinating is that Nicholson actually realized that what the poor, starving Irish needed was help. Compassion. Love. And so she put down the Bible-As-Stick and rolled up her sleeves, travelling aroud the country and helping in any way she could. Like the Quakers with their soup kitchens, and the occasional Church of Ireland pastor, she actually lived out the Gospel in evil times.
September 16, 2021
They had nothing. The poor Irish tenants, just before the Famine, had nothing. They starved even before the potato failed. They had high rents to pay and were left with only the potato to keep body and soul together, and buttermilk to drink.
This book stirred me deeply. I can trace my family back to this time, to a little labourers cabin in County Tipperary. They would not recognise the way we live now - the food, the variety of same, the cafes, restaurants, a normal part of our lives. The bread! The author found a scarcity of bread among the poor and in one humble house where she stayed, the woman disappeared for an hour and returned with a roll for her.
The author is a feisty, intrepid traveler, a lone woman, a widow, who having had Irish girls work for her in NY as servants, came to Ireland out of curiosity. She also wants to bring the Scriptures to the people. She is received with touching kindness and hospitality among the poor. The richer people are suspicious of her, even the missionaries wanting to get the Irish to forego their Catholic faith. Her descriptions of the countryside are enchanting. Her writing style is a little hard to understand sometimes, she seems breathless and jumps around a bit. She doesn't see Ireland through rose-colored spectacles and records episodes of rudeness, including being stared at. If you're a Galwaywoman you might not like her! She did not like Galway as the fisherwomen followed her everywhere.
What stood out to me was the hard and backbreaking work that the women along the coast had to do to collect seaweed for fertiliser. Standing in water for up to 8 hours a day, they scraped it off the pier walls and the rocks. When a bad storm came, they were delighted - it was much easier to pick the seaweed washed up on the shores the following day!
I have downloaded her Annals of Ireland about the Famine and I'm prepared for sorrow reading this. We have it so good.
This book stirred me deeply. I can trace my family back to this time, to a little labourers cabin in County Tipperary. They would not recognise the way we live now - the food, the variety of same, the cafes, restaurants, a normal part of our lives. The bread! The author found a scarcity of bread among the poor and in one humble house where she stayed, the woman disappeared for an hour and returned with a roll for her.
The author is a feisty, intrepid traveler, a lone woman, a widow, who having had Irish girls work for her in NY as servants, came to Ireland out of curiosity. She also wants to bring the Scriptures to the people. She is received with touching kindness and hospitality among the poor. The richer people are suspicious of her, even the missionaries wanting to get the Irish to forego their Catholic faith. Her descriptions of the countryside are enchanting. Her writing style is a little hard to understand sometimes, she seems breathless and jumps around a bit. She doesn't see Ireland through rose-colored spectacles and records episodes of rudeness, including being stared at. If you're a Galwaywoman you might not like her! She did not like Galway as the fisherwomen followed her everywhere.
What stood out to me was the hard and backbreaking work that the women along the coast had to do to collect seaweed for fertiliser. Standing in water for up to 8 hours a day, they scraped it off the pier walls and the rocks. When a bad storm came, they were delighted - it was much easier to pick the seaweed washed up on the shores the following day!
I have downloaded her Annals of Ireland about the Famine and I'm prepared for sorrow reading this. We have it so good.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews