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Document of the Week: "Irish Turf Carriers"

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Authored by Dr Tommy Dolan
Published on 30th June, 2025 3 min read

Document of the Week: "Irish Turf Carriers"

An illustration of two women in long skirts, carrying turf that is tied to their backs.

Our latest “Document of the Week”, chosen by our Senior Editor, Dr Tommy Dolan, is an illustration from The Graphic, published in March 1870. 

Founded by artist and social reformer, William Luson Thomas, The Graphic appeared in December 1869. An influential illustrated periodical, it reported extensively upon Irish affairs. In fact, the first article in the maiden edition of The Graphic spotlighted the success of the Fenian leader, Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, a convicted felon at the time, in the Tipperary by-election of late November 1869. 

Published several months later, “Irish Turf Carriers” reflected upon the failure of an optimistic Victorian vision: utilising Ireland’s reserves of peat to fuel the island’s social, economic, and political regeneration. “It was a delusion”, the author of the accompanying article lamented, “a bright dream that passed away quickly”. The “stormy” parliamentary session that had precipitated the Irish Church Act of 1869 (which disestablished the Protestant Church of Ireland, meaning that it would no longer be the state church on an island exhibiting a largely Roman Catholic population) and the escalation of debates and protests surrounding the issue of land ownership, had brought home to many that a solution to the so-called “Irish question” remained elusive. “How to render Ireland contented and happy is the great political question of the hour”, as the author of the article observed.

The political orientation of The Graphic reflected its founder’s attraction to liberalism. “Irish Turf Carriers” certainly illustrates some the cognitive tropes that have been conspicuous within the thought of many well-meaning British liberals when confronted with the turbulent realities and, moreover, longevity of the “Irish question”: paternalism, bewilderment, and guilt. The author likewise summarised the troika of strategies that English, and subsequently British, administrations have tended to cycle through when tackling Irish discontent: repression, reform, and neglect.

“Irishmen have certainly now no reason to complain of lack of consideration [. . .] at all times a certain amount of attention has been given to Irish affairs, but it is the sort of attention a man gives to an overdue bill that he cannot pay. It is a bugbear to him of which he cannot help thinking—a Frankenstein of his own creation that haunts him [. . .] So it has been for long years with the Irish question [. . .] Once upon a time our only remedy was fire and sword; then there was a little concession; then repression once more. When the policy of letting alone and making believe to be happy failed, we, too, could renew; but the bills we drew, were coercion bills, and our renewals were renewals of repression.”

 Where to find this document 

“Irish Turf Carriers” features in our primary source collection, The Graphic, 1869–1932. This brings together over 90,000 images from almost 3,500 issues of The Graphic, published between December 1869 and April 1932. The Graphic featured articles on politics, international relations, religion, and science. It played an important role in the development of the arts, printing innovative literature, theatre reviews, and some of the most beautiful illustrations in contemporary print media. Visit the collection page to learn more. 


Authored by Dr Tommy Dolan

Dr Tommy Dolan

Tommy Dolan is Senior Editor at British Online Archives. He gained his PhD in History from the University of Edinburgh in 2016. Between 2019 and 2022 he was a post-doctoral fellow on the Leverhulme-funded project 'Rethinking Civil Society: History, Theory, Critique' at the University of York. He then joined the metadata team at the University of York library. Tommy has published in the Historical Journal, the Journal of the History of European Ideas, and Studia Hibernica. His research focuses on the way in which readings of history have influenced political thought in Ireland, particularly with respect to the architects of the Northern Ireland Peace Process. Tommy is currently also co-editor of Writing the Troubles.

Read all posts by Dr Tommy Dolan.

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