Importance of Flax in 18th Century Ireland

During the 18th century Ireland, and in particular Ulster, established a reputation as a producer of fine linen. The economic implications were extremely important in that both agriculture and industry benefited. The climate and soil of Ireland were well suited to growing flax, the raw material for linen, so farmers and landowners naturally turned to the crop. Processing the flax through various stages on its way to linen - scutching, spinning, bleaching, beetling and weaving - provided work for many thousands in mill-towns across the country, and so linen became a major industry as well. At various times the government introduced special incentives to encourage the production of linen, usually in the form of spinning-wheels and looms.

The Flax Growers Bounty List

In 1796 the Irish Linen Board published a list of almost 60,000 individuals who had received awards for planting a specified acreage of flax. Those who planted one acre were awarded 4 spinning-wheels, and those growing 5 acres were awarded a loom. The two counties with the highest number of awards were Donegal and Tyrone. The Flax Growers List is arranged by civil parish in each county except for Dublin and Wicklow, which were not included in the list. (In a few instances, the barony is listed instead of the parish.) While there is no indication of townland, this is still an extremely useful record source that goes back over thirty years earlier than the commencement of Tithe Applotment Books. Anyone researching their Irish ancestry will be able to pinpoint a forebear living in a particular parish at the end of the 18th century.