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Back Cover Text:
Achill Island tattie-hokers and the Kirkintilloch tradegy, 1937, by Brian Coughlan

"In the aftermath of the Great Famine (1845-51), many of Achill's clachan settlements evolved into migrant-based communities. During the annual potato-picking harvest season (June to October), each migrant household's young single males or females, whose ages ranged from thirteen to twenty-three, travelled to Scotland in a group or 'squad' system under the supervision of a foreman or 'gaffer'. 'Tattie-hoker' was the phrase the local Scottish population gave to the seasonal Achill migrant workers. On 16 September 1937, ten male members of an Achill tatie-hoking squad who were based in Kirkintilloch, died after their sleeping premises became engulfed with toxic fumes. This horrific tragedy brought the plight of the island's young migratory workers onto the national public and political arena. This study examines the official response to the tragedy by the Scottish authorities and Irish government as well as analyzing the causes for the decline of the Achill custom of tattie-hoking in the post-Second World War."

This book appears in the Maynooth Studies in Local History series (General Editor: Raymond Gillespie). The publisher's website (www.four-courts-press.ie) lists the 70 titles published to date, and gives some information about the purpose of the series.