Printout of webpage about emergency wireless telegraphy services to the Hebrides in the 1920s.
Account by David D Murdoch of working in Tiree with the Wireless Telegraphy Section of the British Post Office in the 1920s.
1998.258.1
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Tag Archives: drinks and stimulants
1998.197.4
Resolution against drinking ardent spirits at funerals
Transcription of a resolution by the minister and Parishioners of Tiree against drinking ardent spirits at funerals.
Courtesy of His Grace the Duke of Argyll
In ‘The Statistical of Account of Scotland’ published in 1845, the minister of Tiree, Rev. Neil MacLean, wrote condemning the practice of ‘drinking ardent spirits at funerals’ and of ‘poor families parting with their last horse or cow, to furnish entertainment of this kind.’
This Resolution of 1847 called on like-minded parishioners to abstain from drinking more than one glassful of spirits at funerals or to pay a penalty of five pounds to benefit the poor of the parish. Rev. MacLean successfully sought the backing of the Duke of Argyll.
In November 1855, the Tiree factor, Lachlan MacQuarie, issued a notice prohibiting the consumption of spirits at ‘weddings, balls, funerals or any other gathering’ by tenants paying less than £30 rent, on pain of dispossession of their lands.
2002.193.3
Paperback book `The Secret Still` by Gavin D. Smith.
The historical events and legislation that gave rise to the boom in illicit distilling when the Scottish countryside and even city centres were awash with whiskey which had been distilled without payment of excise duty.
2002.179.2
Newspaper cutting `The Quern-Dust Calendar` by Raghnall MacIlleDhuibh.
The use of fairies as cover for some social issues that people are not willing to face, illustrated with examples from John Gregorson Campbell`s book `Superstitions of the Highland and Islands of Scotland`.
2000.13.7
Photocopy from Mitchell Library, Glasgow – `The People`s Clearance` by J.M. Bumsted pp 42, 97
Duke of Argyll`s reaction to Tiree`s kelp and whisky production which encouraged emigration.
1997.210.1
Large glazed stoneware flagon, 425 mm high, bottom three-quarters uncoloured, top quarter in orange-brown, made by Henry Kennedy, Barrowfield Pottery, Glasgow and stamped on the front with `3 JOHN FLETCHER Merchant TOBERMORY`.
1997.189.26
Black and white photograph of RAF officers during World War II.
Large group of RAF officers relaxing and drinking beer during World War II. (Photograph from Mike Hughes in Filing Cabinet 2 drawer 1)
1997.146.2
Photocopied notice by factor Lachlan MacQuarie dated 1855 restricting the consumption of alcoholic spirits.
Notice by factor Lachlan MacQuarie dated 16/11/1855 prohibiting tenants paying less than £30 rent from drinking alcholic spirits at any public gatherings on pain of dispossession.
1997.90.1
Photocopied extract from unknown publication titled `Tiree and Coll`, c. 1845.
The custom of drinking ardent spirits at funerals.
1997.49.1
Petition from Poor Persons in Tyree for Aid to Emigrate
Transcription of a petition for assistance to emigrate appended to ‘Crofts and Farms in the Hebrides’ by the 8th Duke of Argyll.
This petition was sent in 1851 to Sir John MacNeill, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for the Relief of the Poor in Scotland. Sir John was married to a daughter of the 8th Duke of Argyll, who appended the petition to his ‘Crofts and Farms in Hebrides’ addressed to the Napier Commission of 1883.
A hundred and thirty-six islanders signed the petition. Ninety-nine of them were landless cottars; the remainder were small tenants, of whom only four paid rent over £10 a year. They represented the class of islanders that the Duke was anxious to clear from his estate.
Around a third of the petitioners were given assistance to emigrate with their families on board the ‘Conrad’, ‘Birman’ and ‘Onyx’ in July 1851. Another twenty-seven families from the island left with them.