Irish Poverty Relief Loans, 1821–1874

The Great Famine (An Gorta Mór), 1845–1852, was the darkest period in modern Irish history. It was a time of mass starvation, disease and emigration that devastated the country. Over one million people died, and more than one million emigrated. These records provide invaluable insight into the effects of the Famine on families. For instance, in 1846, the County Kerry board recorded in their minutes that they had ‘taken into serious consideration the destitution with which this country is threatened, and the scarcity of food and consequent high prices’. In 1850, the County Limerick board acknowledged ‘the wide wasting calamities with which Ireland has been afflicted for the last four years’. The Returns to the Clerk of the Peace further record the names of many who died, emigrated to America or England, or remained alive but were living in extreme poverty. 

The Irish Reproductive Loan Fund was a microcredit scheme set up in 1824 to provide small loans to the ‘industrious poor’. Local associations and committees administered the scheme, usually from a small town in a rural area, while county committees oversaw their work. The records of the local associations and county committees are held at The National Archives in Kew in series T91. The majority of these records cover the years 1824 to 1846 across ten counties in Munster and Connacht. 

In the early eighteenth century, Jonathan Swift (the well-known Irish writer and Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin) established a charitable loan fund using his own wealth to support poor tradesmen. He loaned out small sums, which could be repaid weekly and without interest. To secure the loans, he required the borrower’s neighbours to act as guarantors. The venture was a success, and Swift lost none of his initial investment. Inspired by this model, other local associations adopted similar practices. Notably, the Dublin Musical Society began offering loans in 1747, initially funded by profits from musical performances. 

Building on these precedents, the Irish Reproductive Loan Fund was formally established in 1822 as the Irish Relief Committee, using surplus funds from the 1822 famine, a total of £55,000. This money was reinvested into a microfinance institution that offered short-term loans for capital or ‘reproductive’ purposes, such as purchasing fishing equipment, repairing fish-curing sheds, or buying seeds for farming. Loans were not to exceed twelve months and carried a modest interest rate. The system was centrally managed from London, with funds distributed to ten county boards in Ireland and then to local associations. In June 1844, the committee was incorporated as the Irish Reproductive Loan Fund Institution. 

The minimum age for a borrower was 21, and the minimum loan was £1. Borrowers provided their address and occupation. Each loan was guaranteed by two sureties who agreed to repay the loan if the borrower defaulted. Married women (if their husbands were still alive) could not act as guarantors. 

Most lending by the local associations ended by 1848. There were two key reasons for this. First, a change in legislation in 1843 restricted the amount of interest that could be charged. Although this legislation was not introduced due to high interest rates, the success of the associations posed serious competition to banks. The reduced interest meant many institutions were forced to close. Second, the catastrophic impact of the Great Famine led to widespread defaulting on loans. Nevertheless, the records show that associations continued to collect payments during the famine and even pursued legal action against those who did not pay. 

The records include those from local associations, minutes from county board meetings (which were held on the first and third Saturdays of each month), and correspondence with London. Further follow-up details about borrowers can be found in the Returns to the Clerk of the Peace, which recorded whether a borrower still lived in the townland where the loan was granted. They also captured details about family circumstances, emigration destinations, or whether the borrower had died. 

The following counties are included in this series: Clare, Cork, Galway, Kerry, Leitrim, Limerick, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary and Wexford (Bannow).