The Corridans over time moved inland from Ballyheigue and
sprinklings of them appeared in Ballybunion , Kilgarvan (Corridans Cross), Drombeg (4 miles north of Listowel) , the town
of Listowel, Knockmaol and Rylane near Duagh, Ballyhennessey, Lixnaw, Tralee, Fossa
and other nearby pockets.
Joseph O’ Connor in
his autobiography Hostage to Fortune , recalls how his father Daniel managed to
join Her Imperial Majesty’s 10th Light Infantry familiarly known as
the Lincolnshire Yallabellies . To join the forces of the oppressor was a
mortal sin in the eyes of many, but to those who did, I think it may have
afforded them a little bit of food and security
of their familiy’s future.
“We lived on Knock Maol. That’s a wild old hill six miles out from Listowel . There were three families of us on
the hill, Colberts , Corridans, and Connors and Lord Listowel was
our landlord. We had to pay him twenty
pounds for our share of the hill ; the
others had to pay the same. It was too much for them. We never knew anything
but hunger an’ starvation in our house , eating spuds three times a day and
easin’ them with sour milk, when we had it. Everything else, oats, calves,
and pigs, went to pay the rent. Would you believe it? I had never tasted a mouthful of bacon, mutton
or beef until I joined the Lincolns, although I spent all my time feeding pigs,
sheep and cattle. The nearest we went to it was the odd time we boiled a
sheep’s head for soup or filled its puddings with blood and mashed potatoes for a
Sunday dinner.
To make a long story short, we failed to keep up with the
rent and Lord Listowel gave orders to clear us all out, Colberts , Connors and Corridans alike. They
came on small Christmas Day in January 1863, bailiffs , peelers an’ soldiers,
an’ had us out on the cold bog before dawn. They burned down the houses for
fear we’d go back into them when their backs were turned and took my father and
the other grown up men to the Workhouse in Listowel with them. They did that
‘out of charity’ they said because Lady Listowel wouldn’t sleep the night, if
the poor creatures were left homeless on the mountain.
They left me and my brother Patsy to look after ourselves We
slept out with the hares, a couple o’ nights,
eatin’ swedes that had ice in the
heart o’ them an’ then we parted. He went east an’ I went west towards Tralee. I
must ha’ been a sight, after walkin’ twenty miles on my bare feet an’ an
empty belly. But I wasn’t hungry for long. A nice fellow in a red jacket an
ribbons flyin’ from his cap took me into a baker’s shop, gave me two penny buns
to eat and a cup of tea , to wash them down. The first tea I ever tasted. He
gave me a shilling all for myself and
invited me to go with him where he lived. Ha! Ha!
I have been a soldier of the Queen ever since."
