I’ve always frequented antique shops, enticed by the tranquil air of mystery that pervades the space, but also the beauty of antiquity. The above cigarette packets speak to me of times long past, friends smoking in camaraderie discussing the price of animals or the fine summer that had passed. In terms of Quin village in the 1940’s and 50’s, locals recall Clune’s shop on Newline and Fanny Corbett’s on the main street who sold the following brands: Woodbine (which was the most popular and sold in packets of 5), Gold Flake and Craven A. (that sold in packets of 10’s and 20’s)
Fanny Corbett sold the cigarettes singularly and also boxes of 50 Sweet Afton at Christmas time. Tobacco too was popular: a round box of Mick Mc Quaid or the 16” block of Garryowen that Fanny’s husband Patrick cut into 2” pieces for sale. ‘Give me an ounce of Garryowen’ was heard daily as the ritual of pipe filling began.
That was in itself an art form, the pen knife carefully shaved the required amount off the plug (not a speck was lost) it was then kneaded with great love in the palm of the hand and then firmly positioned into the pipe. A Patterson and Maguire obliged and the sweet scent wafted heavenly. Often the top of a YR sauce bottle provided ‘the draw’ needed to get a good red hue. No more needed to be said, it was time to take stock, relax, think about the day left behind and the one to yet come.
Tobacco as we know it, originated in America where the native population chewed and smoked the leaves. But by the time of Columbus arrival 1492, tobacco had reached across the continent and the leaves became a cash crop and currency of the American colonies. It spread far and wide through sailors in ports and it was Jean Nicot de Villemain, the French ambassador to Lisbon who introduced it to the French court. Eventually his name was synonymous with the plant and called ‘Nicotiana tabacum’.
Tobacco first made its way to Ireland in the late 16th century through Sir Walter Rally’s estates in Youghal Co Cork. It became a popular indulgence, to the point that in 1830 Wexford alone had 1,000 acres under plant. This provided employment for 1,500 people in 10 tobacco factories. The British growers were envious of the Irish success and the British King James the First suppressed the industry in Ireland. He called it ‘perversion of the soil’. This continued under King Charles but by 1779 prohibition was removed.
Initially, tobacco was smoked in wooden pipes and the more elaborate the pipe, the higher your social status. The only historical evidence for the manufacture of tobacco pipes in Ireland was a license granted in 1617 to J. Coker of Dublin to manufacture and sell tobacco pipes for twenty-one years at a rent of £10. WW1 glamourised smoking as the troops were provided with a constant supply which suggested it brought relief from stress. By 1940 it became an acceptable form of social behaviour, at least 60% of Irish men smoked – a badge of manliness. However, women were demonised if they smoked as is evidenced in articles from the ‘Irish Independent’ 1921. They were already depicted as ‘the weaker sex’ and insisted that smoking robbed them of their femininity. At this time when people struggled to make ends meet, cost too was an overarching obstacle – 10 cigarettes in 1914 was three pence (the same price as a man’s shirt, ladie’s blouse or a two-pound loaf of bread) To fully contextualise it, an agricultural labourer’s wages in 1914 was 10 shillings and nine pence a week. Men went out to work and this was perceived as their ‘luxury’ item along with a few weekly pints. Women had no such luxuries – their place was still at home, but this too would change as they became more educated and influenced by advertising such as Marlboro ‘Mild as May’ cigarettes. Smoking for women equated to liberation.
But it was in Navan 1898, that the tobacco industry flourished on the Randlestown estate owned by Sir Nugent Everard. It provided 100 jobs preparing plants for market and boosted the local economy from a 100-acre tobacco plantation. He was a typical Anglo-Irish aristocrat who pursued his vision of the tobacco industry in Meath.
Sir Nugent Everard
Randlestown Estate Meath
He sent his son Major Richard to the United States in 1904 to learn all he could about the subject. He described how the industry provided much needed work in the area, ‘…even children during their school holidays take part in the weeding operations. This enabled many parents to keep their children at home instead of sending them out to service or across the sea’. He also stated, ‘Strangers came to visit the plantation…were impressed, especially Americans, with our knowledge of tobacco growing.’ He succeeded for a while but ultimately by 1919 unfavourable Government policy brought about its demise. A subsidy was introduced for tobacco growers which brought Irish tobacco into competition with tobacco grown cheaply in British colonies. The Irish growers couldn’t compete.
Siobhán O’ Sullivan 2024
References:
The Irish Times – Frank Mc Nally
Navan Historical Society
CSO.ie
