Johann Georg Kohl

Travels in Ireland: Part 3 Johann Georg Kohl

This work was published in 1844 just before the Great Famine and is a wonderful resource for those interested in the period or simply in knowing how their ancestors lived. Kohl's journey took him through the four provinces including Dublin, Limerick, Waterford and Belfast. Part Three took him through Wexford, Enniscorthy, Avoca, Glendalough and Dublin where he discussed innovations in education and infant schools as well as reflections on the '98 Rebellion and agrarian crime. He visited the Vale of Avoca and Glendalough, reflecting on Thomas Moore as well as early Christian Ireland. In Dublin he encountered Daniel O'Connell at a repeal meeting where he also examined urban poverty and the workhouses, as well as Dublin's museums and squares. Kohl's interest in the people, ballads and folklore of Ireland, gives us a glimpse of a life which had resisted colonial oppression only to be devastated by the great calamity of the Irish Famine which destroyed a vibrant peasant culture.