The New Line Road, connecting Kilmainhamwood to Tierworker in County Meath, was built in 1846 as a public works project during the Great Famine.

Public works were first rolled out in 1846 to provide employment to the poor, and generally consisted of road building or levelling, the repair of walls, and other manual labour. By May of 1846, around 1,000 people were employed on such schemes across Meath. These were jointly funded – half through local taxation within the barony, and half by the Treasury. The number of workers quickly rose to 1,300 by June, including 500 in the Kells district, with 90 at Moynalty and 35 at Tierworker. By late July, this figure had reached almost 3,000.

Wages ranged from ten pence to one shilling per day, later adjusted so that those judged “lazy” earned less and those considered “vigorous” earned more. As the price of meal increased, however, these wages became inadequate.

The Moynalty Relief Committee reported:

“Even supposing he can work six days in each week and be blessed with uninterrupted good health, he cannot possibly support himself and his family.”

Those unable to find employment often sought relief in the workhouses. Under the Poor Law system, five were established in Meath, including one in Kells. By March 1847, the Kells Workhouse held 850 people in a building designed for 500. Additional sheds were built in December 1846, and an auxiliary workhouse was later opened at Staholmog.

Conditions in the workhouses were harsh. Inmates were forced to carry out “irksome” labour, and families were separated on entry. Even those who survived these conditions remained highly susceptible to illness. The Paupers’ Graveyard in Kells opened in 1851, in the aftermath of the famine, and quickly filled with victims of famine-related diseases such as typhus, dysentery, and cholera.

Between 1841 and 1851, Meath’s population fell by 24% – roughly 20,000 deaths and 20,000 emigrants. The north of the county was among the worst affected: the Barony of Lower Kells fell by 38.7%, Lower Slane by 33.8%, Morgallion by 36.9%, and Moybologue parish by a staggering 48.9%, nearly half its population.

Overall, Meath’s population declined twice the national rate after the famine, driven by emigration and fewer births and marriages.

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Sources

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• Peter Connell, The Land and the People of County Meath (Dublin, 2004)
• Danny Cusack and Meath County Council, The Great Famine in County Meath (Navan, 1996)
• Noel French, ‘The Great Famine,’ Available at https://meathhistoryhub.ie/the-great-famine/ (Accessed Nov. 11, 2025)
• Danny Cusack and Kilmainhamwood Parish Council, Kilmainham of the Woody Hollow (Kilmainhamwood, 1998)