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The victims were from 13 to 23-years-old and slept in quarters arranged with the boys in a shed with inverted potato boxes covered in straw as bedding. Late in their first night there, the bodies of the young men and boys were found huddled in a corner opposite the door protecting each other.
The news of these deaths struck Achill Island as the Connaught Telegraph in County Mayo reported the ‘weeping of mothers torn with grief as the dreadful tidings passed quickly from lip to lip.’
This event led to local authorities being given more jurisdiction over the regulation of accommodations for seasonal workers, but with a conservative ruling party, the new regulations were not well enforced.
The names of the victims were: Thomas Cattigan, Patrick Kilbane, Thomas Kilbane, John McLoughlin, Michael McLoughlin, John Mangan, Thomas Mangan, Michael Mangan, Owen Kilbane, and Patrick McNeela.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8842/kirkintilloch-tragedy
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On This Day in Working Class History — 16 September 1937: Kirkintilloch tragedy. Machine-transcribed; use the interactive transcript above to jump the player to any line.
On this day in working class history, the 16th of September. On the 16th of September 1937, ten young migrants from Akhil Island, Ireland, died in a shed fire in Kirkham-Tilok, Scotland. A group of 26-year-old migrant workers, many of whom were siblings, were part of the many migrants looking for temporary work during the height of the harvest season. The victims were between 13 and 23 years old, and slept in quarters arranged with the boys in a shed with inverted potato boxes covered in straw as bedding. Late in their first night there, the bodies of the young men and boys were found huddled in a corner opposite the door, protecting each other. The news of these deaths struck Akhil Island as the conald telegraph in County Mayo reported the quote, weeping of mother's torn with grief, as the dreadful tidings passed quickly
from lip to lip. End quote. The names of the victims were Thomas Categan, Patrick Thomas and Owen Kilbane, John and Michael McLaughlin, John Thomas and Michael Mangon, and Patrick McNeiler. This event eventually led to local authorities being given more jurisdiction over the regulation of accommodations for seasonal workers. But the new regulations won particularly well enforced. For sources, maps and all about anniversaries each day, check out the on-this-day section of our stories at at stories.workinclusthistory.com, and if you value our work, support us at patreon.com, slash work and class history. Links in the shunners. The music by Dacato Araya. See you tomorrow. When the school year hits full speed, don't let dinner fall behind. Make the week easier with good ranchers. Good ranchers delivers high-quality 100% American beef, chicken, pork, and more straight to your
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