Byrne's Dictionary of Irish Local History (46 page)

pigeon-house
. Dovecote,
columbarium
.

Pigott forgeries
. A series of letters fabricated between 1887 and 1889 by Richard Pigott, a Dublin journalist, which purported to show that Charles Parnell was linked to agrarian terrorism. The truth emerged when Pigott cracked under cross-examination in February 1889. Subsequently he fled to Madrid where he committed suicide. (Lyons,
Charles Stewart Parnell
, pp. 368–9.)

pile
. In heraldry, a triangular wedge with the point near the base of the
escutcheon
.

pillowbeere
. A pillowcase.

piment
. A wine flavoured with spices.

pinder
. The keeper of the manorial pound.

pinfold
. The manorial pound where strays were held pending the next session of the manor court.

pinnace
. A light sailing ship or tender providing logistical support to warships.

pipe.
1: A wine casket 2: A unit of capacity containing half a
tun
, two hogsheads or four barrels.

pipe rolls
. Records of the court of
exchequer
, the pipe or treasurer's rolls contained the annual statements of receipts, allowances and arrears of sheriffs, escheators, customs collectors, guardians of royal manors, seneschals and bailiffs. They were known as pipe rolls because they were wrapped around hollow cylinders or pipes. In 1861 there were 184 Irish pipe rolls in existence, comprising the returns of the receipt and expenditure of the royal revenue, the escheators' and sheriffs' accounts which contained many references to land grants, the value of ecclesiastical lands taken into the king's hands by vacancy, exemplifications of the Statute of Westminster against
absentees
, accounts of laymen's lands taken into the king's hands,
prisage
of wine, king's customs and revenues,
quit-rents, wardships
and
escheats
. The pipe rolls were destroyed in 1922 but NLI MSS 760–1 contain Sir William Betham's extracts from the pipe rolls Henry III – Elizabeth I. Some of the material formerly contained in the Irish pipe rolls can be accessed in the English pipe rolls because the Irish treasurer's accounts were audited at Westminster. (Connolly,
Medieval record sources
, pp. 20–22; Davies and Quinn, ‘The Irish pipe roll';
PRI reps DK,
35– 54.)

Place Act
. A minor parliamentary reform measure introduced in 1793 (33 Geo. III, c. 41) under pressure from the ‘
patriot
'
party
which brought Ireland into line with Britain. The act compelled members to resign their commons' seats and seek re-election upon taking a government post or upon receiving a government pension. It was not retrospective, however, and at the union there were 72 members of the Irish parliament holding government posts (placemen), all perfectly positioned to vote through the legislative union. It was under legislation of this type that William Vesey FitzGerald, on his appointment as president of the Board of Trade, was compelled to resign his seat in Co. Clare in 1828 and fight a by-election. His defeat by Daniel O'Connell was pivotal in the concession of
Catholic emancipation
in 1829.

Plan of Campaign
. A continuation of the
Land War
by other means, this scheme was devised by John Dillon, William O'Brien and Timothy Harrington to compel landlords to lower rents through a process of collective bargaining with their tenants. It began in 1886 when a collapse in crop and livestock prices left many tenants unable to pay the rents judicially fixed under the 1881
Land Law Act
. Tenants who had not benefitted from that act were in an even worse position and the number of evictions began to climb dramatically. Under the plan, landlords were requested to lower their rents voluntarily. Those who refused were to be offered a reduced rate by the united body of tenants. If the reduced rent was refused the money was paid into an estate fund which was used to protect and support any tenants who were evicted for supporting the campaign. Landgrabbers were to be deterred by the use of the boycott. Any shortfall was met by subvention from the
National League
which disbursed £250,000 by 1891. Landlords and government responded vigorously to the plan. Some landlords combined in an attempt to defeat the tenants' demands. In 1887 Augustine Birrell, the
chief secretary
, introduced a coercion bill (Criminal Law and Procedure Act, 50 & 51 Vict., c. 20) which gave resident magistrates in proclaimed districts the powers of investigation and summary jurisdiction and authorised the
lord lieutenant
to suppress subversive groups. Both Dillon and O'Brien were jailed under this legislation. Between 1886 and 1890 the plan was initiated on 116 estates and although a majority were resolved peacefully or by agreement after some agitation, 18 estates remained unresolved by 1891. In all about 1,400 families were evicted and some remained displaced as late as 1893 when a special committee was established to consider their predicament. The Plan of Campaign effectively ended in 1890 with the jailing of O'Brien and Dillon and the citing of Parnell as co-respondent in the O'Shea divorce case. (Larkin,
The Roman Catholic Church
.)

plantation acre
. Also known as the Irish acre, it was the land measure employed in Ireland during the plantations, equivalent to 7,840 square yards or 1.62 statute acres.
See
acre.

plea rolls
. Essentially the journals of all the proceedings in the courts, the plea rolls contained records of decrees, legal suits, actions and inquisitions, enrolments of judicial appointees, enrolments of charters, patents and deeds, legal suits and actions, actions of dower, writs of right of
advowsons
, assizes of
novel disseisin
and
mort d'ancestor
, prosecutions for trespasses in the royal forests and a whole range of miscellaneous material associated with the business of jurisprudence. In 1861 there were 593 rolls in existence dating from 1220 to the reign of Charles I but with the few exceptions all were destroyed in the Four Courts in 1922. A manuscript repertory of 12 volumes of extracts from the plea rolls had been prepared by the
Irish Record Commission
before its demise and these can be found in the National Archives. The third volume of the O'Renehan MSS in Maynooth College Library also contains abstracts from the plea rolls.
See
Philomena Connolly,
Medieval record sources
, pp. 25–6, for all surviving rolls.

plenarty, exception of
. The claim advanced by the defence in a hearing of
darrien presentment
that there was no vacancy in the benefice to which the plaintiff claimed the right of presentation, that there was an incumbent and therefore no reason for the assize. (Osbrough,
Studies
, pp. 101–2.)

ploughbote, ploughboot
. A tenant's right without payment to procure wood from the manorial woods for the purpose of making ploughs.

ploughland
. The amount of land that would provide employment to one plough with a full team of oxen or horses for a year. Although its precise extent varied throughout the country it was normally considered to contain about 120 acres of arable land. Thus it was equivalent to a
carucate
or
villate
.

pluries
, writ of
. A writ issued after two earlier writs had proved ineffectual.
See
outlawry.

Pococke, Richard
(1704–1765). An English clergyman who served successively as vicar-general of Waterford and Lismore, archdeacon of Dublin and bishop of Ossory, Elphin and Meath. A compulsive traveller and travel-writer, Pococke published accounts of his tours of Egypt and the Middle East (1743–5) and his accounts of Scotland and England appeared in 1887 and 1888. Between 1747 and 1758 he toured extensively in Ireland, largely in remote areas that had attracted little attention from earlier commentators, but a full edition of his Irish tours only appeared in 1995. Pococke's interests were antiquarian and scientific and on his travels in he carried topographical and other reference works with him to compare his observations with those of earlier commentators. Observations on archaeology, botany, geology, ecclesiastical history and architecture, economic life and agriculture all figure prominently in his writing. Although keen to advance Protestantism in Ireland – he was an enthusiastic supporter of the
charter schools
– Pococke eschewed the moralistic criticisms of native Irish culture and beliefs of earlier visitors in favour of a descriptive, restrained style. (McVeagh,
Richard Pococke
.)

pointed style
. The pointed or Early English style was the first stage in the evolution of the Gothic architecture in the middle ages. It derived from the introduction of the pointed arch in the eleventh century. In addition to pointed arches, the style is characterised by plain ribbed vaults, windows without tracery and tall piers with shafts grouped together.
See
decorated style, perpendicular style, both of which represent developments of the pointed style.

police
. Following an outbreak of agrarian unrest in 1813, Robert Peel, the
chief secretary
, introduced the
Peace Preservation Act
(54 Geo. III, c. 131, 1814) which created a uniformed, temporary peace preservation force under the direction of a police
magistrate
to restore order in disturbed areas. In 1822 work began on a new police bill to establish a permanent standing force of constables and sub-constables for each county under the supervision of provincial inspectors-general. Magistrates in the counties were authorised to appoint constables and sub-constables but not the higher ranks. This force also operated under a magistrate (Geo. IV, c. 103, 1822). By 1825 Ireland had a professional police force of 4,500 men who were recruited and maintained locally but equipped from central government stores. From 1830 the government nominated the chief Dublin police magistrate and the bulk of police magistrates throughout the country. The inspectors-general, however, were appointees of the
lord lieutenant
and were required to establish uniform discipline and conduct within the force. They were also empowered to move men out of their respective counties as needs dictated. In 1836 Drummond, the chief secretary, amalgamated the peace preservation force with the county police to establish a single, armed and centralised police force, the Irish Constabulary, for the entire country with the exception of the cities of Dublin, Belfast and Derry which had their own police forces. Initially the new force comprised 8,400 men rising to 14,000 by the 1880s. In 1867 it was renamed the Royal Irish Constabulary for its role in suppressing the Fenians. By this time the duties of constables ranged from contentious matters, such as dealing with agrarian violence or assisting with evictions, to the mundane tasks of collecting agricultural statistics, operating as census enumerators and enforcing fishing, food and drugs regulations. From a local historian's perspective the flood of reports dispatched from the localities to the central administration offers a treasure trove of localised detail although caution must always be exercised in employing them. These were the reports of an arm of government that was not naturally well-disposed towards local grievances. The National Archives holds a large collection of records of crime and local disturbances dating from the 1790s. These can be found amongst the Rebellion papers (1790–1807), State of the Country papers (1790– 1831), the Outrage papers (1832–1852), the Chief Secretary's Office papers (from 1852), the Fenian papers (1857–1883), the Irish Land League and National League papers (1878–1890), Special Crime Branch papers (1887–1917) and Intelligence (1895–1917.
See
baronial police force, Bulkies, constable, Dublin Metropolitan Police, revenue police, watch and ward. (Herlihy,
The Royal Irish Constabulary
; O'Sullivan,
The Irish constabularies
; Palmer,
Police
.)

poll
. 1: A spatial unit of measurement equivalent to 50 to 60 acres 2: A deed (such as a deed poll) involving a single party that was straight edged and not indented for the reason that no other individual required a copy for later authentification.

pollard
. To cut a tree back to the trunk to encourage vigorous growth. Pollarding provided an annual crop of flexible rods for basket-weaving and thatching. It was carried out at a height to protect shoots from grazing animals.
See
coppice, scollop.

poll tax
. Literally a head tax, the poll tax was imposed on every adult over the age of 15 by the 1660 poll tax ordinance.
See Census of 1659.

pontage
. A maintenance tax levied on the users of a bridge.

Poor Inquiry
. The Poor Inquiry was established by royal commission in 1833 to inquire into the condition of the poorer classes in Ireland. It was the largest investigation ever conducted into poverty in these islands. Sub-commissioners were appointed to travel throughout the country gathering information about earnings, the nature of employment, cost of living, housing, clothing, food, medical care and local charity. Over 1,500 people were interviewed. The three reports of the inquiry (with appendices and supplements) contain detailed information on pre-Famine conditions in the localities which was submitted by clergymen, justices of the peace and medical officers in response to a set list of interrogatories. Richard Whately, Anglican archbishop of Dublin, was selected by the
Whig
administration as chairman in the hope that the report would be acceptable to Whig economic sensitivities but that hope was dashed with the publication between 1835 and 1837 of the commission's findings. They make bleak reading. The commissioners estimated that over two million people required assistance for 30 weeks of each year and recommended massive state intervention to promote the economic development of the country, most notably in the areas of land reclamation, fishery development and large-scale emigration to the colonies. They rejected the notion that the English
poor law
system with its emphasis on the provision of relief within a workhouse would go any distance towards ameliorating the impoverishment they had encountered. The commissioners did, however, agree with the government that relief should be discretionary and not an entitlement. For its part, the government ignored the commission's findings because, they claimed, the commission had exceeded its brief in looking into the causes rather than the symptoms of impoverishment. In any case prevailing economic thought in government circles did not favour massive state intervention. Irish poverty, according to this view, was a symptom of backwardness and could only be addressed by detaching the peasants from the soil and not by a liberal poor law system. Poor law was to be administered stringently to compel the peasants to give up their small-holdings, to encourage landlords to amalgamate small-holdings and invest in their estates, thereby transforming a country of small-holders, low productivity and
absentee
landlords into a modern capitalist economy.
See
Malthus. (Poor Inquiry.)