Published in the 31st December 1844 edition of The Armagh Guardian:
Christmas Day in Armagh.
On Wednesday last the annual dinner was given to the inmates of the Armagh Poor-house, by his grace the Lord Primate; the dinner consisted of roast beef and plum pudding, with ale. Same day 100 of the aged and infirm poor had a breakfast of bread and tea. The mendicants appeared happy and contented, and thankful to his Grace, at whose expense they were entertained, under the direction of Wm. Paton, Esq.
On same day the prisoners in our county gaol were supplied with animal food and a pint of ale each to dinner. The arrangements on the occasion reflect much credit on the Local Inspector, Dr. Kidd.
The children of the Charter School were regaled with roast beef, the bounty of His Grace the Lord Primate. About 100 scholars sat down to dinner. Grace was said by Dr. Elrington. There were present on the occasion F. Elrington, Esq., Henry Elrington, Esq., Rev. Robert Haig, Rev. Alexander Irwin, Mrs. Irwin, the Misses Elrington, &c. Before the children separated they sang the National Anthem. His Grace[‘]s munificence was also extended to upwards of 100 children of the Mall School who received rewards and clothing.
Sir George and Lady Molyneux, of Castle Dillon with their usual benevolence, remembered the poor at Christmas. — Sir George gave a large bullock and his worthy lady distributed upwards of 40 flannel petticoats, besides other articles of clothing to the paupers of the neighbourhood.
Source citation for this page: — Kilpatrick, Alison. “Christmas at the Poor-house in Armagh, 25th December 1844.” Citing the 31st December 1844 edition of The Armagh Guardian, published by John Thompson (1815–1880). Blog article published to Arborealis, 25th December 2020; online at arborealis.ca/2020/12/25/christmas-day-poor-house-armagh-1844/, accessed [insert date of access].
Image credit: — “Halfpenny dinners for poor children in East London.” Hosted online by the Wellcome Collection. This image is governed by Creative Commons Licence CC BY 4.0. Follow the link to learn what you are allowed to do with the image and the conditions imposed by the licence.
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