pigs

pigs have been kept as livestock in Ireland since the neolithic period. Archaeological evidence and early medieval texts both suggest that they were a relatively cheap source of meat, as they could be fed largely on household refuse and natural food supplies such as autumn leaf mast. After the 16th century, however, the potato rapidly became their basic fodder. The close relationship between the two was evident during the Famine, when the failure of the potato also led to a dramatic fall in pig numbers, from 1,412,813 in 1841 to 565,629 in 1848. Numbers recovered rapidly after the Famine, rising to 1,084,857 by 1851.

Pigs flourish in the same temperature conditions as humans, and the lack of purpose‐built outbuildings on many small farms led to the practice of keeping pigs in the farm kitchen, especially when sows were farrowing. Carcasses were also commonly cured on the farm, for home use. The best‐known type of pig in 19th‐century Ireland was the Irish Greyhound Pig, which was described as long‐legged, bony, and coarse‐haired, but selective breeding with imported pigs such as the Berkshire led to the development of one of the most successful of all Irish livestock breeds, the Large White Ulster. The herd book for the breed was established in 1908, and during the early decades of the 20th century Ulster pigs were a major source of pork and bacon for industrial centres in England. Because Large Whites were bred for fat their bodies bruised easily, so that many farmers, especially in the north of Ireland, preferred to have pigs slaughtered on the farm to prevent the damage which might arise in moving live animals to market. Fat pigs were wet cured, the hams being steeped in brine. However, the growing consumer preference for lean meat led to the adoption of the dry Wiltshire method of curing and the eventual disappearance of the Large White Ulster breed, which became extinct during the 1960s.

Pig production remains an important element in Irish farming. In the early 1990s, more than 2,000,000 pigs were kept on farms, north and south.

Bibliography

Watson, M. , Standardisation of Pig Production: The Case of the Large White Ulster, Ulster Folklife, 34 (1988)

Jonathan Bell