October 11th, 1847: As winter approaches, the Chief Secretary finds the prospect of providing relief through the machinery of the Poor Law "terrifying". Edward Twistleton, the Chief Poor Law Commissioner, anticipates a continuation of deaths from starvation for which he will be held responsible. Crowds of vagrants roam the countryside.
In the distressed western and southern unions, the Poor Law officers paint an ominous picture. The condition of the people is described as "wretched" and "debilitated", and worse than last year. In the Castlebar union, the vice-guardians refer to the applicants for relief as "a wretched mass of human misery"; they are admitted to the workhouse although it is already full.
In Swinford, Co Mayo, nine properties are being administered by the Court of Chancery. "Out of 60-70 names returned as ratepayers, 50-60 are non-resident," reports Capt Delves Broughton, a Poor Law inspector. "The tenantry are proportionately neglected, or I might say abandoned, for in few instances is the agent resident either and, in some cases, no one but a driver is left as the representative of a proprietor." A driver drives away cattle seized for rent or rates and forces evicted people out of the ruins of their homes. During the past week, only £25 out of a rate of £2,600 has been collected in Swinford.
While the guardians are assembled in the board room of Rathkeale workhouse, 3,000 peasants from Glin, Shanagolden, Pallaskenry and Askeaton surround the institution and demand assistance from the master. The crowd attempts to demolish the poorhouse and, according to the Limerick Chronicle, "rioted on the military".
Regardless of increased distress as the harvest work draws to a close, the government and the Poor Law Commissioners refuse to permit outdoor relief until it is absolutely necessary. A circular from the commissioners informs boards of guardians that "the evil which is to be most guarded against is the necessity of granting outdoor relief to able-bodied men".
The "workhouse test" is employed as proof of destitution. If additional accommodation is not possible, the guardians are to discharge the old and infirm paupers already in the workhouse to make way for able-bodied applicants.
The Rathkeale guardians, remembering the recent riot, resign in protest against the policy of making the most vulnerable categories of paupers leave the shelter of the workhouses.
When extra poorhouse accommodation becomes available in Tipperary, 600 men are offered admission; on refusing it, they are struck off the relief lists. While outdoor relief costs less, the problem is one of scale; for every five people applying to enter the dreaded workhouse, 50 want outdoor relief.