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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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The other Victorians
— age, sickness and poverty in 19th-century Ireland | | Author(s) | Chris Gilleard |
| Journal title | Ageing and Society, vol 36, no 6, July 2016 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, July 2016 |
| Pages | pp 1157-1184 |
| Source | journals.cambridge.org/aso |
| Keywords | Poor elderly ; Institutional accommodation ; Social policy ; Histories ; Ireland. |
| Annotation | Drawing primarily on data from the various censuses conducted in Ireland after the Act of Union in 1800, this paper seeks to elucidate the changing position of older people in Ireland during the Victorian period. Following the Great Famine of 1845-1849, it is argued, Ireland was transformed from a young, growing country to one that, by the end of the 19th century, had become 'prematurely old'. By the end of Victoria's reign, not only had Ireland grown 'old', but its older population were more likely to be identified as paupers. Later-life expectancy decreased, and sickness and infirmity among the over-60s increased. By employing a stricter form of 'less eligibility' in the drafting and implementation of the Irish Poor Law, proportionately more older people received indoor relief than outdoor relief compared with the rest of the British Isles. Not until the Old Age Pensions Act in 1908 did these disparities begin to change, by which time many of these 'other' Victorians had passed away. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-160617202 A |
| Classmark | F:W6: KV: TM2: 6A: 763 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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