Frustrated in love himself, it seems, Thomas Charlton (1702–1792) used his will to improve the chances of others. Whatever that means, it may have lent an element of revenge to his subsequent will, which provided that profits from his estates be put aside to provide grants of £6 16s 6d to the sons of farm labourers marrying the daughters of farm labourers in the counties mentioned. But from 1877, at least, while Protestant applicants still got priority, Catholics were allocated three-fifths of the available money. But in one form or another, it was still funding marriages well over a century after the benefactor’s death. A Catholic sub-committee managing the grant had paid out £8 each to 22 “bona fide farm labourers” in Ballymahon, Longford, Edgeworthstown, and Granard.

Source: The Irish Times October 21, 2020 18:22 UTC