It was stated at the start of this book that begging was a ubiquitous feature of pre-Famine Irish society. Many beggars begged out of necessity and the practice was not just ingrained in the culture of the poor – what Fuchs has termed ‘the cultures of expediency’ – but was a necessary source of income for many in distress. Poor families could descend rapidly into destitution through the illness of a family member, particularly a breadwinner, and for persons who found themselves in these situations beggary was a survival strategy always open to them, yet one which carried social stigma and required skill in the practice of exciting compassion in others. In a period before any legal entitlement to assistance, the need to subsist by begging was incontrovertibly real for many. Just as Timothy P. O’Neill described pre-Famine Ireland as a ‘fever-ridden country’, it could also be described as a beggar-ridden country. What requires assertion, however, is that alms-giving to beggars was also prevalent in this period. People who begged subsisted, either completely or in part, upon the alms provided to them. In this light, not only beggars but alms-givers were ubiquitous in pre-Famine Ireland. The solicitation and provision of alms was an exchange requiring two parties, driven by different motivations. The reasons why people gave assistance to mendicants included a sense of Christian duty to the poor, a desire to be rid of an inconvenience, or a superstitious fear of the repercussions of refusal. Individuals resorted to mendicancy only if they possessed a reasonable expectation of receiving some assistance. Even in cases of desperation, it was assumed that among the many passers-by the beggar accosted and the many doors on which he or she knocked, a certain proportion of individuals would bestow alms. This understanding of the nature of charity – ‘the knack of presenting a cogent case and the places and situations under which they would receive the most sympathy’ – informed how beggars, either casual or professional, plied their trade.

The present book highlights and explores the many complexities inherent in the practices of begging and alms-giving in pre-Famine Ireland. Contemporary discourse on the poor and on beggary was beset with the difficulties of defining just who and what was being discussed. Definitions of begging and vagrancy were imprecise, shifting and problematic. The socioeconomic categories of individuals who begged were fluid and ever-evolving. Was there ever a ‘typical’ beggar?