By Brian Houlihan

Sir Nugent Everard

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Tobacco, like hemp, is not native to Ireland. It is believed tobacco was introduced into Ireland by Walter Raleigh around 1550, with the first crop grown on his estate in Youghal in Cork. Since then tobacco growing has been sporadically experimented with, although prohibited at times, under King James and King Charles.

It’s often argued that the obstacle to tobacco growing in Ireland was never climatic but was solely and entirely political. The same can be said about growing hemp in Ireland. Both crops grow well here but the industries have historically been restricted.

At the turn of the 20th century attempts were made to introduce tobacco growing on a commercial basis in Ireland. From 1898 to 1938 the Randalstown area of Navan was central to these plans. The industry was concentrated on the 300-acre estate of Nugent Everard. The estate had its own plantation and processed tobacco from local growers for sale to factories.

Snippet from the Drogheda Independent from May 1932

This interest in tobacco had a knock on effect on the hemp industry. As tobacco needs protection from the elements, hemp (or artichokes) were planted near the crop to act as a windbreaker. A newspaper report from 1932 states Nugent Everard first experimented with hemp for this purpose in 1906. His research, and influence, inspired others to follow suit.

Among those to experiment with tobacco growing was the Rowan family. They grew and processed tobacco on their farm in Stackallen in County Meath in the 1930’s. The Rowan’s also grew hemp to act as a windbreaker and were perhaps among the last to do so. By the end of the 1930’s a mix of domestic taxation and cheaper foreign tobacco meant the domestic tobacco industry declined dramatically.

This year I was lucky enough to visit a hemp farm in Meath twice. Once to appreciate the crop in all its glory and the second visit to help with the harvest. You can read more about that here.

Tobacco harvesting at the Rowan farm in the 1930's

Brian Houlihan is the curator of the Dublin Hemp Museum and regularly writes about hemp. Follow him on Twitter @dubhempmuseum and@houlihanbrian. You can also find the museum on Facebook.

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