The Making of a Ghost Town - The Rise and Fall of the Irish Kings of Cotton

Irish History Podcast

Fin Dwyer

Ireland, Irish History, Norman Invasion, Great Hunger, Vikings, Interviews, History, War Of Independence, Great Famine

4.7 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 September 2024

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the 1850s, Portlaw was Ireland's most successful town. The population had grown tenfold in the previous 30 years. The local Cotton Mill, built by the Malcomson Family, provided work for thousands of people. However, by the early 20th century, everything had changed. The Cotton Mill was silent, and many of the houses had been abandoned.

This episode explores the story of the Malcomson Family. Once known as the Kings of Cotton, they built one of the most successful business empires in the world in rural Ireland in the space of forty years. Their downfall was no less spectacular. This episode reveals the dramatic rise and fall of the Malcomson dynasty, showcasing their remarkable achievements but also uncovering the dark secrets of a company with controversial work practices that benefited from US slavery.

Episode 2 of Transatlantic: An Irish American History Podcast is out now! You can hear the story of Ann Glover - The Irish Witch of Boston. Listen here.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/irishhistory.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Greg doesn't know it yet, but he's about to become an Einstein.
0:04.0	Whoa, nice hair, Greg!
0:07.0	This transformation is all thanks to Salesforce, powered by Einstein AI.
0:12.0	It helps Greg Unified Data, predict business insights and
0:15.4	generate personalized customer content in seconds. Get a single shared view of
0:20.2	every customer in your business with Salesforce, the number one AICRM.
0:25.2	Now everyone's in Einstein, visit Salesforce.com to find out more. There's a taboo in Ireland and probably in most cultures about speaking ill of the dead.
0:42.0	This was certainly the case in Waterford in January
0:44.4	1892 when William Malcolmson drew his final breath.
0:48.3	aged 78 he had been suffering from senality for a year and his death came as little surprise.
0:55.0	Yes, his passing did draw widespread commentary.
0:59.0	The man had once been the most powerful and wealthy figures in Waterford. Few had been richer than
1:05.2	Malcolmson, but few had lost more money. However, somewhat predictably, when he was laid to rest
1:11.7	on Wednesday, January the January 13th 1892 there was no mention of his many
1:16.8	failings his highly questionable business practices or the terrible consequences of his actions for those who had worked for him.
1:25.7	The funeral was, all told, a grand affair.
1:29.1	His coffin was drawn through the streets of Port Law, a town his family effectively owned.
1:35.2	From there it was taken to a local train station and brought to Clamel where he was laid to rest
1:40.1	with his family in a Quaker burial ground. The great and good of Irish society gathered at the
1:46.2	graveside to build farewell to a man whose family had once been known as the Kings of Cotton.
1:52.4	Newspapers wrote ob on his successes.
1:57.2	There was, however, another side to William Malcolm's life.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Fin Dwyer, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Fin Dwyer and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.