People, Place and Power – The Grand Jury System in Ireland

24 roads, and parishes were to appoint overseers. This system depended upon the cooperation of the parishioners and numerous complications emerged. In many places, the Established Church was administratively too weak to fulfil this responsibility. In 1705, under a new statute, parishes failing to maintain their highways could be prosecuted, and the overseers appointed by the grand jury. 21 Fig. 7. Donegal’s Grand Jury presenting £2 salary for Daniel Kelly, director of roads for Kilmacrenan, 1756-7. Road maintenance in County Donegal in the 1750s We can see this process operating in County Donegal at the summer 1756 assizes (6 September) when £14 was paid to cover a £2 annual salary to a director of the roads in seven different parishes, the salary to be charged against the defaulting parishes. Directors could be appointed to multiple parishes. There Daniel Kelly received £6, for his work in the parishes of Clondahorky, Kilmacrenan and Tullaghobegley, and David Ramsey was paid £4 to direct roadworks in Aghanunishin and Conwal parishes. The presentment for Kelly’s £2 salary for his work in Kilmacrenan (Fig. 7), shows the payment process: the £2 charge was to be collected off the parish and paid to the county treasurer, who would then pay Kelly. Note, however, that the payment is for ‘last years sallary’, so Kelly had to wait a full year before receiving his payment. The following year, in March 1757, Donegal’s grand jury had to appoint not just a director of the highways, but also the two overseers of the highways in Templecrone parish, thereafter the appointment of overseers of the highway by the grand jury instead of the parish became common. The old road-maintenance system based on the parish was failing. Donegal County Archive, GJ/1/1.