Retired British army captain Charles Cunningham Boycott (1832--1897) who claimed his unwanted fame in 1880 when the Irish Land League decided to punish him for not lowering his rents.

After retiring from the army, Boycott in 1873 became agent for the 3rd Earl of Erne's estates in County Mayo.

The Land League, formed in Ireland in 1879 when bad harvests made a famine likely, told Boycott in 1880 that he must reduce rents by 25 percent.In September 1880, after Boycott had attempted to evict his tenants, the president of the Land League, Irish nationalist statesman Charles Stewart Parnell, suggested that tenants should avoid any communication with those who refused their demand for lower rents.

Parnell's policy was first used against Boycott, who, consequently, was forced to employ workers from Ulster, guarded by soldiers, to harvest his crops.

Boycott left Ireland the same year and eventually became an agent for estates in Suffolk. But his name lived on in infamy.		 The craic - it’s the Irish word for good fun, enjoying yourself, having a laugh! It’s a word you’ll hear a lot in Ireland!

What is Craic? Even the Irish find it hard to define! Pronounced “crack”, it is the common cry of Irish people throughout the Emerald Isle. “Let’s go have some craic” is a comment that might be heard in any Irish house on any Saturday night.

Craic is a Gaelic word, with no exact English translation. The closest you get is “fun.” There’s the expression “ceoil agus craic,” meaning “music and fun,” probably once used by locals to fortify themselves before heading off over an arduous mountain pass to the nearest ceili.

Put simply, having craic is having a good time or a laugh. However, due to an unfortunate similarity in pronunciation with a well-known and illegal narcotic substance, not everyone gets the right idea about it.

So at Annie Bailey's Irish Pub, we invite you to come and share in the 'craic', because it's good and it's right here. So share and enjoy!

For more Fun Facts about Ireland click HERE

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