Scariff Water Tower, Co. Clare, Ireland
Built during the famine in the 19th Century, this water tower is a grim reminder of the suffering of the local people during this dark part of our history. It is alleged that it's water inflow was downstream from the sewage outflow from the Scariff Work House and the water was the cause of a typhoid outbreak amongst the already weakened and starving inmates. Thousands of starving people from the surrounding countryside of East Clare came to the workhouse to die, as they knew they would get a proper burial. The frightening alternative was to die at the side of the road or in a ditch and be eaten by starving dogs and vermin.