The final programme in a Midwest Radio documentary series on rural Ireland of the past will be broadcast on Sunday next at 9am.
Being caught for weed nowadays means being caught by the police for possession of an illegal drug such as cannabis. But in the Ireland of the 20th century weeds of a more innocent variety could land a farmer or landowner in court. The Noxious Weeds Act of 1936 was constituted to deal with the problems caused by noxious invaders such as ragwort, thistle, and dock.
Contributors to the 40 minute programme recall how members of the gardaí used to patrol the highways and byways of rural Ireland on bicycles peering across stonewalls and hedgerows to detect breaches of the regulation.
