‘The Night of the Big Wind’: Reticent Subjects and the Introduction of Old Age Pensions in Ireland

Abstract When the non-contributory old age pension was introduced in 1908, claimants had to provide written proof that they were at least seventy years of age and of limited means. A greater number of claims emerged than the Treasury predicted, but instead of recognizing the limitations of historical record-keeping the Irish authorities were accused of widespread fraud. This article explores the concept of reticent subjects, and how the Act occasioned individual articulations of agency on the part of poor people who had little by way of a social contract with the State until that point.