It may only contain 806 records, but spanning 1806-1831, when Irish records are rarer than a quiet night in a Dublin pub, you wouldn’t want to miss what could be a gem. I wasn’t lucky!
Expect to find index transcriptions with the following information: Name, Pension Age, Birth Date, Pension Date, Pension Place, Occupation, Length of Service, and History.
Occupations include Boatman (160) and Tide Waiter (146). A tide waiter was a historical customs officer who boarded incoming ships to inspect cargo and ensure that duties were paid, preventing smuggling. They would “wait” for the tide to bring ships into port.
The Ancestry collection is sourced from the University of Southampton;; Return of Customs and Excise Officers Superannuated in Ireland.