- The Great Famine was a disaster that hit Ireland between 1845 and about 1851, causing the deaths of about 1 million people and the flight or emigration of up to 2.5 million more over the course of about six years.
- The short term cause of the Great Famine was the failure of the potato crop, especially in 1845 and 1846, as a result of the attack of the fungus known as the potato blight.
- The potato was the staple food
- Most poor farmers and agricultural labourers or ‘cottiers’ lived at a subsistence level and had little to no money to buy food, which was widely available for purchase in Ireland throughout the famine years.They did however have to continue to pay rents either in cash or in kind, to landlords. Failure to do this during the famine saw many thousands being evicted, greatly worsening the death toll.
- In the summer of 1847, the government set up some soup kitchens to give the starving people hot soup but were shut down in Aug 47. They expected that the next crop of potatoes might be good and told poor people that they could go to the workhouses for help.
- Workhouses were places where the very poor, known as paupers, could go to live. Once they entered the workhouse, people had to wear a uniform and were given a very basic diet.
- Large numbers of Irish people emigrated to countries such as England, America, Canada and Australia because of the famine. From 1845 to 1850, about one and a half million people left Ireland.
For further information check out www.askaboutireland.ie/learning-zone/primary-students/subjects/history/history-the-full-story/ireland-in-the-19th-centu/the-great-famine-an-gorta/