The Great Irish Potato Famine

Imagine a country where one million and one hundred thousand people are dying from disease or starvation, in addition to one and a half million others desperately immigrating to other countries, in an attempt to escape the overwhelming sickness and fatality, (World Book Online, 2017). Try to imagine the government that controls you and is responsible for your well being, almost totally neglecting to even acknowledge or take charge of this problem until it is too late. If one were to look at Ireland from 1845 to 1849, this is exactly what happened when a potato famine struck the British ruled country. The Great Irish Famine of 1846 was called "God's Famine" when an unknown, uncontrollable disease turned Ireland's potato crop to slime. Britain's

reaction to The Irish Potato Famine resulted in emigration, prejudice, and the unlikeliness of survival for the Irish people.
Approximately a third of the population of Ireland was living in dire poverty, (Irish Culture, 2014), as a result of Ireland’s only food source, the potato staple, failed.

Aside from death by starvation, Irish people died from famine associated diseases such as cholera and typhus (Irish Culture, 2014). By examining census records it can be shown that the Irish potato famine caused poverty and starvation of the country, decreasing the population to 4 million, half its size before the famine. More than one million people emigrated during the potato famine never to return to Ireland, (Irish Culture, 2014). If the Irish people survived the boat trip riddled by starvation and related diseases, they started new lives in England, America or Canada. By examining the popular press of the time period it can be shown that the Irish potato famine caused hard times for the Irish people who in turn emigrated to other places in search of a plentiful amount of sustainable food. Britain, at the time, was the world’s wealthiest nation and after 1847 there was a sufficient amount of food to prevent the starvation of the Irish population. However, the British were not fond of assisting Ireland. By examining government records it can be shown that the Irish potato famine resulted in prejudice between the British Government and Ireland. Along with prejudice against Ireland, the relationship between the two countries suffered, leaving long lasting affects on both Ireland and

Britain.
Many enormous tragedies have happened throughout the history of this world, and it’s staggering to think about how many people lost their lives because of these events. There are some such events, such as the Holocaust, where it is easy to pin the blame down on someone or a certain group. There are however tragic events in history without such a clear single party to blame. An example of this could be the Irish potato famine from 1845-1860, that caused the decline of the Irish population, a rise in emigration and prejudiced towards Ireland, only made worse by Britain's lack of help. Great Britain possessed the resources necessary to assist Ireland during the Great Potato Famine, however they did not assist in an effective manner. Britain may not have been the cause of the blight that destroyed Irelands potato crop and forced many people into starvation and poverty, but they were capable of assisting in more ways then they did. This paper will focus on the the events that occurred during the potato famine and the effects it had on Ireland for years to come.
The Irish potato famine from 1845-1850 caused the population to decrease drastically by thirty percent in Connacht, Ireland, (Union Act, 0000). The Great Famine, also known as the Irish Potato Famine or the Great Hunger resulted in mass deaths from starvation and what was most commonly known as “famine fever”. “Famine fever” was later identified as two separate diseases called typhus and relapsing fever, (Union Act, 0000). Aside from “famine fever” the Irish population was dying in masses from a disease called dysentery or more commonly known as the “bloody flux”, (Union Act, 0000). Dysentery was contracted from the Irish population eating raw turnips; seaweed; half-cooked Indian meal; nettle tops and wild mustard; the carcasses of dogs, horses, and diseased cattle. Aside from famine fever and bloody flux, a multitude of the Irish population were succumbed to starvation most commonly known as the “famine dropsy” as a result of a lack of food and vitamin C deficiency. Infections were also common for the Irish people during the Great Famine while laboring on public works, workhouses, and soup kitchens. The Great Irish Famine of 1845 through 1850 killed approximately one million Irish people.
Food supplies in Ireland were reduced by over ten percent in 1845 and by twenty-five percent to thirty percent in 1846, 1847 and 1848, (Famine, 2013). However, aside from the reduction in food supply, crops were still being exported out of Ireland and into Britain and surrounding countries. As a result of food scarcity in Ireland soup kitchens were being created to help reduce the percentage of starving people in Ireland during the summer of 1847. Over three million people collected rations daily from soup kitchens in July 1847. However, in the Autumn of 1847, the government shut down the soup kitchens, providing Ireland with false hope of the famine ending. Sadly, the famine did not end until years later, leaving the mass population starving for food, (Ireland Famine, 0000). The Parish Priest of Ballaghdereen wrote to the Lord Lieutenant in October of 1847, helping to put the great Irish potato famine into prospective for those who did not witness it first hand; “The awful scenes I have this day to communicate are heart rending. Two persons have died this day from starvation. One of them, declared a few hours before his death that he had not eaten a full meal for twelve days previously. I had over two hundred persons at my house today crying out for work or food. Their patience is great considering their wants. ...Their appearance is frightful.” (The Famine Plot, 1847). This quote helps to bring the situation during the potato famine to life.
The Irish potato famine was a tragic event in history, with no real reason behind the cause of the potato blight and no end in sight.

The effects of the Irish potato famine on Ireland’s population lasted long after the famine did. Throughout the famine, older generations had more children then they could support and provide a sufficient amount of food for, as a result of Irelands law against the use of contraception during the years of 1935-1980’s, (The Journal, 2012). The great famine left behind great social change in its wake, fewer children became preferred over a lot of children. During pre-famine Ireland, large families were common along with marriage at a young age with the prospect of children. As a result of the potato blight Ireland’s population feared it would return and mass deaths would overwhelm the temporary stable country. Late marriage became preferred, with its prospect of fewer children, the price paid to be able to keep the family farm intact, (Union Act, 0000). Due to the decrease in births after the potato famine, Ireland’s population continued to decrease. It took years for Ireland’s population to increase and even longer for the population to reach the height it was before the great famine that changed Ireland

forever.
During the years of 1845 to 1849, Ireland was facing the most monumental event in it’s history, in terms of both human casualties and socioeconomic transformations. At least one million Irish people died of starvation or disease, not including those who died on a boat during their quest for a a healthy life, (Irish Potato Famine, 0000). The exact number of casualties are lost in history, however, the closest approximation comes from the observations of physicians that worked in the country during the great famine, (Irish Typhus, 0000). The Irish people were not only dying from famine related diseases and starvation, but also from exposure that could have been easily avoided. Landlords were callously evicting tenants when they became deathly sick and were unable to work, leaving their family next to dead, (Irish, 0000.) Evictions and emigration cleared large stretches of land in Ireland, remains of the abandoned houses still fill the landscape of Ireland today. Almost 80,000 families were evicted between 1846 and 1851. By February 1846, 450,000 people were receiving outdoor relief and the figure almost doubled (830,000) by June of that year, (Irish, 0000). People were left roaming the roads with nowhere to go during the potato famine. When more than a million Irish people died (1845–50) because of the successive failures of the potato crop (1846– 48), the whole Irish society suffered a massive blow.