A famine is when there is a very severe shortage or lack of food. During a famine there is, hunger, malnutrition, starvation and often death among the people. Ireland had it worst famine in 1845 when a famine called the great famine occurred. It lasted until about 1850 but the worst years were between 1845 and 1849. It is estimated that almost 1 million people died and another million Irish people emigrated by the end of the famine.
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They could emigrate by ship and sail over to America . On this boat there was a lot of disease from ill people who were leaving Ireland to get away from the famine. There were 3 classes on the ship first class(for the high class people), second class(for middle class people) and steerage(for the poor people). Most of the diseased and ill people where in the steerage class. A lot of people who where on these boats died from disease and never made it to the destinations.
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Ireland's population was over 8 million in 1841 but by the 1851 it had reduced to about 6.5 million. That was 1.5 people who had died or emigrated!
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One of the causes of the great Irish famine was a disease called blight which destroyed the potato crop. The potato was the only food available to the majority of people in Ireland at this time. The poorer people were the cottiers and laborer who did not own their own land. They grew potatoes on small plots of ground and had no money to buy any other foods.
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The poorest groups suffered the most during the famine because they had no other food to eat then the potatoes. When the blight destroyed the potato crop every year from 1845, the people faced starvation and death.
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Ireland was under English rule at the time of the famine and the Parliament was in London. When the blight ruined the first potato crop in 1945, Sir Robert Peel was the prime minister. He knew that most Irish people would have nothing to eat. In 1846, he hipped some Indian corn to Ireland and arranged it to be sold in different parts of Ireland a cheap prices. This helped some families, however the poorest people had no money to buy it. The corn was also difficult to get from some of he most remote places were the famine was worst and where the roads were bad. Another problem was that the people had to cook the corn, however they often did not know how to cook the corn as they had never had it before. This corn was so hard that it became known as "peel's Brimstone".
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Robert Peel also set up relief work were people were paid to work. The government paid poor people wages to wages to do work such as building roads or piers. However the money they were paid was very load and the food prices were high. The wages did not allow the workers to buy much food for themselves or their families. However, the food did feed many people and during 1945 no one died of famine. Peel also set up relief committees in each area to collect money from wealthier people by collecting tax.
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The second failure to the crop was in 1846 and in July and August. By February 1847, there was a huge snowdrift and the poor did not have any warm clothes to work outside in the cold wet conditions. When the father of a family became sick or died after working at a public works, the women and the children in the family tried to take over the work but it was very hard and involved carrying heavy loads or digging. This type of work was not useful helping the people who were starving.
* * * * *
in the summer of 1847, the government set up some soup kitchens to give some of the starving people some hot soup. By August 1847, about 3 million people were being fed each day in total. However, in the Autumn of 1847 the government shut down the soup kitchens. They expected the next crop of potatoes to be good and told people to go to the work houses for help.
* * * * *
Work houses were the very poor people, known as paupers, could go to live. People had to wear a uniform and were given a very basic diet. Families were split up once inside Men, Women, Boys and girls were all forced to stay in different parts of the building.
There were very strict rules in the work house such as keeping silent at certain times. Inmates were not allowed to play cards, disobey orders or try to escape from the warehouse.
people were often ill when entering the warehouse and this meant many people died from disease or illness which had spread quickly in the warehouses.
* * * * *
They could emigrate by ship and sail over to America . On this boat there was a lot of disease from ill people who were leaving Ireland to get away from the famine. There were 3 classes on the ship first class(for the high class people), second class(for middle class people) and steerage(for the poor people). Most of the diseased and ill people where in the steerage class. A lot of people who where on these boats died from disease and never made it to the destinations.
* * * * *
Ireland's population was over 8 million in 1841 but by the 1851 it had reduced to about 6.5 million. That was 1.5 people who had died or emigrated!
* * * * *
One of the causes of the great Irish famine was a disease called blight which destroyed the potato crop. The potato was the only food available to the majority of people in Ireland at this time. The poorer people were the cottiers and laborer who did not own their own land. They grew potatoes on small plots of ground and had no money to buy any other foods.
* * * * *
The poorest groups suffered the most during the famine because they had no other food to eat then the potatoes. When the blight destroyed the potato crop every year from 1845, the people faced starvation and death.
* * * * *
Ireland was under English rule at the time of the famine and the Parliament was in London. When the blight ruined the first potato crop in 1945, Sir Robert Peel was the prime minister. He knew that most Irish people would have nothing to eat. In 1846, he hipped some Indian corn to Ireland and arranged it to be sold in different parts of Ireland a cheap prices. This helped some families, however the poorest people had no money to buy it. The corn was also difficult to get from some of he most remote places were the famine was worst and where the roads were bad. Another problem was that the people had to cook the corn, however they often did not know how to cook the corn as they had never had it before. This corn was so hard that it became known as "peel's Brimstone".
* * * * *
Robert Peel also set up relief work were people were paid to work. The government paid poor people wages to wages to do work such as building roads or piers. However the money they were paid was very load and the food prices were high. The wages did not allow the workers to buy much food for themselves or their families. However, the food did feed many people and during 1945 no one died of famine. Peel also set up relief committees in each area to collect money from wealthier people by collecting tax.
* * * * *
The second failure to the crop was in 1846 and in July and August. By February 1847, there was a huge snowdrift and the poor did not have any warm clothes to work outside in the cold wet conditions. When the father of a family became sick or died after working at a public works, the women and the children in the family tried to take over the work but it was very hard and involved carrying heavy loads or digging. This type of work was not useful helping the people who were starving.
* * * * *
in the summer of 1847, the government set up some soup kitchens to give some of the starving people some hot soup. By August 1847, about 3 million people were being fed each day in total. However, in the Autumn of 1847 the government shut down the soup kitchens. They expected the next crop of potatoes to be good and told people to go to the work houses for help.
* * * * *
Work houses were the very poor people, known as paupers, could go to live. People had to wear a uniform and were given a very basic diet. Families were split up once inside Men, Women, Boys and girls were all forced to stay in different parts of the building.
There were very strict rules in the work house such as keeping silent at certain times. Inmates were not allowed to play cards, disobey orders or try to escape from the warehouse.
people were often ill when entering the warehouse and this meant many people died from disease or illness which had spread quickly in the warehouses.
these are sculpture of people from the Famine in Dublin and are dedicated to the people who were forced to emigrate from Ireland they were deigned and crafted by Dublin's Rowan Gillespie located at house customs quay in Dublin docklands .