Events and Impact of Irish Potato Famine

Events and Impact of Irish Potato Famine.

The Irish farming population have been left counting the cost of the

potato famine which has crippled their harvest and left many starving

to death. The British government must shoulder the blame after an

ineffective, slow and lacklustre effort to support the farmers and

improve conditions.

The famine itself started in September 1845 when leaves on potato

plants turned black and curled, then rotted, seemingly as a result of

fog which had wafted across the fields. This meant that potatoes then

rotted and became inedible.

The potato is the staple food of the Irish peoples’ diet, consumed

with every meal. It had been known in the past that when potato crops

had failed, the farmers it affected and their families would starve to

death. Due to Ireland’s status as an agricultural nation, the famine

hit them especially hard. Only around a quarter of the population can

read or write and the life expectancy is around 40.

Most of the Irish countryside is owned by an English and Anglo-Irish

hereditary ruling class. Many landlords barely step foot on their land

all year, if at all. These plots of land were confiscated from Irish

Catholics by British conquerors such as Cromwell and given to mainly

Protestant owners who live off of the rent paid by Catholics whose

ancestors once owned the land. The fertile farm land is found in the

north and east of Ireland, whereas the least fertile farm land is in

the south and west, which situates the mass of the population. Before

the famine, it was found that the density of people living on

cultivated land was about 700 people per square mile.

Ireland’s ...

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harvest of the famine had brought in a blight free crop, but not

enough potatoes had been planted in the spring to make a significant

harvest which many could live off. Landlords were now desperate for

income and had to get rid of paupers who were on their land and not

paying rent for, in some cases, years. To save their estates from

ruin, the tenants had to go.

The famine had lasted for six years, since 1845. the famine had killed

over one million people and its effects had forced another million to

migrate to other countries. Its effect will be felt for years to come

and many people have lost what they cannot replace. The British

government has to shoulder the blame for this mess, especially,

Trevelyan, whose decisions led to the starvation of thousands of

people who could have otherwise been saved.