The Famine Irish: Emigration and the Great Hunger

by Ciaran Reilly

From a range of leading academics and historians, this collection of essays examines Irish emigration during the Great Famine of the 1840s. From the mechanics of how this was arranged to the fate of the men, women and children who landed on the shores of the nations of the world, this work provides a remarkable insight into one of the most traumatic and transformative periods of Ireland’s history. More importantly, this collection of essays demonstrates how the Famine Irish influenced and shaped the worlds in which they settled, while also examining some of the difficulties they faced in doing so.

272 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2016

Reviews

[Bernard Naughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of essays from a broad range of academics, historians and journalists gives a many sided view of the famine which devastated the rural areas of Ireland in the 1840s and resulted in a population decline of 50% from 8 million to 4 million in a few short years due to starvation and emigration. The material ranges from political to social to economic and details many family histories from public records all against the backdrop of a massive failure on the British government`s part to respond to the failure of the potato crop in a humane way. Any help which did arrive was from the general public or church organisations. An illuminating read about an unforgetable time in Irish history