A Pocket History of the Irish Famine: The Story of Ireland's Great Hunger

by Tony Potter (Contributor), Fiona Biggs (Editor)

The Great Famine, "an Gorta Mor" in Irish, was a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration in Ireland between 1845 and 1852. It's often referred to as the Irish Potato Famine, particularly outside Ireland, as around forty percent of the population were reliant on this crop. Over a million people died and over a million more emigrated, often in appalling circumstances. This book explains what happened before and during the Famine, with an account of the consequences of this epic tragedy.

Genres: History

256 pages, Hardcover

Published August 14, 2018

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two points to make here:

1) England was just consistently and absolutely HORRIBLE in their treatment of Ireland over the years, treating them as less than human, and intentionally keeping them in a state of perpetual poverty - or else trying to drive them off the land so that they could take their farmland and use it for grazing. The famine - or famines, as there were a number of them over the years - were bad enough, generally occurred during otherwise times of plenty; the potatoes on which the native Irish barely subsisted may have been stricken, but their English overlords were still shipping the rest of Ireland's bounty to Europe and/or the British colonies while the Irish starved. But along with the famine came disease - dysentery, smallpox, typhus and tuberculosis. And then came the evictions, when the mainly English landlords turned out all starving peasants that couldn't pay their meager rents. The end result was a drop in Ireland's population from a high of 8.5 million 6.5 million by 1850 - and that continued to drop, largely through death and emigration to just 4.5 million by 1911. I could go on, but you get the picture - the English disdain for Ireland and the "moral evil of the selfish, perverse and turbulent character of its people" resulted in a genocide equivalent of that being conducted simultaneously against the native Americans here in the U.S. Indeed, when asked how they felt about their indigenous tenants dying from starvation, English landlords generally replied that they were "DELIGHTED TO BE RID OF THEM!"

2) But second - and perhaps not more important, but certainly more relevant: there are just way too many similarities between Ireland's an Gorta Mór and our own current situation facing the COVID-19 crisis. Especially here in the U.S., where our political leadership has been slow in recognizing the severity of the problem, basically trying to "wish it away," and then bringing too little too late when the situation didn't just "miraculously" (as our feckless President opined) go away. Meanwhile, people continued to die unnecessarily in the (then) hundreds and (now) tens of thousands.

UNRELATED MUSINGS, (feel free to skip): We do not, as a race, really learn from our mistakes, and so history has a nasty habit of repeating itself, (or at least rhyming with itself, as Mark Twain more accurately put it). And while human evolution is a painfully slow process, our technological revolution makes our failings infinitely more dangerous, like giving machine guns to monkeys. However...call me naive, but I'm hoping that this time, maybe we come out of this coronavirus a little smarter, a little better. I just read today that people in India can now see the Himalayas for the first time in decades, and fish are coming back to Venice. Maybe the world will never really go back to the way it was...but maybe it will start getting a little closer to where it should be.

[adela🕯️🌙 · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘It must have seemed strange, and unlikely, to the British administration that faraway ‘heathens’ would make a more meaningful contribution to Irish famine relief than they themselves could even contemplate doing.’

It is impossible to read about An Gorta Mór as an Irish person without feeling a sense of dread and hopelessness in your heart. We have learned about this tragedy since primary school however the more I read and learn ,the more it breaks my heart and angers me. It’s amazing how much a genocide from the 19th century can still impact Irish life today. For example , the population never went back up to pre- famine levels. We also must remember the kindness that Irish people were showed when they emigrated and also how other countries sent grain etc. This is especially important in today’s increasingly racist country. Everyone should definitely see the Famine Graveyard in An Rinn, Waterford too. It’s heartbreaking but so extremely important.

Overall a very objective, factual and interesting book.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Great Famine, "an Gorta Mor" in Irish, was a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration in Ireland between 1845 and 1852. It's often referred to as the Irish Potato Famine, particularly outside Ireland, as around forty percent of the population were reliant on this crop. Over a million people died and over a million more emigrated, often in appalling circumstances. This book explains what happened before and during the Famine, with an account of the consequences of this epic tragedy. "

This book really gets into the history and all the sad facts about this terrible time in Irish history.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well laid out and thorough history of the Irish famine. Went over events lead up to, during and the aftermath. It was thought provoking to see the careless attitude goverments had to people's lives still be so relevant today.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can’t really say I enjoyed this book. Just makes you shake your head that the poor in Ireland suffered so much, and needlessly. Thanks to those with money and power who turned a blind eye or made conscious decisions to punish or profit from the Famine.