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Irish Famine #3
Cold is the Dawn
Hunger deepened in Ireland in 1848 as the potato crop failed again. In London, the government, alarmed by austerity in England and revolution in Europe, refused to re-open the soup kitchens in Ireland. But, worse still, they refused to halt food exports from the starving country. Emigration quickened as many were evicted, and many more fled from a wasted land. They worked the waterfronts and coal mines of America and the railways and building sites of England. But hunger still stalked them. 'Cold is the Dawn' follows these men and women and their bitter fight for survival in Ireland, England and America.
434 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 26, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
November 6, 2019
I finished this Book 3 n the series yesterday. It has been harrowing reading as I have now followed the Ryan family through the years of the terrible famine in Ireland.It is Fiction, however,the actual history of the famine in Ireland is so very well researched and the facts are never glossed over - so much so that I often had to stop reading sometimes. How the people lived through those terrible times is described in great detail, but always the Ryan family are living their lives and I was hoping they would live and prosper. Without giving anything away I really hope after reading book 3, that there is going to be a Book 4....please?
If you have Irish heritage, or even if you want to read the history of Ireland during the famine in 1847 then this is an excellent book.
If you have Irish heritage, or even if you want to read the history of Ireland during the famine in 1847 then this is an excellent book.
January 31, 2019
Third in the Irish diaspora trilogy. Very good. I hope the fourth novel is being written!!
September 12, 2018
This book was gruesome to read-- ongoing graphic descriptions of hunger, death, poverty, and evictions of the poor #uberpoor by the local County Mayo aristocracy #landlords during the Potato Famines of 1848+ . Lots of descriptions of rats squeaking around dead bodies found in various states of decomposition along the roads and in their collapsed sod huts, in church yards, in workhouses, etc. Descriptions of cholera and "the fever" that rampaged across the land and into England as well.
The extended family that is written about are given a range of personalities from totally reliable and empathetic to cold and hard and selfishly ambitious. I like a little more character development and a little less descriptions of day in-day out stuff, but I do know that I learned a lot about the terrible hardships of that period when a huge number of "our" Irish ancestors came to Canada, US, Australia, etc. I now have to read something lighter and jollier to offset the sadness and bleakness of that book. It looks like it is formed up to be a series. I think, now at least, that I will not read book two.
The extended family that is written about are given a range of personalities from totally reliable and empathetic to cold and hard and selfishly ambitious. I like a little more character development and a little less descriptions of day in-day out stuff, but I do know that I learned a lot about the terrible hardships of that period when a huge number of "our" Irish ancestors came to Canada, US, Australia, etc. I now have to read something lighter and jollier to offset the sadness and bleakness of that book. It looks like it is formed up to be a series. I think, now at least, that I will not read book two.
February 6, 2020
Last book in the trilogy...
Obviously I liked them or I wouldn’t have read all three. The last book was very repetitive. It was all I could do to finish. Felt as if the book just stopped instead of a ending.
Obviously I liked them or I wouldn’t have read all three. The last book was very repetitive. It was all I could do to finish. Felt as if the book just stopped instead of a ending.
November 21, 2020
This is the third book in the series about the potato famine in Ireland. I don't believe I would read a fourth unless it would reveal more about the Ryan family itself and what they go through in the future. The death and destruction in all three books is overwhelming to say the least. I wanted to learn more about the subject and I really did! The Ryan family's individual stories brought some revelations as to what they went through in this book. Luke and Winnie and their son finally make a home in America after suffering some of the same things that they did in Ireland. Pat and Sarah continue to live the way they have been but things slowly slide into more misery. Eleanor and Michael must rely on their sons as they grow older to keep them alive through more of the famine epidemic. Danny after losing his soul is gone and Irene tries to take over the contracting business herself. But his brother attempts to stop Irene with a law suit. This novel like the others could have been shorten without some much repetition of the famine and its results.
May 19, 2021
This was the 3rd in the series. It was gripping and heartbreaking They suffered terribly with famine and starvation. As I read these books I could relate somewhat of today. The suffering from fever and cholera. No jobs to be had and if so only paying pennies. They thought coming to America was the land of opportunity only to face the same. Little jobs and what there was was working in coal mines. These men and children would be dead before they reached 20 from black lung. The America's hated the Irish as they claimed they were taking jobs from them because they were cheap labor. There were Irish gangs and catholics against Protestants. In a way history repeating itself When I did my dna and saw how I had Irish and Scottish in me it compels me to read about there lives and who knows maybe I might find ancestors that suffered thru this
March 11, 2024
a tough read about an incredible journey.
Not for the feint of heart. Being of Irish descent I was very interested in finding out how my grandfather, along with millions of others, came to be in America, and him alone as a child. It’s a heartbreaking read, and there were times that I had to leave it for awhile and pick it up again a few days later. I think it also gave me a much better insight as to the tough Irish women and how I always saw many of them, including my grandmother on my father’s side, as cold and unemotional. They had to be to survive!
I would recommend this trilogy to anyone interested in the Irish culture and it’s often sad, but determined, history.
Not for the feint of heart. Being of Irish descent I was very interested in finding out how my grandfather, along with millions of others, came to be in America, and him alone as a child. It’s a heartbreaking read, and there were times that I had to leave it for awhile and pick it up again a few days later. I think it also gave me a much better insight as to the tough Irish women and how I always saw many of them, including my grandmother on my father’s side, as cold and unemotional. They had to be to survive!
I would recommend this trilogy to anyone interested in the Irish culture and it’s often sad, but determined, history.
March 16, 2025
"Hunger deepened in Ireland in 1848 as the potato crop failed again. In London, the government, alarmed by austerity in England and revolution in Europe, refused to re-open the soup kitchens in Ireland. But, worse still, they refused to halt food exports from the starving country. Emigration quickened as many were evicted, and many more fled from a wasted land. They worked the waterfronts and coal mines of America and the railways and building sites of England. But hunger still stalked them. 'Cold is the Dawn' follows these men and women and their bitter fight for survival in Ireland, England and America."
This is book #3 in the trilogy. My favorite of the three books is The Killing Snows.
This is book #3 in the trilogy. My favorite of the three books is The Killing Snows.
April 29, 2019
To Survive - Irish Strength
Strong, but as repetitive as Irish potato blight, fever, famine, and cholera, plus greed and national superiority of nation over nation. A large share of my heritage is English, Irish, and Scottish. Do they war within me? But love of family prevails over all. Plans to visit these homelands brought desire to learn through this strong series, through personal stories, this tragic history that shaped a strong, complex people. NOW I pursue our personal stories and how ancestors interacted throughout the countries of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England, and how and why each sought America from the 1740s to the 1890s.
Strong, but as repetitive as Irish potato blight, fever, famine, and cholera, plus greed and national superiority of nation over nation. A large share of my heritage is English, Irish, and Scottish. Do they war within me? But love of family prevails over all. Plans to visit these homelands brought desire to learn through this strong series, through personal stories, this tragic history that shaped a strong, complex people. NOW I pursue our personal stories and how ancestors interacted throughout the countries of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England, and how and why each sought America from the 1740s to the 1890s.
June 6, 2019
Just finished this the last book of this the compelling Irish Diaspora trilogy. Although the family is fictional, Egan writes with such conviction that one can't help but believe the reality of his tale.
Exhaustingly harrowing, I needed to take a break between each book to gather myself for the next, it's a thorough insight into the life of ordinary folk subjected to the horror of Ireland during the Potato Famine. Five generations removed from my ancestor, an orphan in the Cork Workhouse, who was sent to Tasmania in 1851 it was extremely enlightening.
Exhaustingly harrowing, I needed to take a break between each book to gather myself for the next, it's a thorough insight into the life of ordinary folk subjected to the horror of Ireland during the Potato Famine. Five generations removed from my ancestor, an orphan in the Cork Workhouse, who was sent to Tasmania in 1851 it was extremely enlightening.
June 15, 2020
The third part of this family saga where we are tracing the struggles of the Ryan family in Ireland, Stockport, Bradford, Quebec and America. It involves the struggles of not just the Irish, but of all workers for better working conditions and pay. The Irish are unjustly persecuted wherever they are due to a misunderstanding of their background.
The love of family, moral dilemmas and struggle for survival underpin everything else.
A well researched and interesting trilogy left with an ending role for book four.
The love of family, moral dilemmas and struggle for survival underpin everything else.
A well researched and interesting trilogy left with an ending role for book four.
February 2, 2023
A continuation of the previous novels. Another review mentioned that it was repetitive, but in reality that’s what happened. Famine, fever, cholera, it’s amazing anyone survived. I’m so disappointed in the ending, it just stops. There’s no closure, for me very disappointing.
This was a tough read all the way through. How people could be so cruel, how the Irish would mistreat their own. How the British landlords were so cruel and allowed to get away with it. My thoughts are scattered, but one thing is for sure, I’m so glad the Irish have endured.
This was a tough read all the way through. How people could be so cruel, how the Irish would mistreat their own. How the British landlords were so cruel and allowed to get away with it. My thoughts are scattered, but one thing is for sure, I’m so glad the Irish have endured.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2023
This was a hard book to read because it dealt in great detail the consequences of the Irish Famine. Almost too terrible to read in places but of course it needs to be read about no matter how difficult so these poor people did not die unheard! It is also the story of an Irish family living in these times but spread between Ireland, England and America. It deals with their lives in different countries and how the famine affects them all. Very well written, an interesting story line and harrowing scenes of a time that is unimaginable!
December 22, 2019
Heartbreaaking
Being of all Irish blood .I never stop learning about my Irish ancestry..
Just returned from Ireland again and visited so many of the small villages described in all three of Mr.Evans book.My family roots are Mayo.It's beyond my words to describe to explain how rugged and difficult life must have been during the MANY years of the famine. Amazing research.How can this ever be forgotten?
Being of all Irish blood .I never stop learning about my Irish ancestry..
Just returned from Ireland again and visited so many of the small villages described in all three of Mr.Evans book.My family roots are Mayo.It's beyond my words to describe to explain how rugged and difficult life must have been during the MANY years of the famine. Amazing research.How can this ever be forgotten?
January 8, 2020
Eye Opening
This book vividly portrays the struggles the Irish endured throughout the famine and fever. The mistreatment of the Irish in Ireland, England, and America was inexcusable. The workhouses, public works, wages, and living conditions stripped the Irish of their dignity and wiped out a huge portion of their population. This book is an eye opener to events that took place.
This book vividly portrays the struggles the Irish endured throughout the famine and fever. The mistreatment of the Irish in Ireland, England, and America was inexcusable. The workhouses, public works, wages, and living conditions stripped the Irish of their dignity and wiped out a huge portion of their population. This book is an eye opener to events that took place.
April 8, 2022
Great read
Loved reading the last three novels but I need more, I was just getting my teeth in to them and it stopped ; what happened in America? Did the unions take over eventually?, did Bridgid make it to teacher training? Did the family stay in Ireland and thrive or did Pat have to go to England for the harvest? I shall be waiting impatiently for the next installment, hopefully there is one?
Loved reading the last three novels but I need more, I was just getting my teeth in to them and it stopped ; what happened in America? Did the unions take over eventually?, did Bridgid make it to teacher training? Did the family stay in Ireland and thrive or did Pat have to go to England for the harvest? I shall be waiting impatiently for the next installment, hopefully there is one?
December 23, 2022
More Harsh Reality
The Irish famine of the mid 1800s was a harsh reality followed by fever and cholera. Thousands upon thousands died and more were disbursed around the world explaining the saying that everyone is a bit Irish. It's hard to believe anyone survived these times. The first 2 books in the series were easier reads than this not because of the subject matter but because Charles Egan took more care in the writing.
The Irish famine of the mid 1800s was a harsh reality followed by fever and cholera. Thousands upon thousands died and more were disbursed around the world explaining the saying that everyone is a bit Irish. It's hard to believe anyone survived these times. The first 2 books in the series were easier reads than this not because of the subject matter but because Charles Egan took more care in the writing.
May 17, 2023
Great read
I found this series by accident and I am really glad that I did. I have been researching my family. My Irish great greats came from County Kerry and from Waterford. They settled in Canada and had good lives. I wonder if the conditions were the same as I these books. I thank the author for his telling of this bleak time I Ireland. He made history come to life with his words. My son is now starting the series.
I found this series by accident and I am really glad that I did. I have been researching my family. My Irish great greats came from County Kerry and from Waterford. They settled in Canada and had good lives. I wonder if the conditions were the same as I these books. I thank the author for his telling of this bleak time I Ireland. He made history come to life with his words. My son is now starting the series.
August 4, 2023
The Irish Famine
I have heard of the famine in passing but that was all. The telling of the facts is not only shocking but inhumane. No respect for life thrown out of their homes by rich landlords. I was brought up a Protestant born 1952 in Northern Ireland we were not educated in Irish history. I find it appalling that future generations will not be aware of our sordid history.
I have heard of the famine in passing but that was all. The telling of the facts is not only shocking but inhumane. No respect for life thrown out of their homes by rich landlords. I was brought up a Protestant born 1952 in Northern Ireland we were not educated in Irish history. I find it appalling that future generations will not be aware of our sordid history.
July 4, 2024
I thought the series dragged on and on. We kept hearing about the same scenes. . People walking to Dublin to get work, dying along the way, crossing in cattle ships covered in cow shit. I think the entire series could easily be written as just one book. I learned a lot bout the potatoe famine. It was helpful as I visited Ireland right after I red the first 2 books. I suggest the author rewrite the story as one novel
October 26, 2024
Anxious for #4
This has been such an eye opening series! Always informative, occasionally entertaining but forever heartbreaking! Egan writes a complete history of the famine and fevers, leaving nothing out. His research is so thorough. I’m hoping he has been convinced by enough readers to write the facts yet again in the next book of the series. Will we see Liam grow up? And his across the ocean cousin? Will the blight return? We’re eager to find out!
This has been such an eye opening series! Always informative, occasionally entertaining but forever heartbreaking! Egan writes a complete history of the famine and fevers, leaving nothing out. His research is so thorough. I’m hoping he has been convinced by enough readers to write the facts yet again in the next book of the series. Will we see Liam grow up? And his across the ocean cousin? Will the blight return? We’re eager to find out!
March 28, 2019
As an Irish descendant, I am appalled at how the Irish Famine has been ignored by history until the last decade. Words fail me to describe how devastating the loss of life and dignity was to the 19th-century Irish. This information was never passed down in my family. It must have been too horrific and humiliating to even remember.
This book will stay with me forever. How could their neighbours, the English, live in such a state of denial? The press, I think.
This book will stay with me forever. How could their neighbours, the English, live in such a state of denial? The press, I think.
May 4, 2020
Famine, family, Strength, misery
I really did not like this book. I read the first two and I just absolutely got tired of reading the same things over and over. I am 3/4 Irish. I wanted to.know more about the famine, the immigration to the States and Canada but three books worth tired me out. Sorry I did not like the book.
I really did not like this book. I read the first two and I just absolutely got tired of reading the same things over and over. I am 3/4 Irish. I wanted to.know more about the famine, the immigration to the States and Canada but three books worth tired me out. Sorry I did not like the book.
May 7, 2020
Aint that the truth
A good sad story about Ireland in the famine years and now English lords has little knowledge or understanding of belief in what was happening. Their decision to evict tenants was no less than ethnic cleansing and genecide.
Misery heaped on starvation. Not something English schools reach in history
A good sad story about Ireland in the famine years and now English lords has little knowledge or understanding of belief in what was happening. Their decision to evict tenants was no less than ethnic cleansing and genecide.
Misery heaped on starvation. Not something English schools reach in history
May 24, 2020
Arra... This is getting very dragged out.... I skipped a lot. It's still a good story but I've lost interest in all of the characters except for Luke & Winnie who's story is just better paced than the other 2. There will be a fourth book I'm pretty sure because poor wee Bridget has to get to college. But I'm probably done with this series. This last book was just too much.
June 16, 2020
Enjoyed the education of what my ancestors survived. As with the first two books of this series, it was repetitive. A character would see starvation, fever, cholera and dead bodies, go home and repeat the scene to family members then someone else would tour the country and report the same findings.
September 6, 2020
Understanding the book is fiction but the struggle at that time was oh so real. Charles Egan writes so well that you certainly get the feel for the struggles of the Ryan family.
A very well written series of books that kept my interest throughout. I’d say it’s a must read for any ancestors of Irish people or anyone with an interest in the history of Ireland.
A very well written series of books that kept my interest throughout. I’d say it’s a must read for any ancestors of Irish people or anyone with an interest in the history of Ireland.
October 7, 2020
Harrowing but great read
Having read all 3 books in series each well written and very informative. A novel, yes but based on fact these books are compelling and a must read. You cannot but shed a tear for the people of Ireland and how they suffered all those years ago. If these stories don’t break your heart then you’ve got to ask yourself do you even have a heart!
Having read all 3 books in series each well written and very informative. A novel, yes but based on fact these books are compelling and a must read. You cannot but shed a tear for the people of Ireland and how they suffered all those years ago. If these stories don’t break your heart then you’ve got to ask yourself do you even have a heart!
December 30, 2022
The drama continues for the Ryan clan during a devastating time in history for the Irish people.
Plagued with continuing hunger due to famine, fever and cholera, who will survive and what will become of the family and the communities they love? I'm not giving away spoilers, and encourage you to read this intriguing trilogy!
Plagued with continuing hunger due to famine, fever and cholera, who will survive and what will become of the family and the communities they love? I'm not giving away spoilers, and encourage you to read this intriguing trilogy!
December 31, 2023
This is a fiction based on the ancestors of Charles Egan. The story is true, based on actual newspaper clippings, letters, and correspondence. This book and the preceding two follow Luke and his younger brother and their cousins of equal age, their difficulties in dealing with the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840’s, and their attempts to change their fates and the fates of their families.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews