Potato Famine
During the first half of the 1800's families greatly depended on the potato not only as a source of food but as a bartering tool in order to purchase other items of food from local sellers. During this time the average man would consume roughly between 7 & 15 lbs of potatoes a day. In 1841 roughly 2/3rds of the population solely relied on the potato as a source of food. So from 1845 - 1848 the famine consumed over 2 million lives. Because of this the famine is known as the Great Famine to the British, the Great Hunger to the Irish Middle Class and the Great Starvation to the Irish peasantry.
During the war many families were evicted, portrayed in the portrait to the left, because they were forced rather than selling the potatoes for profit to pay rent they instead would use the money little money made to buy food, so they wouldn't starve.
Causes: The cause of the famine was due to blight fungus, and phtophthora infestans which ultimately caused the potatoes to rot. (Refer to picture on left)
The famine also brought about diseases such as typhus, cholera (a diarrheal illness which is caused by an infection in the intestine and leads to rapid loss of body fluids and ultimately death if untreated), dysentery (A illness caused by a parasite that causes its victim to have a soft bloody stool), & scurvy (Loss of teeth and bleeding into the skin caused by lack of Vitamin C).
In the years following 1848 the country, now 2 million shorter, and in a huge crisis started to try to put the Great Famine behind and move on. However, since the peasants were the ones who died many of the native tongues were lost, of this include Gaelic, and so in the years following the famine the country's native tongue switched to English. More specifically in Leenane the city hotel became the center of the city and helped to bring revenue into the city.
Fun Facts
Couples in Ireland could marry legally on St. Brigid's Day (February 1st) in Teltown, County Meath, as recently as the 1920’s by simply walking towards each other. If the marriage failed, they could "divorce'" by walking away from each other at the same spot, on St. Brigid’s day the following year. The custom was a holdover from old Irish Brehon laws, which allowed temporary marriage contracts.
One of the most popular radio shows in rural Ireland is still the weekly broadcast of local obituaries
According to one rather obscure Irish Legend, a ringing in your ears means a deceased friend stuck in Purgatory is ringing a bell to ask for you to pray for him/her
"Keening" is the Irish version of loud crying at wakes practiced in several European cultures. It involves wailing and expressing endearments in Gaelic to the deceased.
