The Great Famine (1845–1852)
The Great Famine (An Gorta Mór, "The Great Hunger") is the most traumatic event in Irish history. Between 1845 and 1852, the potato blight destroyed the potato crop — the staple food of a population that had little else to eat under British land ownership.
The consequences were catastrophic: One million people starved, another million emigrated to America in "Coffin Ships." Ireland's population fell from 8.4 million (1844) to 6.6 million (1851). Emigration never stopped — by 1961, only 2.8 million lived on the island. Today, the Republic has 5.1 million inhabitants — still fewer than before the famine.
While the Irish starved, food continued to be exported from Ireland to England. This failure is still debated today as conscious indifference or even genocide. The Famine Memorial at Custom House Quay in Dublin — emaciated bronze figures staggering towards the emigrant ship — is one of Europe's most harrowing monuments.
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The EPIC Museum in Dublin and the Dunbrody Famine Ship in New Ross (Co. Wexford) convey the history of famine and emigration in a poignant way. The National Famine Museum in Strokestown Park (Co. Roscommon) displays original documents.
