The Great Irish Famine
First the Facts
The Great Irish Famine was a period of mass starvation, disease, and emigration in
Ireland between 1845 and 1849. The population fell by 20–25% due to mortality and
emigration. It resulted in 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 deaths. It began in 1845 when a
fungus-like organism called P. infestans, a disease that destroys both the leaves and
the edible roots, or tubers of the potato plant, spread rapidly throughout Ireland. The
infestation ruined up to one-half of the potato crop that year, and about three-quarters
of the crop over the next seven years.
The Consequences
In Ireland, almost half of the population was entirely reliant on calorie-rich, hardy,
nutritious potatoes, and the rest of the population also consumed the vegetable in
large quantities. So when the crop failed, people starved. The Great Irish Famine
changed the course of history in many countries not just in Ireland. About a million
people emigrated to America, Canada, Australia or Britain. People continued to leave
Ireland in large numbers for many years after the famine. The Irish language began to
die out. Many of those who died or emigrated were from the western parts of Ireland
and where Irish was spoken.
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OUR VALLEY SANTA CLARITA