School: Liath-Mhuine

On this page

1. Famine Times (continued)

   

   Share Share Post

   (continued from previous page)

   destroyed the stalks and when the people went out to dig the potatoes they could see nothing but small little potatoes. And the next year people planted the potatoes and cut them in small pieces and they did not grow at all. I heard my Grandfather say that he saw people eating grass and roots which they boiled on water and ate them. The people at that time went to the sea and ate all sorts of seaweed periwinkles and limpets and other things. The remains of shells are in the clay since and are seen when men are ploughing. The relief reached this district when the people were far gone. One woman not far from here went out with a little bag trying to get food for her children. She got a small grain of corn and was coming home when she fell and died on the roadside. She had a big funeral and all clothed in rags scarcely what covered them. It is said that half of the crowd died at the graveyard and there were only ten coming home out of twenty. In this district large numbers died not alone from hunger but from the sickness that followed it. There was a man living in a little house a few miles away from here with his wife and three children. All died but himself. After a while he fell sick and died and was buried by the neighbours without a coffin on him. People talk still of the famine and the harm it did to Ireland. It left it without

   (continues on next page)

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. time
      1. historical periods by name (~25)
         1. the great famine (~4,013)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Charles Gibson

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Leaffony, Co. Sligo