School: Cormaddyduff
- Location:
- Cormaddyduff, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: M. Ní Ghiolla Sheanain
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0995, Page 274
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- XML School: Cormaddyduff
- XML Page 274
- XML “The Famine”
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- The cause of the famine of 1847 was the failure of the potato crop. The people depended wholly on the potatoes as their food. The oats in this part of the country was a failure in that year also. In this neighbourhood as much as three pounds was paid for a hundred weight of oaten meal. There was no food in some districts for the people. They were simply starving and they ate all sorts of green herbs and plants. To help the people the goverment sent supplies of Indian meal and it was distributed to every family in distress but even this did not prevent the people from dying. They were too weak and died in hundreds. An old man Philip McGaughran who died a few years ago in this district said he passed through the town of Oldcastle and there was not a person to be seen on the streets and that the streets were over grown with grass with just a path here and there.(continues on next page)
- Informant
- Brigid Timmins
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Castlerahan, Co. Cavan
