School: Oldtown (roll number 7470)
- Location:
- Oldtown, Co. Dublin
- Teacher: M. Ní Ruanaidhe
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0787, Page 46
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- Famine Times. June 3rd, 1938. The Famine Times in Ireland began in the year 1846 and 1847. The people lived mostly on potatoes and buttermilk and in those years the potatoes failed them.
Thousands of people lay dying of hunger on the road sides. The poor people used to leave the houses rather than see their children die of hunger.
Some Wheaten meal was sent from England to them but it was sent too late and when the people would go to buy some of it, it would be all sold.
It affected our district too but not many people died of hunger. The cattle and sheep died too. About one million people died in Munster alone. The people of England treated the Irish people very badly.
The people of Great Britain gave large sums of money to help the Irish people to buy food. They also sent shiploads of food to them but it arrived too late. So many people died at that time that they made one big grave and threw the people in on top of one another in the grave.
