School: Gortnessy (roll number 7235)
- Location:
- Gortinessy, Co. Donegal
- Teacher: M. Nic Sheáin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1030, Page 342
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- XML “The Famine”
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- There was a great famine in Ireland in the year 1846. It was the first failure that came upon the potato crops. Blight was unknown before the famine. The potatoes were the people’s main food. The potatoes decayed in the ground. Any potatoes that were any good were kept for seed. The people lived on turnips and oat meal. Many of the poor people were found dead on the road sides and other places because they could not get food. The people that had cows killed some of them and the flesh helped to keep them alive. The following year Indian meal came into the country. The oat meal was sold in pecks and there were supposed to be 10 lbs in each peck which cost 7/- . The blight still killed some potatoes until spraying was found out. It is about 30 years ago since the first spray was used. It was lime they used and the people were afraid to eat the potatoes which had been sprayed. There were bricks made in a brick field near Gortnessy School as relief work during the famine. The only pay that was given was [?] per day and the men had to get their own food. A minister named Mr. Young gave all his(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Ernest Crawford
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Cullion, Co. Donegal
- Informant
- Mr B. Crawford
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 59
- Address
- Cullion, Co. Donegal
