School: Glassalts (roll number 1239)
- Location:
- Glasalt or Treanfasy, Co. Donegal
- Teacher: M. P. Ó Dochartaigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1116, Page 140
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- XML “Famine Times”
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- Famine Times
There was a terrible famine in Ireland in the year eighteen fourty-six and eighteen fourty-seven It was the worst famine ever was round here for the last century. My (father) father Robert Hartin told me that his grandfather Neal Hartin said:- During the time of the famine there was no potatoes in the country or not much food of any kind. So the people were not long using it up.
Every day two or three people in the district died with hunger (Then) The first reason why the people died with hunger was because there was a great war between Ireland and England and they used up all the food. Another reason is because there was a terrible blight on the potatoe-crop. Every person that was able to get out of the country left and the peple who could not leave had to suffer many hardships and hunger. Many of the people were so hungry that the ate the grass from the ditches and erbs such as dandelions, they made nettle-broth out of nettles.
They also killed their cows, calves, sheep horses and ate them some of the people were so hungry that they ate cats, dogs, rats, mice and airbirds. They also drank the blood of the(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Mary E. Hartin
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Collin, Co. Donegal
- Informant
- John Gillespie
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 78
- Address
- Collin, Co. Donegal
