School: Killymarley (roll number 15398)
- Location:
- Killymarly, Co. Monaghan
- Teacher: Bean Uí Chléirigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0957, Page 328
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- XML “Famine Times”
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- During the famine years and especially in 1847 the people of this district suffered unspeakable miseries. The blight came on the potatoes early in June and they did not grow any more. Worse than all they turned black and rotted. It would take a man from breakfast time till dinner time to dig a bucketful of these black potatoes. When they were boiled they were scarcely fit for use. Most farmers kept a couple of pigs to pay the rent but when the potato crop failed there was nothing to feed them. The hens also suffered and soon there was neither a pig nor a hen to be found at any farm house.The following year - 1847 - things were even worse. The potatoes were a complete failure and the people were glad to eat grass and raw turnips. They had some corn but as there were no potatoes it was soon all used. Hundreds of people died of starvation. To make matters worse a disease called cholera broke out. Those smitten(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Ethel Gillanders
- Gender
- Female
- Informant
- Joe Gillanders
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Ballymacforban, Co. Monaghan
