School: Doire na Cathrach, Dúnmaonmhuighe (roll number 13543)

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1. Famine Times (continued)

   

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   This was caused by the failure of the potato crop in the summer of 1845, as the potatoes were the staple food of the people then.
   It was like a visitation from Providence, as the potatoes grew very large the year's before. Farmers were standing in the market places unable to sell them and I am told. "The bags were worth nearly as much as the contents"
   The potatoes they had then were called "Black-Minions," and they had such an abundant crop in 1844, that they heaped them up against the fences and didn't seem to realize the value of them and lots of them rotted away. This was the first of the failure, and then they got stricken down by a blight the year after.
   I know townlands in this district where there can be seen the ruins of six or eight old houses and traces of the ridges where they set the potatoes and apparently never dug them, so that many must have died of the disease, or run away out of the country.
   After a long time the Government came to the aid of the starving people and erected what they called porridge-houses and there was one of them in this townland and poor vagrants had to make towards there houses for food.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. time
      1. historical periods by name (~25)
         1. the great famine (~4,013)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Mary Teresa Hurley

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Derrynacaheragh, Co. Cork

   Informant

   Mr Patrick Hurley

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   50

   Address

   Derrynacaheragh, Co. Cork