School: Donore (roll number 6668)

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1. The Famine Times

   

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   The Famine Times
   The potatoes decayed in the ground and some of them didn't grow at all. The year before the famine the potatoes were so plentiful that they were sold for ten pence a barrel, and rather than sell them at that price the people threw them in the ditches or buried them in the ground.
   The year before the seed potatoes had to be brought in from England. They were sown in drills and there was a fairly good crop. But everyone had not potatoes sown. It was only the rich who could afford to buy them because they were so dear. When the seed potatoes were brought into the country they were very small and although they were small they had to be cut much smaller, and if there was an eye at all in the piece it would be sown.
   The food the people had instead of potatoes was porridge made from Indian meal, and this they were very glad to eat.
   There was a very bad sickness after the famine and numbers of people died. The rich people of the district did give a little help to the poor, and at nearly every cross-roads during the famine times there used to be a man with a weighing scales. Every morning the poor people used to

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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

   Patrick Lennon

   Gender

   Male

   Informant

   Mr John Bates

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   74

   Address

   Sheephouse, Co. Meath