School: Abbeylara
- Location:
- Abbeylara, Co. Longford
- Teacher: John O' Meara
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0765, Page 0648
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- XML “The Famine Times”
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- The old people say that the year before the famine, the potatoes were very plentiful. When they were as plentiful the people did not think much about them. They used to bring them to the towns and throw them on the streets and sell them for one penny per stone.The famine was in the years 1846 and 1847. The famine was caused by the blight that destroyed the potato crop. People say the blight was caused by lightning some time before the famine. The famine affected this district very much. For every three houses that were in it long ago, there is only one now.The potatoes decayed in the ground. The Government gave the people seed the next year. They sowed the potatoes in drills the next year. The Government gave the people Indian meal during the famine times, but they did not give it to them in time for a lot of people had died. The year after the famine the people(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Margaret Reilly
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Derragh, Co. Longford
