School: Gusserane
- Location:
- Gusserane, Co. Wexford
- Teacher: Bríghid, Bean Nic Fheorais
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0871, Page 427
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- Famine Times
The famine did not affect this district very much. However some people died but many of them were people who had fled from poorer districts in the west & south west. The old people tell stories of the famine times some of these I give below.
The population of this district was about double what it is now and the grass covered mounds to be seen here and there are the remains of houses where large families lived.
The blight was supposed to be caused by a very wet summer. According to the people the potatoes decayed both in the ground and in the pits.
A small quantity of the potatoes were saved in some families and were sown the next year. When the leaves came above the ground they were cut off. This was done while the potatoes were growing. This was to prevent the potatoes being affected. The result was a very small potato but it was free from disease. When the people were sewing the potatoes during the famine years the “eye”(continues on next page)
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- Schoolchildren
