School: Cloghan (B.), Banagher
- Location:
- Cloghan, Co. Offaly
- Teacher: Francis O' Connor
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0816, Page 039
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- Of all the sad events which happened in Ireland and which are written in Irish history. The terrible Famine of "Black" '47' comes first. This dreadful calamity was brought on by the complete failure of the potato crop from the disease known as blight. This disease first appeared in 1845: It was much worse the following year but the climax was reached in "Black" 47 when 90 per cent of the tubers blackened and were unfit for human food. At that time three fourths of the population depended on the potatoe for support. Therefore when the crop failed they were in a terrible plight. There was plenty of grain in the country which would have saved the people from starvation but this had to be sold to meet the pressing demands of rackrenting landlords. As the little food which was in the country became exhausted, thousands of the people died in their wretched cabins or by the roadside, fever followed the wake of the Famine. Soon all the Churchyards were filled by the corpses of the victims of this disease as the year advanced the deaths became so numerous that(continues on next page)
- Collector
- John Robinson
- Gender
- Male
- Collector
- Kieran Colgan
- Gender
- Male
- Informant
- James Leonard
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 50
