The population of this district before the Famine of 1846-47 was about double the present population. Old people are still able to point out sites of houses then occupied before the Famine years. The starvation caused numerous deaths and many people emigrated to America and Australia.
The Famine was caused by the failure of the potato crop.
In 1846 the potatoes partly decayed in the pits and in the following year they decayed in the ground. The people lived on maize, meal and turnips. A great sickness called "Typhus dever" followed the Famine.