I was especially interested in the part about Mayo in the following article from an Iowa newspaper. Newport or possibly Westport is where my Myles McNally (gg grandfather) hailed from. My gg grandfather's first wife, Myra Hinkley McNally died and was buried in either Newport or Westport, Mayo, Ireland somewhere between 1842- 1846. (I base this on the fact that Myles was in the U.S. -Oconomowoc, Wisconsin- and remarried in 1846 to Mary McDonel, my gg grandmother. Also Myra Hinkley McNally's last child was born May 1842. I often wondered if Myra Hinkley McNally was a famine victim...or what was her story... Davenport Gazette Davenport, Scott, Iowa October 1, 1846 IRELAND Alas! for poor Ireland! Her potato crop, the main stay to the stomachs of her dense population, is again almost wholly destroyed. There is no article of food which can replace the great staple. Indian Corn, which approaches nearest, was repudiated on account of a prejudice which had seized the minds of the people. Gradually as the pangs of hunger have instilled reason, has the feeling vanished until that wholesome article of food, fit for the stomach of her Majesty, has been introduced to the manifest improvement of the condition of the people. Still they are in a wretched situation, but the Government has adopted measures for their relief which we trust will meliorate their condition. An Irish paper, the Mayo Constitution, after mentioning the large gathering of a large concourse of people, number upwards of 2000 at Westport, says:- " A multitude of people also assembled in Mayo, exceeding, we should think, 5,000; they marched peaceably and orderly, and, after walking through the town, they assembled on the green, where a meeting was held. The assemblage of such a vast number of people, declaring themselves on the brink of starvation was truly deplorable- a fact the truth of which we see no great reason to doubt, and we therefore feel compelled to call on the government to step forward at once with immediate--instant relief." Stimulated by hunger, hundreds of half-famished creatures, old and young, marched on the 21st into the little town of Carberry, in the county of Cork, carrying on their shoulders several instruments of husbandry, to denote their want of employment. They were met by the priest; who prevailed upon them to return, assuring them that every exertion was to be made for their relief, and warning them that the consequences of any attempt at outrage would recoil upon themselves. The Belfast Chronicle says, that "The total destruction of the potato crop is now evident, and, in consequence considerable excietement and speculation have arisen in our market, and all kinds of grain have considerably increased in value. Indian corn is selling at 10s to 20s per ton advance." And from another part of the newspaper: IRELAND- Hostility continues among the Irish people, towards Indian Corn- but increasing intelligence is gradually removing the prejudice. Turnips are in a sound state and will compensate somewhat for the potato crop, which is again a failure. Cathy Joynt Labath The Irish in Iowa http://www.celticcousins.net/irishiniowa/ Ireland Newspaper Abstracts http://www.newspaperabstracts.com/Ireland/