Research in Ireland Potato Famine reprinted with permission of Jeannette Holland Austin, Editor of Expert Genealogy The Great Famine in Ireland was caused primarily by the crop failure about 1845. Prior to that time, there had been other crop failures, as well as other disasters, which affected the Irish economy. For one thing, between 1740 and 1741, there was a very high mortality rate. Again, in 1800, and between 1816- 1819. Prior to 1815 the Irish people depended on their crop of potatoes as a mainstay; income from this source was used to purchase other other foodstuffs. Another major crop was wheat. As the English purchased food from the Irish, the economy prospered. During wartime, there was a demand on the Irish economy, and when they ended, Ireland's economy was affected. Between 1830 and 1831 there was a European-wide famine. Among the problems, was that for decades the common Irish people failed to conform with their landlords, and overseers. The Irish planted potatoes on small plots, using the money from cash crops to pay landlords. By 1841 the population of Ireland was 8 million, and more than two-thirds of the population were dependant upon the potato crop . Others wer engaged in Industrials and manufacturing. In November of 1845, as the newspapers reported famine and starvation, the Prime Minister of England took action to cure the problem by purchasing 100,000 pds. Of Indian corn and meal from the US. People were employed in England to provide relief to the starving. Between 1845 and 1846 England extended loans to Ireland. But the disaster was overwhelming - it was too late. Economic depression has commenced. In June of 1845, the government targeted the Irish landlords as being responsible for the Famine, and forced relieft payments from them. To remedy their situation, the landlords exacted the money from the agricultural work force. This caused farmers to evict, leaving their homes. Displaced workers could not find work in the industrial plants, so they the alternative, and to began to emigrate. In 1846 the greatest wave of immigration occurred. The worst time of the Famine was called "Black 47" (1847) when public works were abandoned. Soup kitchens became the norm. People got sick as raging epidemics of typhus, combined with dysentery, ravaged the land. It seems this was caused by the consumption of turnips. Another problem was that the government-furnished indian meal did not contain Vitamin C, and dropsy and edema became common-place. By 1847, over 100,000 immigrants had sailed to the US. Genealogical research considers the enormous death rates during this period, and suffers for lack of records. A good place to start is a Family History Center (Mormon Church) where all parish registers in Ireland (and the British Isles) have been extracted and placed in alphabetical order on cds. All that you do is type in a name, and a global search is made. This saves a lot of time, especially if you have no idea where in Ireland your family lived. Other sources to be searched are any and all immigration records from Ireland. Keep in my State Records, such as the N. C. State Records. There are entries in these volumes where shiploads of Irish people applied to the Governor for Land Grants to settle its passengers. If left ungranted, they sometimes sailed to another area and did the same thing. To see details on the Famine Emigrants books, go to http://www.genealogy- books.com/books/gpcire.html Also, while you are the Family History Center, search the catalog for collections of genealogical manuscripts housed in various office, and order them on microfilm.