Barb, The Great Hunger: Ireland: 1845-1849 by Cecil Woodham-Smith goes into that in some detail. It also covers the political situation in England before and during the starvation. One of the things that really struck me was that the rural Irish had been so beaten down and abused that by the time the potato blight struck they really didn't understand the concept of currency so when they were given cash relief they were easily swindled by con men who would offer them a nice big penny for that little tiny six-pence. The Great Hunger wasn't an accident. Margaret