The Great Irish famine By Sam, Seán and Diarmaid

Main reasons Population in Ireland had increased from 2.5million in 1740 to 8.5 million. Irish people depended on potatoes for food. In 1845 a blight called phytophthora arrived in the south east and spread through the country The British government did not provide enough help.

Potato blight Irish people only had potatoes to eat. Millions of people died of hunger. Phytophthora was the blight that caused potatoes to rot. This is what it looks like

Emigration People emigrated to America They had to pay three pounds for a ticket Lots of people died of diseases on the coffin ships If they died they would be thrown off the ship

HELP!!! Lord Trevelyan noticed how people were suffering and sent corn and meal to Ireland Soup kitchens were set up by quakers to give food to starving people Relief commissions started

Evictions People who didn’t have enough money to pay their rent were thrown out of their houses. There houses were first locked so they couldn’t go back in. Then they burnt and demolished their house. Eviction left hundreds of thousands of people without work, food and money.

Black was known as black 47 because it was the worst year of the famine. People didn’t want to spend what little money they had on potato seeds in case the crop failed again. The blight had actually gone at this stage but it was the third year in a row without a potato crop

Effects It caused death. People had no food to eat Millions of people were killed People were thrown out of their houses.

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