1. Ireland Lessons The Great Famine PowerPoint presentations OHTs Other visual sources used in various lessons
Gary Hillyard, Ashfield School
‘Ireland in Schools’ NPS School of Education, U. Nottingham

2. Menu Lesson 11 OHT The Famine by Roisin Hambly
Lesson 12 Five visual sources
Problem solving: responses to the Great Famine
Lesson 14 OHT Freeze-frame Famine scene
What effect did the Great Famine have on Ireland?

3. The Famine by Roisin Hambly
In the Spring of ’45
I planted my potato crop,
But when I dug them up in Winter
They were black and brown from rot.
There were seven in my family,
Four children under five,
I had to find some food for them,
To keep them all alive.
It wasn’t too bad to start with,
But by Autumn ’47,
Two members of my family
Had died and gone to Heaven.
That Winter it was long and cold
And every thing was bare,
Then when my lovely wife passed on
I thought it so unfair.
My family were now so thin,
Their faces were so hollow
They decided to emigrate
But foolishly I didn’t follow.
I saw a soldier selling corn,
No one was around,
I took this opportunity
To knock him to the ground.
I robbed him of his food and money
And quickly ran away,
But sadly I was caught and killed
And left there to decay.
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Lesson 11

4. Visual sources 1/5 Lesson 12
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Visual sources 1/5 Lesson 12

5. Visual sources 2/5 Lesson 12
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Visual sources 2/5 Lesson 12

6. Visual sources 3/5 Lesson 12
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Visual sources 3/5 Lesson 12

7. Visual sources 4/5 Lesson 12
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Visual sources 4/5 Lesson 12

8. Visual sources 5/5 Lesson 12
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Visual sources 5/5 Lesson 12

9. Responses to the Great Famine
Lesson 12
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Scenario 1
The Famine began in By July 1846 the position of the Irish was so bad. The potato crop had failed and the Irish were running out of food. Peel, a Conservative, was the Prime Minister of the Great Britain. In his position should he…
a) Send across new potato seeds in order for Irish farmers to grow new potato crops?
b) Overturn the Corn Laws which taxed foreign grain and made it more expensive?
c) Do nothing – the problem has only been going on for a few months and may well just die down?
Scenario 2
There is still a shortage of foodstuffs. Some corn is dripping through from the mainland but it is not enough for the Irish to survive. If you were Peel do you…
a) Try and import more grain from abroad, particularly America. This can then be sold cheaply?
b) Ask Parliament for extra cash to give money to the famine victims?
c) Encourage the Irish to ration the food that they eat to ensure that there is enough corn to go round?

10. Responses to the Great Famine
Lesson 12
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Scenario 4
The price of grain is increasing massively. The Irish Boards of Work continue to employ men to carry out public works schemes such as road repairs and road building. By ,000 men worked for the Boards.
The Boards of Work had a decision to make, though…
Should they pay them at subsistence level – enough money to get by?
Should they pay them above subsistence level allowing them to prosper?
Should they pay them below subsistence level otherwise everyone would want to work for the Boards?
Scenario 3
The corn is still not solving the problem, although it is making life slightly better. The Irish poor still had to work for landlords.
If you were Peel…
Would you try to encourage the landlords to farm the land themselves?
Would you encourage the landlords to organise together and raise money for those effected and to provide work?
Would you tell the landlords to sell up while they still can?

11. Responses to the Great Famine
Lesson 12
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Scenario 5
The Labour Act was passed in 1846 which further worked on landlords to provide work, punishing them if they did not by forcing them to pay a ‘labour rate’. However, by the spring of 1847 the situation was worsening.
If you were Russell (PM after Peel) would you…
Begin freely distributing food through soup kitchens, like the Quakers had done?
Double the ‘labour rate’ – find work for the poor or go bankrupt?
Do nothing. You have already done enough?
Scenario 6
From late 1847 the Poor Relief system (allowing the poorest people to go to workhouses to be looked after) was failing. c.200,000 people were sheltered in workhouses, double the number they should have held. Conditions were appalling and the unions which ran them were bankrupt.
Should Russell…
Build more workhouses to cope with the problem?
Begin giving relief to the poor still living at home – outdoor relief?
Expand the public works schemes?

12. Responses to the Great Famine
Lesson 12
Menu
Scenario 1
Correct Answer
b) Overturn the Corn Laws which taxed foreign grain and made it more expensive.
This would make grain much cheaper for the Irish to import.
Scenario 1
The Famine began in By July 1846 the position of the Irish was so bad. The potato crop had failed and the Irish were running out of food. Peel, a Conservative, was the Prime Minister of the Great Britain. In his position should he…
a) Send across new potato seeds in order for Irish farmers to grow new potato crops?
b) Overturn the Corn Laws which taxed foreign grain and made it more expensive?
c) Do nothing – the problem has only been going on for a few months and may well just die down?
Scenario 2
Correct Answer
a) Try and import more grain from abroad, particularly America. This can then be sold cheaply.
This would make more corn readily available to the Irish and would put less pressure on the British to provide corn.
Scenario 2
There is still a shortage of foodstuffs. Some corn is dripping through from the mainland but it is not enough for the Irish to survive. If you were Peel do you…
a) Try and import more grain from abroad, particularly America. This can then be sold cheaply?
b) Ask Parliament for extra cash to give money to the famine victims?
c) Encourage the Irish to ration the food that they eat to ensure that there is enough corn to go round?

13. Responses to the Great Famine
Lesson 12
Menu
Scenario 4
The price of grain is increasing massively. The Irish Boards of Work continue to employ men to carry out public works schemes such as road repairs and road building. By ,000 men worked for the Boards.
The Boards of Work had a decision to make, though…
Should they pay them at subsistence level – enough money to get by?
Should they pay them above subsistence level allowing them to prosper?
Should they pay them below subsistence level otherwise everyone would want to work for the Boards?
Scenario 4
Correct Answer
c) Should they pay them below subsistence level otherwise everyone would want to work for the Boards?
The Government were unwilling to push public works schemes as they felt that they should not be used to allow individuals to prosper. Hence, the low wage ensured the poor did not rely on these schemes to improve their lot.
Scenario 3
Correct Answer
b) Would you encourage the landlords to organise together and raise money for those effected and to provide work?
The government believed in the policy of laissez-faire – that it should not interfere in local affairs. Hence, its reliance on landlords to organise relief.
Scenario 3
The corn is still not solving the problem, although it is making life slightly better. The Irish poor still had to work for landlords.
If you were Peel…
Would you try to encourage the landlords to farm the land themselves?
Would you encourage the landlords to organise together and raise money for those effected and to provide work?
Would you tell the landlords to sell up while they still can?

14. Responses to the Great Famine
Lesson 12
Menu
Scenario 5
Correct Answer
a) Begin freely distributing food through soup kitchens, like the Quakers had done.
Volunteer and religious groups like the Quakers had already begun distributing food in this way. Once again, the scheme was chosen because of the laissez-faire approach - it was paid for through local rates. By August, 3 million + were fed this way. Scheme ended in September 1847.
Scenario 5
The Labour Act was passed in 1846 which further worked on landlords to provide work, punishing them if they did not by forcing them to pay a ‘labour rate’. However, by the spring of 1847 the situation was worsening.
If you were Russell (PM after Peel) would you…
Begin freely distributing food through soup kitchens, like the Quakers had done?
Double the ‘labour rate’ – find work for the poor or go bankrupt?
Do nothing. You have already done enough?
Scenario 6
Correct Answer
Begin giving relief to the poor still living at home – outdoor relief.
Around 800,000 people were given aid in their home. Building workhouses would have been too much involvement and public work schemes were dropped in 1847.
Scenario 6
From late 1847 the Poor Relief system (allowing the poorest people to go to workhouses to be looked after) was failing. c.200,000 people were sheltered in workhouses, double the number they should have held. Conditions were appalling and the unions which ran them were bankrupt.
Should Russell…
Build more workhouses to cope with the problem?
Begin giving relief to the poor still living at home – outdoor relief?
Expand the public works schemes?

15. Menu
Freeze-frame Lesson 14

16. What effect did the Great Famine have on the Irish? Lesson 14
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Lesson 14
Lesson 14

17. Population c.1 million men, women and children died between 1845-50.
Irish population declined from c.8 million in 1841 to c.6m in 1851.
By 1900 the Irish population was ½ the size it was in 1845.
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Lesson 14

18. Land
Cottiers (small land owners) were destroyed and their population fell dramatically.
c.200,000 smaller farms were lost.
10% of the old landlord class went bankrupt.
Encumbered Estates Act was passed in 1849 to speed up the sale of land.
1850s – c.3,000 estates sold.
But – most were brought by speculators or existing members of the landlord class.
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Lesson 14

19. Farming and Living Standards
There was less concentration on potato farming and more concentration on dairy and exporting cattle.
Living standards improved because wages increased.
Housing standards improved as did literacy – due to urbanisation.
The m-c farmer became the centre of Irish countryside – there was a 77% increase in farmers’ income and many farmers got the vote in 1850.
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Lesson 14

20. Emigration 1815-45 – 1.5 million emigrated.
– 1.5 million people emigrated.
– million emigrated.
¼ went to England and Scotland; majority went to America.
Before the famine, it was mainly single, landless men who emigrated.
Early years of the Famine – mainly cottiers and labourers, plus some richer people emigrated.
After 1850 it was only smallholders and labourers. Whole families now went too.
Emigration was hard.
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Lesson 14