2. Jack Magennis

3. 1.Introduction 2.Timeline 3.The Blight arrives! 4.Famine Fever 5.Soup kitchens & Public works 6.Eviction 7.Emigration 8.Quiz 9.Answers 10.Thanks

4. Introduction… During the years of 1845 – 1851 the Irish people suffered in agony of starvation and weakness. This series of events happened in the potato famine. Over 1,000,000 people died in the famine and over 1,500,000 emigrated to Canada, America, Australia and New Zealand.

5. Timeline… Autumn 1845: Farmers found their crops of potatoes rotting underground with a disease called potato blight. Indian corn is imported from north America and Public works are set-up by the government. Autumn 1846: Blight appears again and destroys most of the Potato crop. More public works are set-up, mainly building roads. Food prices shot up high. Spring 1847: Government stop the public works, but instead they set-up soup kitchens. In the work houses people are struck with hunger and don’t have the strength to work a good days pay. Autumn 1847: The potato crops have come back healthy but in very small quantities. Asutumn 1848: Crop destroyed by blight again. In even bigger amounts Irish people are emigrating to foreign countries. 1849: There are very bad conditions swept right across the whole of Ireland. People in great numbers are being evicted from their homes. 1850: Most people in Ireland are recovering from the famine but others are still just as bad as they were before.

6. Blight arrives In the autumn of 1845, disaster struck Ireland. Blight is a fungus that grows on potatoes, it makes the potato leaves wither and makes the potato rot underground and then it becomes inedible. When blight struck Ireland’s potato crops, each and every potato crop perished. Irish farmers and Irish people were devastated.

7. Famine fever! Many of the people were weakened by the lack of food they were eating so they came vulnerable to sickness and diseases. The most common disease was a fever that killed almost 1 million, it was called famine fever. Once someone caught the fever they could spread it to another person within a hour. It’s amazing that most of the people who died during The Irish Famine didn’t die of hunger but died of the famine fever. The famine fever effected Ireland so bad that some counties like Leitrim are still recovering in population numbers even today !

8. Soup kitchens & Public Works Public works were set up by the government so that poor men could build roads and other work like that to get money for their starving families. During the spring of 1847 the government took away the public works and replaced them with soup kitchens. Soup kitchens where a big helping hand to the (near enough) dying Irish people. But the horrible thing was that half of the people that came to the kitchens where that hungry and exhausted that they didn’t have the strength to digest the food so they died any way.

9. Eviction Many, many, many, many people were evicted from their homes. They had sold most of their belongings to pay the rent to the landlord. Most of the Irish peasants who were evicted from their homes went to live in ditches or went Many, many, many, many people were evicted from their homes. They had sold most of their belongings to pay the rent to the landlord. Most of the Irish peasants who were evicted from their homes went to live in ditches or went to live in fields or hedges!!!!

10. Emigration Many, many, many, many Irish people (1500000) emigrated to places like America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand etc. Only some peasants emigrated- that is if their landlord bought them tickets. The ships were called coffin-ships because that many people died of famine fever aboard the ships. Some countries stopped taking in the diseased Irish people because the famine fever was spreading to the country’s own residents.

11. Questions? Q. How many pictures (not the moving ones!!!) did you see? Q. How many years did the famine last for? Q. What county is still recovering in population numbers even today? Q. How many people died and emigrated altogether? Q. In what year did the government introduce soup kitchens?

12. Answers? A. 4 pictures A. 6 years A. Leitrim A. 2.5 million A. 1847

13. Credits & Thanks Jack Magennis Links: www.wikapeadia/irishfamine.com www.irishpotatofamine.org www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools.co.ukBooks: The great famine. The great famine. The Irish famine