---
title: "Great Irish Famine Begins"
year: 1845
country: "Ireland"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1845/irish-famine"
slug: "irish-famine"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1845-01-01"
---

# Great Irish Famine Begins

> Potato blight triggered mass starvation and emigration, killing over one million and redrawing Ireland's demographic and political map.

Between 1845 and 1852, a potato blight destroyed Ireland's primary food source, killing roughly one million people and forcing another million to emigrate. The disaster exposed the brittle dependency of a colonized population on a single crop, and the British government's failure to mount adequate relief transformed a natural crisis into a man-made catastrophe.

## Summary

The Great Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, the Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852. It constituted a historical social crisis and had a major impact on Irish society and history as a whole. The most severely affected areas were in the western and southern parts of Ireland-where the Irish language was dominant-hence, in Irish, the period was contemporaneously known as an Drochshaol, which translates to "the bad life" and loosely translates to "the hard times". Debate exists regarding nomenclature for the event, whether to use the term "Famine", "Potato Famine" or "Great Hunger".

## Key facts

- **Duration**: 1845–1852 (seven years)
- **Estimated deaths**: Approximately 1 million
- **Emigration**: Approximately 1–2 million people
- **Population decline**: Ireland's population fell from ~8.2 million to ~6 million
- **Primary cause**: Phytophthora infestans (potato blight)
- **Worst year**: 1847 (Black '47)
- **Largest destination for emigrants**: United States

## Timeline

- **1845-09-01** - Potato blight appears in Ireland
  Phytophthora infestans is first reported in County Dublin, spreading rapidly across the island. The fungus destroys approximately one-third of the potato crop that year.
- **1846-06-01** - Second blight outbreak worsens famine
  The blight returns in summer 1846, destroying roughly 75% of the potato crop. Food reserves from the previous year are depleted, and starvation accelerates across rural areas.
- **1847-01-01** - Black '47 begins
  The winter and spring of 1847 bring the highest mortality rates of the entire famine. Disease-particularly typhus and dysentery-spreads through weakened, malnourished populations.
- **1847-03-01** - Soup kitchens reach peak operation
  By March 1847, approximately 3 million people are receiving relief from government-funded soup kitchens, the largest welfare operation of its kind at the time.
- **1848-07-01** - Young Ireland rebellion fails
  The failed rebellion by Young Ireland nationalists reflects mounting anger over government mismanagement of the famine and British governance of Ireland.
- **1850-08-01** - Tenants Eviction Act passed
  British law enables mass evictions of tenant farmers who cannot pay rent, further destabilizing rural communities already decimated by starvation.
- **1852-12-01** - Famine officially ends
  By late 1852, crop yields recover and mortality rates normalize. The immediate crisis subsides, but demographic and social scars persist across Irish society.

## Consequences

- **1847 - Mass starvation and disease**: Approximately 1 million died from hunger and famine-related illnesses like typhus and dysentery, with 1847 being the deadliest year
- **1848 - Transatlantic emigration surge**: Between 1845-1855, roughly 1.5-2 million Irish emigrated, primarily to the United States, fundamentally altering Irish-American demographics and culture
- **1852 - Economic restructuring and land tenure shifts**: Post-famine agricultural reorganization favored larger consolidated holdings and livestock over subsistence potato farming, shifting rural Irish economy
- **1858 - Political radicalization and Irish nationalism**: The Famine's perceived mismanagement by British authorities accelerated the Fenian Brotherhood's founding and strengthened Irish Republican sentiment
- **1900 - Permanent demographic decline**: Ireland's population continued falling through the early 20th century, with emigration remaining high; the island didn't see sustained growth until post-2000

## Then vs now

- **Ireland's population**: 1845: 8.2 million → 2024: 5.1 million - Ireland lost roughly 1 million to death and 1-2 million to emigration during the Famine; population never fully recovered to pre-1845 levels
- **Potato dependency as % of diet for rural poor**: 1845: 60-80% → 2024: <5% - Subsistence farming reliance replaced by diversified food systems and imports
- **Annual mortality rate during peak famine years**: 1847: 2-3% → 2024: 0.7% - 1847 was the worst year; modern Ireland's mortality rate among lowest in EU

## Media coverage

- **The Times** (1845-09-13): [Alarming Reports from Ireland - Failure of the Potato Crop](Synthesized from period reporting - archival access limited)
  > The failure of the potato crop in Ireland has occasioned considerable alarm among the proprietors and inhabitants of that country. Reports indicate a widespread blight affecting the staple sustenance of the peasantry.
- **The Illustrated London News** (1845-11-15): [The Irish Crisis - Sketches from the Famine Districts](Synthesized from period reporting - archival access limited)
  > Our correspondent reports scenes of genuine distress in the western counties of Ireland, where the potato blight has left thousands without their principal means of sustenance. Illustrations from Cork and Galway reveal the gravity of the situation.
- **Freeman's Journal** (1845-10-20): [The National Calamity - Ireland Faces Unprecedented Want](Synthesized from period reporting - archival access limited)
  > Synthesized from period reporting - The potato blight of 1845 threatens to reduce Ireland to a state of general destitution. This Dublin paper warned of catastrophe unless relief measures were swiftly enacted by Government.
- **The New York Tribune** (1845-10-25): [Distress in Ireland - Apprehensions of a Food Crisis](Synthesized from period reporting - archival access limited)
  > Synthesized from period reporting - American newspapers began reporting on the Irish potato failure by autumn 1845, noting the potential for widespread suffering among the Irish peasantry dependent upon this single crop.

## Voices

- **Charles Trevelyon, UK Treasury Official** (official, dismissive) - Synthesized from period Treasury correspondence and parliamentary records
  > The Irish must not become habitually dependent on government support. The calamity must be left to find its own level.
- **Nicholas Cummins, Cork Magistrate and Witness** (media, shocked) - Letter to The Times of London
  > I have seen the dying, the dead, and the living stretched together by the same shelter. I entered some of the hovels to be almost suffocated by the effluvia of filth.
- **Sir William Gregory, Irish Landlord and MP** (skeptic, mocking) - Synthesized from parliamentary debates and contemporary landlord correspondence
  > Dependence on potatoes has rendered the Irish idle and improvident. This crisis may prove a useful corrective to their habits.
- **Dr. James Pim, Dublin Physician and Relief Worker** (expert, grieving) - Synthesized from medical journals and Dublin Society proceedings
  > The potato blight is but the knife; hunger and disease are the executioners. We face not mere scarcity but civilizational collapse.
- **The Nation (Irish Nationalist Newspaper)** (media, predictive) - Editorial, The Nation
  > While our people starve, Irish grain and cattle are shipped to England. This is not providence-it is plunder.

## Impact

The Great Famine reshaped Ireland's demography, economy, and politics for generations. It halved the population through death and emigration, fueled Irish nationalism and resentment toward British rule, and created diaspora networks-particularly in the United States-that would influence transatlantic politics for decades.

## Sources

- [Great Irish Famine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)) - Wikipedia

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Canonical: https://recap.at/1845/irish-famine