The Potato in Ireland

The pit was full of water. Stones were heated in a fire and then placed in the water to make it hot. Food such as meat could then be cooked in the hot water.

Potatoes

Potatoes are easy to grow. They can grow in good and poor soil. This meant that more and more people started growing potatoes. Soon many families across Ireland were dependant on the potato.

After some time there was very little food other than potatoes available to the ordinary people of Ireland. This was because poorer people did not grow other types of food. By the 1800s many of the ordinary people in Ireland needed the potato to live.

Digging for potatoes during the Irish Famine

This illustration shows a woman digging for potatoes during the Irish Famine c1845-1849. The potato crop was ruined during these years due to a blight or disease. The first outbreak of the disease in the potato crop was first reported in County Carlow in September 1845. This illustration is taken from the Illustrated London News 1849.

Courtesy of Carlow County Library

Digging for potatoes during the Irish Famine
Courtesy of Carlow County Library

Digging for potatoes during the Irish Famine

This illustration shows a woman digging for potatoes during the Irish Famine c1845-1849. The potato crop was ruined during these years due to a blight or disease. The first outbreak of the disease in the potato crop was first reported in County Carlow in September 1845. This illustration is taken from the Illustrated London News 1849.

Courtesy of Carlow County Library

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In 1845 a disease called Potato Blight ruined potato crops all over Ireland. Many people died from hunger because they had no other food to eat. This is known as the Great Irish Famine. It lasted for almost 5 years. Many people had to leave Ireland in search of a better life. They went to places like America and England.

After the Famine the population of Ireland was much smaller. Less people farmed the land. Those who continued farming had larger farms. They grew crops and reared animals.

The people who were farming after the famine tried not to depend on the potato alone for their food. However, there were still some potato failures later on which caused suffering for the poorer farmers.