1. Why did thousands of people leave Ireland in the 19th Century?
Aims:
To explain the causes of the Irish Potato Famine
To explain why thousands of people left Ireland

2. Critical thinking – how did this object cause so much suffering?

3. About 160 years ago in Ireland most people were very poor
About 160 years ago in Ireland most people were very poor. The didn’t own their houses or their land. Instead they rented them from landlords who were extremely rich and owned huge amounts of land. The houses they rented looked like this:

4. Families slept on thin mattresses made from straw, usually all the children slept in one bed
They cooked their food on a fire at one end of the room.
Most people ate mainly potatoes because they were easy to grow even on bad land and you could grow lots of potatoes in just a little space. They would eat the potatoes from a flat basket placed on the floor. They didn’t use forks or knives. You ate all the potato including the skin because nobody could afford to waste food. People ate very little meat, eggs, fish, fruit or other vegetables because they couldn’t afford them, they had to keep any money they had to pay their rent to the landlord or they would be evicted.
Inside these houses there was usually only one room. Families lived all together in this room. The inside of a one roomed cabin looked like this;

5. Potatoes
Potatoes were a very good food for poor Irish people. They had lots of vitamins and minerals and a small amount of potato filled people up for a long time. Potatoes were very cheap and easy to grow. They even grew very well in bad soil so even people living in places where other crops didn’t grow well could grow a lot of potatoes. The potato meant that poor people had food. They didn’t have a huge amount of food but they had enough to eat to keep them healthy and feed their children. That was until the summer of 1845….

6. What was the famine?
Between 1845 and 1852, a fungal disease affected farms across Ireland.
The potato harvest failed for seven years!
As a result, about 60% of the population faced starvation or died from malnutrition (not enough food/vitamins).

7. William Trench, an agent who worked for a landlord in Co
William Trench, an agent who worked for a landlord in Co. Cork wrote this about the Blight;
“The leaves of the potatoes on many fields I passed were quite withered, and a strange stench, such as I had never smelt before, but which became a well-known feature in “the blight” for years after, filled the atmosphere adjoining each field of potatoes. The crop of all crops, on which they depended for food, had suddenly melted away”

8. Today’s Task Create a table explaining the three causes of the famine:
Subdivision of land
Over population
Potato blight

9. Causes of the Famine – card sort
Subdivision of Land
Overpopulation
Blight

10. The responses
You need to go around the room and find out the five responses to the famine.
In your book:
Response one:
Response two:
ETC

11. Results of the famine
Fall in Population: Fell by 2 million. 1 Mil from hunger and disease & 1 Mil emigrated. The Cottiers and labourers were the biggest hit, and the most effected area was the west of Ireland.
Subdivision Ended: Dividing the land between sons was stopped. Instead the eldest son got the farm after the father died, the others either got a job elsewhere or emigrated. Because it took longer to get the land, sons married later. This led to fall in population.
Decline of the Irish Language: As it was the west of Ireland that was effected most the Irish language declined as it was strongest in these areas.
Mr. Jenkins

12. Migration to Britain or America?
My name is Sean Murphy. My family have been suffering in the potato famine but we have an opportunity to emigrate. The problem is, we don’t know where to go! Should we go to Britain or America? Can you help us with a list of pros and cons to help us decide?
Mr. Jenkins

13. America or Britain? Draw the table below
Country
Pros
Cons
America
Britain

14. Trip to America is expensive
Increased wealth and better standard of living in America
Religious freedom in America
Lots of jobs in Britain
Strong Irish communities in Britain, particularly Liverpool
Trip to America is expensive
Lots of opportunities in America
British jobs are low-paid in crowded towns

15. Plenary – why did this cause so much suffering
Plenary – why did this cause so much suffering? What was the result for Irish people?