ABSTRACT
What constitutes a famine? Various definitions have been offered. Economic historian Cormac Ó Gráda has suggested that 'famine refers to a shortage of food or purchasing power that leads directly to excess mortality from starvation or hunger-induced diseases', but this has been criticized for its exclusions of the 'dimensions of time and space'. 1 More nuanced definitions have been provided by contemporary relief organizations including the United Nations which defines a famine as 'when at least 20 per cent of households in an area face extreme food shortages with a limited ability to cope; acute malnutrition rates exceed 30 per cent, and the death rate exceeds 2 persons per day per 10,000 persons'. 2 Such a precise definition is helpful, but difficult to apply to situations where records do not exist. The first census return in Ireland was collected in 1821 (and every ten years thereafter) and the records of Births, Deaths and Marriages commenced only in 1864. The World Health Organization offers a more general definition, namely, 'a regional failure of food production or supply, sufficient to cause a marked increase in disease and mortality due to severe lack of nutrition and necessitating emergency intervention, usually at an international level'. 3 Again, this definition has limited application to historic famines in Ireland, although a surprising number of the country's famines did attract external assistance.
