ABSTRACT

The Irish Famine (1845–1849) has been described as one of the worst demographic disasters to affect any Western European country in recent centuries (Kinealy 1994; Ó Gráda 1989, 1999). In absolute terms it resulted in the population of the island falling from 8.5 million to just over six million through a combination of starvation, disease and emigration. It precipitated a population decline that continued for over a century. It also proved the catalyst for major changes that shaped the economic, political, cultural and religious outlooks of the people of Ireland for generations (Ó Gráda 1999; Lyons 1973; Foster 1988; Lee 1989).