ABSTRACT
Besides the clearance of paupers which the William Gregory clause facilitated, the great famine presented landowners with other opportunities, principally those of ousting bankrupt middlemen, weeding out struggling or broken tenants, and enlarging the farms of those who remained. While potato production between 1846 and 1851 was only a fraction of the pre-famine volume, the level of grain output was apparently well maintained, with the major exception of the drastic decline in wheat. During 1849 the price of every agricultural product declined significantly, especially that of young store cattle, which had performed remarkably well during the first three famine years. The desperate plight of labourers and cottiers produced not only a wave of migration to the towns but also food riots and food stealing of an unprecedented character. This is an aspect of the great famine which has failed to receive sustained treatment from historians but repays closer study, particularly for the insights it provides into class relationships.
