My great great grandparents were originally from Ireland, Mayo, alas, although I have there names, I cant actually trace where they actually lived :(.. but from tracing my family tree, they arrived in England somewhere between 1841 - 51 and then... lived here in Wolverhampton, in an area infamously known as caribee island, yes Im a proud Englishman, but i am equally as proud of those great great grandparents of mine, who, if it it were not for them, I would not be here now....
I understand how devastating the famine was and that the government did not do anywhere near enough to relieve the situation however Catholic emancipation took place in 1829 after the campaign led by Daniel O'Connel so no one was prohibited from learning to read and write I know that this video is not a prfessional documentary so mistakes can be made, over all the video is very moving and I commend the author for posting it
@elamite66, Most Irish were still NOT allowed to learn to read and write! Read Section 16 of The Relief Act of 1829. It specifically did not contradict any "local statute, ordinance, or rule," so the ruling class could, and did, still exclude Catholics (Irish) from the schools in Ireland and prevent them learning to read and write. - And the government "did not do anywhere near enough?" They did nothing but watch the Irish starve! Learn your history.
@LordAeduard The situation was a tragedy for which Westminster did not do anywhere near enough There is not reason to exaggerate or propagandize an already tragic situation I will read the Relief Act I have learned my history and analogy would be the Jewish Holocaust the instances where certain people who were Jews under the Nuremberg Laws were given a pass This fact does not make holocaust any better there is no need to propagandize over it I know many people have an emotional involvement Peace
This is almost certainly fictional, and not completely accurate (eg, the ban on Catholics reading and writing was lifted about 50 years before the famine). But many terrible things did happen during this time and this helps us remember.
@oliness The thing that sickened me the worst was that shipments of wheat that no Catholic could buy were shipped to England. And I have Anglo-Saxon ancestors. . . Scots Irish on my mothers side, Northern Italian on my fathers. When I heard about the convoys of wheat shipped under guard to the coast. . . I cried for Ireland. . .
@oliness, If you refer to The Relief Act of 1829, which was considered "Catholic emancipation," it specifically didn't overrule any local laws about educating Catholics, so no...the ban on the Irish learning to read and write was still in effect unless any local British landlord decided differently, which most of course did not. That being said...I'm pretty sure this is NOT fictional. And by the way, 1829 was only about 20 years prior to the famine, not 50. Learn your history.
the maker of our troubles,and the breaker of our bones;to keep him up he keeps us down,and grinds us on the stones.Their taxes and their terrors,boys,they have us nearly dead they drink their cup of bloodshed up,they rob our daily bread;false princes of perdition black,indifferent to our groans;how long more should we stand aside and let them steal our homes? UNKOWN AUTHOR 1847 FULL POEM IN JOSEPH O,CONNOR BOOK STAR OF THE SEA
We are in the northwest section of the US - in the area where potatoes are grown. There is currently a blight affecting some of the potatoe fields this year, though no notice of it will be given in the news... please, see what is coming... between the droughts, the floods and other things such as this blight - the dark days are now upon us. There will be famines which always brings pestilences. As it is prophesied -so it will be...
The potato famine was awful I am of Irish des2nd gen I went dublin 2 yrs ago and I loved it I was made so welcome yet I noticed my british m8s were not so welcome for clear reasons why but clear ignorance of some fellow british because of their lack of understanding of what happened in this awful time I have traced back to find I have direct des whom left ireland for new york where they resettled and my nan left ireland too and moved the uk were she and her family never forgot our motherland
I find it interesting as an Irish descendant, in Canada that I readily have a certain rapport with natives here..... but it isn't that strange after all, since I cannot help but notice how the British Colonial govt here in Canada treated the "Indians" in the exact same way that they treated the Irish... kind of like a standardized method of demeaning and demoralizing native populations of the lands you mean to rape and take for yourselves.... England's shame indeed, one of many.
i sooo agree with you! the english back then we so greedy and selfcentered! they had no ideo how mad it was.. and even more greedy they go and try to take over the world! and now countrys that arnt meant to speack english , DO speack english! the was only meant to be 1 country in the world that speack english and now theres loads.....
This broke my heart and puts things into perspective on how many of us should be greatful for what they do have. Not bitter about what we don't. This fine young lady's resolve and keen mind in a time where English Law forbade Catholics from reading and writing amazes me.
Yea there were two famines...the Great Famine was a genocide. Just like the Nazis used starvation to kill the Jews the English implied the same tactic.
I LOVE ALL IRISH!!!!!! I AM VERY PROUD TO BE IRISH!!!!!! THIS IS VERY SAD!!!!! PEOPLE NEED TO REALIZE IRISH ARE A GOOD HARD WORKING PEOPLE THE GREED AND HATE IS WHAT DID THIS!!!!!! THE SO CALLED IRISH FAMINE WAS REALLY "IRISH GENOCIDE" EEEEEERRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNN GGOOOOOO BRAAAGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can understand the hate the Irish have towards the british people yet it was caused by very very evil english barons but not by all british people. I was told about the potato famine fr a young age by my nan whom was fr county mayo and when I heard I felt hate too yet I remember and forget but I don't hate the modern brits today for it as they did not cause what happened in Ireland I am angered what happened by what UK barons did but I remember but never forget what happened to fellow pple
@DanielR305 The problem with this is, how many peace marches/fundraisers/protests did the people of Britain hold in our plight throughout the years? The Choctaw Native Americans even sent $710 (a relatively huge amount), while Famine Queen Vic asked Sultan Abdulmecid - Ottoman Empire to reduce his donation as it showed her for the whore she was. Thankfully he smuggled the ships in and resisted a blockade at dublin.
You's are sorry for the past, yet persist with this agression in Iraq today?
@CoBurN82 america has the largest force in the middle east and also the coilition troops now have left iraq its afganistan. Many irish americans also fight in afganistan.
terrible and tragic ! where did you find these letters? are they published in a book? who is the narrator and where in Ireland is she from? I would like to share these letters as Secretary of our United Methodist Women's group!
I wish i could help you further but all i can teel you is that the narrator judging from her accent is from derry.
I have updated the details if any of that helps,again i'm sorry not to have been able to help more but it was just a fluke find i made some 13 or 14 years back
The Irish Potato Famine was an epistemological weapon of deliberate Depopulation based on the methods of Thomas Malthus, Economist for the British East India Company.
I should have clarified,i was on about the irish confederate war and oliver cromwell.
This was more about ethnic cleansing and scorced earth by cromwells new model army,there was a saying that sprung up at the time"to hell or to connacht",
This is why we have the situation up the north today,the irish were cleaned out of ulster and their land was given to settlers loyal to the union..
I cant remember the details but some disease broke out as well that devestated the island.
I am assuming that present day Northern Ireland was ruled over for centuries by a new English-Irish aristocracy, part English, part Irish, and decidedly Protestant.
correct . It was a victorian social experiment based upon Malthusain economics and social darwinianism . Hunger was the most effective means of killing " surplus" poor , wiping them out would "improve" the lot of the survivors . And there was no famine , the country was full of food .
there was no famine , the country was of food , the people simply werent allowed eat it . As the video points out there were warehouses full of grain .
So so unbearably sad, it speaks of an unspeakable disaster of dreadful proportions, and Britain could have helped and didn't. I am so sorry, and reading this is heartbreaking, I can't bear it.
If the Irish had of beeb rulers of their own country, there would not have been a Great Famine. read Wikipedia if you dont know. the english tried to make catholics protestant "soup kitchens" take the soup to live (change your religion to live) - Penal Laws, catholics weren't allowed a lot of things for 100 years - had to go to mass rocks, because were not allowed build a stone church, etc, etc READ WIKI PENAL LAWS
when my gr-grandmother was a child (born in 1887) , she was told by her parents to never ask the grandparents, ( the old irish ) about ireland or the famine passage. her mother told her they had all lost children,and had died without the benefit of a priest .
Reading about the potato Famine was bad but listening to this was awful.
I have been tracing my family tree and so far I have gotten back to 1866. One or two more branches should lead me to Ireland.
When a group of people suppress knowledge to control others they are the villains.
Here In the US its happening now, the gov lies, media suppress news, and bankers are still stealing. You better start fighting or learn to grow potatoes.
the way i see it, it was the fault of both the english and the irish. the english govt was callous and only cared to stuff more gold into its treasury, but the irish of the time were undergoing and unsustainable population explosion. add to that dependence on primarily one crop and the famine becomes inevitable, not a question of if but when.
But it was poverty that led to dependence on the potato. There was a legacy of 17th English century laws whereby it had been illegal for the Irish to own property, or be educated, or essentially be anything other than a servant class.
Over a millions starved - I don't care what religion you are, that is so horrible. A letter to make anyone cry, as it sure did me. :( . -thanks for posting Macker, to educate, too.
England refused to help ireland during the famine. They said the famine was punishment to ireland, and that it was just a catholic excuse to piss the english off. Now I'm not an english hater, what they did is in the past (an appology would be nice :P) but thats a bit fucked up! England did some terrible things
During the majority of the blight 45-47 British soldiers were used to remove the only food sources on the island in the name of profit at the expense of people starving.When the blight subsided in late 47 local land lords imposed more taxes on a population that already had been evicted, had their homes destroyed & had no money.Not surprising more people did in 48&49 than others.Its not really about England or Catholics, its about the powerful persecuting the powerless & the tools used to do it
Yeah but who had the power? The english and the protestants!
I'm not catholic but I am irish so im not just like "oh the proddies whatever" the english couldnt of prevented the famine, however they could of done something about it and would of saved literally millions of lifes
The landed gentry had the power, no one was more politically powerful during this time. To say it was the English & Protestant simplifies it to a racist, sectarian issue. When you say the Irish, it must be understood it was the Gaels, not the Anglo-Irish that perished. The landed gentry were comprised mostly rich Anglos, but Welsh,Scots, & some Irish,but not Gael-Irish.Some Brits like the Quakers & even Saxon MPs really did try to stop it.But the gov't was a Whig govt,that valued only the gentry
i know you ,ach big ian paisley ,you sound a right bigot lol what the fuck are you on about ,we are talking about people dying ,it should never have happened ,go and read the history of the time .i see your name is vile ,it suits you prick ,yes im catholic ,taig,fenian ,mick ,paddy ,one of the chosen people lol lol .
@jimmy27paul now allowed to speak the language if they wanted to enter government posts, nor were catholics allowed to enter government posts in penal times, nor allowed to wear national dress, the Leinte and Brat (forerunner of the modern kilt) nor enter the army.
you sound like one sicko ,the english let them die ,it had nothing to do with the may children they had ,go and read the history of ireland .thats why the english are so hated throughout the world ,and they talk about what the gemans did to the jews ,great britain my arse.
poverty and catholicism went had in hand in ireland because of the legacy of the 17the and 18th centuries when catholics were not allowed to own land, or be educated or work other than in servile postions.
If that is true, what is the rest of the Catholic world's excuse?
I wasn't just talking about Ireland, but all countries with RC majorities (with the exception of the Vatican itself, of course...the belly of the Beast where all the money flows to).
Well, I would suggest that many catholic countires are largely agrarian third world countries which have had a long history of tyranical corrupt undemocratic governments but even when they become democracies it's not easy for third world countries with large agrarian populations to compete and develop as developed countries. Developed countries have a head start advantage and protectionist mechanisms that mean it's not a level playing field but also ( see next comment)
They were developed, Ireland was producing cattle and enough food to feed Ireland a couple of times over but all the food was getting shipped to England cause they were under their rule.
Ah, but that food was owned by the landlords who were not the native Irish. A develoed country does not hav quite such extremes of wealth and poverty.
Yes, the cattle was owned a small landlord class though , not the majority of the population who were native Irish. This was similar to the set up in many agrarian Latin American "developing" countries where a rich elite owned cattle but the majority of the population owned very little or nothing. Cattle were used to enrich the elite, and exported not used feed the native population, who could not afford to buy it. It boils down to a lack of democracy and a lack of rights.
Are you trying to inform me on information I don't know, or just having a conversation? What your saying seems intelligent but also fairly obvious to anyone who has read history.
I often wondered where they would have been if we hadnt have taken em in fed em washed em thousends in glasgow alone from ireland they came caused nothing but trouble and shame well your famine is over why dont you go home?
The same type of people who did this to the Irish people are the exact same type of people that are in charge of Ireland today. Ireland is a mess because of greedy fat cats and the so called holy roman church.
what you idiots do not realise, is that we british are mostly irish, and PLUS, we are obviously not the same people as we were then, so, you douchebags insulting the british. grow up. If someone was related to hitler, would they definately be like him? no. idiots like the IRA causing disruption, this is a different GENERATION for goodness sake. Blurarsenal. if u hate us why support our teams?:) this is no offence to the irish but correcting Blurarsenal:)
this is so sad. do you think you could tell the name of the girl who wrote this letter? I'm doing a project on the potato famine, and the trip to america, and finally how the irish were treated in america.
I don`t know who the girl was who wrote these letters, but listening to them broke my heart. Many of my own family were forced to leave Ireland because of the famine. Thankfully though, I still have cousins in Limerick, shannon and Galway. Life in the states was hard at first for the Irish, many of the landowners here were of British descent. It`s totaly different now though, growing up in Boston, almost everyone here is at least part Irish if not all Irish.
Yes Joe how can people do this to one another. Its should be brought to the fore and shouted from the rooftops to tell all what they have done to our relitives. The lowest form of humans compation. Its so despicable
Appalling suffering, the govt should have been ashamed, it was disgusting the suffering, I can't bear it, I'm so sorry for that little girl with her Mummy dead.
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clover hat
lervish lervish lervish
rich sum
karezza6 1 week ago
How many potato's does it take to kill an irish man, NONE!
xPlantpoTx 4 weeks ago
@xPlantpoTx Real funny. Dickhead
sean2023 2 weeks ago
The letters were heartbreaking :(
wildplumbeauty 2 months ago
Thank you for posting this. It is heart-rending. It makes me count my blessings.
camillenixon 6 months ago
@camillenixon makes you wonder why people are rioting in london.
macker33 6 months ago
this is heart rending ....not a word of apology from the english..even today.....
starvation was the main weapon of the english empire..
jpandyaraja 7 months ago
@jpandyaraja tony blair said sorry in 1997
EMILYLEAH100 1 day ago
My great great grandparents were originally from Ireland, Mayo, alas, although I have there names, I cant actually trace where they actually lived :(.. but from tracing my family tree, they arrived in England somewhere between 1841 - 51 and then... lived here in Wolverhampton, in an area infamously known as caribee island, yes Im a proud Englishman, but i am equally as proud of those great great grandparents of mine, who, if it it were not for them, I would not be here now....
wulfrunandy 9 months ago
I understand how devastating the famine was and that the government did not do anywhere near enough to relieve the situation however Catholic emancipation took place in 1829 after the campaign led by Daniel O'Connel so no one was prohibited from learning to read and write I know that this video is not a prfessional documentary so mistakes can be made, over all the video is very moving and I commend the author for posting it
elamite66 1 year ago
@elamite66, Most Irish were still NOT allowed to learn to read and write! Read Section 16 of The Relief Act of 1829. It specifically did not contradict any "local statute, ordinance, or rule," so the ruling class could, and did, still exclude Catholics (Irish) from the schools in Ireland and prevent them learning to read and write. - And the government "did not do anywhere near enough?" They did nothing but watch the Irish starve! Learn your history.
LordAeduard 4 months ago
@LordAeduard The situation was a tragedy for which Westminster did not do anywhere near enough There is not reason to exaggerate or propagandize an already tragic situation I will read the Relief Act I have learned my history and analogy would be the Jewish Holocaust the instances where certain people who were Jews under the Nuremberg Laws were given a pass This fact does not make holocaust any better there is no need to propagandize over it I know many people have an emotional involvement Peace
elamite66 4 months ago
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oliness....dont believe everything you read.
binkydonnaful 1 year ago
I heard you on RTE! :)
meadhbh6 1 year ago
@meadhbh6 if it was the hairy guy with a beard ,sunglasses and no shoes it wasnt me.
macker33 1 year ago
This is almost certainly fictional, and not completely accurate (eg, the ban on Catholics reading and writing was lifted about 50 years before the famine). But many terrible things did happen during this time and this helps us remember.
oliness 1 year ago
@oliness Far as i know the penal laws were still in full effect.
macker33 1 year ago
@oliness The thing that sickened me the worst was that shipments of wheat that no Catholic could buy were shipped to England. And I have Anglo-Saxon ancestors. . . Scots Irish on my mothers side, Northern Italian on my fathers. When I heard about the convoys of wheat shipped under guard to the coast. . . I cried for Ireland. . .
ARP7777777 8 months ago
@oliness, If you refer to The Relief Act of 1829, which was considered "Catholic emancipation," it specifically didn't overrule any local laws about educating Catholics, so no...the ban on the Irish learning to read and write was still in effect unless any local British landlord decided differently, which most of course did not. That being said...I'm pretty sure this is NOT fictional. And by the way, 1829 was only about 20 years prior to the famine, not 50. Learn your history.
LordAeduard 4 months ago
Do you happen to have these letters in digital form (i.e. text rather than audio)?
If so, I'd like a copy of them for story research I'm doing.
clarkova 1 year ago
@clarkova i'm sorry i dont
macker33 1 year ago
Heartbreaking...
EvaChowaniec 1 year ago
the maker of our troubles,and the breaker of our bones;to keep him up he keeps us down,and grinds us on the stones.Their taxes and their terrors,boys,they have us nearly dead they drink their cup of bloodshed up,they rob our daily bread;false princes of perdition black,indifferent to our groans;how long more should we stand aside and let them steal our homes? UNKOWN AUTHOR 1847 FULL POEM IN JOSEPH O,CONNOR BOOK STAR OF THE SEA
mower1272 1 year ago 2
Very touching to hear.
aklt 1 year ago
Ireland, an island surrounded by water, no-one think of going fishing?
phucoff1 1 year ago
Seriously, how hard is it to grow a potato?
MrAmadaeus 1 year ago
@MrAmadaeus you are scum i hope u realise millions of people look on you as scum
borderish 1 year ago
@MrAmadaeus
what!?!? do u think people died cause they cudnt make a potoatoe??
gymnasticsblastomg 1 year ago
@gymnasticsblastomg It was that guys idea of being funny..
macker33 1 year ago
@MrAmadaeus Ehh... THERE WAS A BLIGHT! WHY WOULD IT BE HARD OTHERWISE? THATS HOW THE FAMINE BEGAN
meadhbh6 1 year ago
REVENGE FOR SKIBBEREEN!!!!!!!!!!!
SANDSER 1 year ago
We are in the northwest section of the US - in the area where potatoes are grown. There is currently a blight affecting some of the potatoe fields this year, though no notice of it will be given in the news... please, see what is coming... between the droughts, the floods and other things such as this blight - the dark days are now upon us. There will be famines which always brings pestilences. As it is prophesied -so it will be...
ProphecyAndScripture 1 year ago
The potato famine was awful I am of Irish des2nd gen I went dublin 2 yrs ago and I loved it I was made so welcome yet I noticed my british m8s were not so welcome for clear reasons why but clear ignorance of some fellow british because of their lack of understanding of what happened in this awful time I have traced back to find I have direct des whom left ireland for new york where they resettled and my nan left ireland too and moved the uk were she and her family never forgot our motherland
DanielR305 1 year ago
I find it interesting as an Irish descendant, in Canada that I readily have a certain rapport with natives here..... but it isn't that strange after all, since I cannot help but notice how the British Colonial govt here in Canada treated the "Indians" in the exact same way that they treated the Irish... kind of like a standardized method of demeaning and demoralizing native populations of the lands you mean to rape and take for yourselves.... England's shame indeed, one of many.
OscarLimaMike 1 year ago
@OscarLimaMike
i sooo agree with you! the english back then we so greedy and selfcentered! they had no ideo how mad it was.. and even more greedy they go and try to take over the world! and now countrys that arnt meant to speack english , DO speack english! the was only meant to be 1 country in the world that speack english and now theres loads.....
gymnasticsblastomg 1 year ago
This broke my heart and puts things into perspective on how many of us should be greatful for what they do have. Not bitter about what we don't. This fine young lady's resolve and keen mind in a time where English Law forbade Catholics from reading and writing amazes me.
YogiBear13 1 year ago
People think they got it tough now.
JMcLovn 1 year ago
@JMcLovn what people are you referring to??? Some have it just as bad now. It's just that so many prefer to not notice.... too close to home I guess.
OscarLimaMike 1 year ago
Is true that Ireland was exporting livestock and thousands of tons of wheat, barley and other crops during the famine?
Cytacon 1 year ago
@Cytacon yes...
OscarLimaMike 1 year ago
@Cytacon yeah,too true.
cuntyballs07 1 year ago
@Cytacon I think they were made to be the british
SuperMerryhappy 8 months ago
i dont know weather to like this or dislike it
109apples 1 year ago
Comment removed
ImagesByDavid 1 year ago
@ImagesByDavid i know there was another bad famine but surely you mean 400,000 ?
macker33 1 year ago
Comment removed
ImagesByDavid 1 year ago
@ImagesByDavid oh right,amazing what difference a 0 can make
macker33 1 year ago
@ImagesByDavid noit was from 1845 -1849 genocide by the brits
bonscott55 1 year ago
@bonscott55
Yea there were two famines...the Great Famine was a genocide. Just like the Nazis used starvation to kill the Jews the English implied the same tactic.
ImagesByDavid 1 year ago
I LOVE ALL IRISH!!!!!! I AM VERY PROUD TO BE IRISH!!!!!! THIS IS VERY SAD!!!!! PEOPLE NEED TO REALIZE IRISH ARE A GOOD HARD WORKING PEOPLE THE GREED AND HATE IS WHAT DID THIS!!!!!! THE SO CALLED IRISH FAMINE WAS REALLY "IRISH GENOCIDE" EEEEEERRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNN GGOOOOOO BRAAAGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AlecFromBakoMusic 1 year ago 9
@AlecFromBakoMusic well people cant unbreak whats been broken,life goes on,nice to meet you.
macker33 1 year ago
I can understand the hate the Irish have towards the british people yet it was caused by very very evil english barons but not by all british people. I was told about the potato famine fr a young age by my nan whom was fr county mayo and when I heard I felt hate too yet I remember and forget but I don't hate the modern brits today for it as they did not cause what happened in Ireland I am angered what happened by what UK barons did but I remember but never forget what happened to fellow pple
DanielR305 1 year ago
@DanielR305 We understand that,unfortunately arguments still happen.32
macker33 1 year ago
@DanielR305 The problem with this is, how many peace marches/fundraisers/protests did the people of Britain hold in our plight throughout the years? The Choctaw Native Americans even sent $710 (a relatively huge amount), while Famine Queen Vic asked Sultan Abdulmecid - Ottoman Empire to reduce his donation as it showed her for the whore she was. Thankfully he smuggled the ships in and resisted a blockade at dublin.
You's are sorry for the past, yet persist with this agression in Iraq today?
CoBurN82 1 year ago
@CoBurN82 america has the largest force in the middle east and also the coilition troops now have left iraq its afganistan. Many irish americans also fight in afganistan.
seonidh 1 year ago
poor people, if only i could have helped them in any way :(
mayasupernova 1 year ago
terrible and tragic ! where did you find these letters? are they published in a book? who is the narrator and where in Ireland is she from? I would like to share these letters as Secretary of our United Methodist Women's group!
4gforcesmom40 2 years ago
I wish i could help you further but all i can teel you is that the narrator judging from her accent is from derry.
I have updated the details if any of that helps,again i'm sorry not to have been able to help more but it was just a fluke find i made some 13 or 14 years back
macker33 2 years ago
Excellent Comments.
AnonymousWhitePerson 2 years ago
Well anytime you want to know something just ask.
macker33 2 years ago
The Irish Potato Famine was an epistemological weapon of deliberate Depopulation based on the methods of Thomas Malthus, Economist for the British East India Company.
AnonymousWhitePerson 2 years ago 2
I should have clarified,i was on about the irish confederate war and oliver cromwell.
This was more about ethnic cleansing and scorced earth by cromwells new model army,there was a saying that sprung up at the time"to hell or to connacht",
This is why we have the situation up the north today,the irish were cleaned out of ulster and their land was given to settlers loyal to the union..
I cant remember the details but some disease broke out as well that devestated the island.
macker33 2 years ago
I am assuming that present day Northern Ireland was ruled over for centuries by a new English-Irish aristocracy, part English, part Irish, and decidedly Protestant.
AnonymousWhitePerson 2 years ago
the english irish aristocracy you speak of were all origionaly from across the water first day,
there were no catholics whatsoever left in charge of anything.religion was banned and education was banned.
macker33 2 years ago
correct . It was a victorian social experiment based upon Malthusain economics and social darwinianism . Hunger was the most effective means of killing " surplus" poor , wiping them out would "improve" the lot of the survivors . And there was no famine , the country was full of food .
kbcmighty 2 years ago 2
The American Civil War was a legitimate war, not a policy of deliberate Starvation and Depopulation.
Diarrhea and Dysentry alone were responsible for an estimated 44,558 of the casualties.
AnonymousWhitePerson 2 years ago
During the famine, the English starved the Irish to death and Depopulated the island of Ireland by over 25 percent.
AnonymousWhitePerson 2 years ago
They did worse during the confederate wars.The population was more than halved as a result of that.
macker33 2 years ago
there was no famine , the country was of food , the people simply werent allowed eat it . As the video points out there were warehouses full of grain .
kbcmighty 2 years ago 2
jesus, this is really upsetting, no wonder the english are hated, although its true to say the english cant remember what the irish cant forget.
Telfer81 2 years ago
twiggo66 u fucking prick,id love 2 smash ur fuckn head in u cunt
buloo1234 2 years ago
ur a brave boy sayin that behind a computer,id like to c u say that to an irish mans face ant ul see what happens.
christoir246 2 years ago
@twiggo66 You are worse than the devil incarnate, you unimaginable bastard.
A good thing you are not in the company of decent people, because you would be crucified, which is what you deserve - Lucifer !
josparkes1 2 years ago
@josparkes1 Just ignore him,hes probably like that to everybody,,
macker33 2 years ago
So so unbearably sad, it speaks of an unspeakable disaster of dreadful proportions, and Britain could have helped and didn't. I am so sorry, and reading this is heartbreaking, I can't bear it.
josparkes1 2 years ago
@twiggo66 airhead
heliotropezzz333 2 years ago 2
Beautifully done story on a very ugly history. Thank you!
darwin92115 2 years ago
that made me cry......i have nothing more to say
orangedarkwolf 2 years ago 2
tragedy and disgrace to the Empire
toonmag50 2 years ago 2
If the Irish had of beeb rulers of their own country, there would not have been a Great Famine. read Wikipedia if you dont know. the english tried to make catholics protestant "soup kitchens" take the soup to live (change your religion to live) - Penal Laws, catholics weren't allowed a lot of things for 100 years - had to go to mass rocks, because were not allowed build a stone church, etc, etc READ WIKI PENAL LAWS
sainglain 2 years ago
when my gr-grandmother was a child (born in 1887) , she was told by her parents to never ask the grandparents, ( the old irish ) about ireland or the famine passage. her mother told her they had all lost children,and had died without the benefit of a priest .
weitzfc 2 years ago 6
.After reading at historyplace com I came here
Reading about the potato Famine was bad but listening to this was awful.
I have been tracing my family tree and so far I have gotten back to 1866. One or two more branches should lead me to Ireland.
When a group of people suppress knowledge to control others they are the villains.
Here In the US its happening now, the gov lies, media suppress news, and bankers are still stealing. You better start fighting or learn to grow potatoes.
hesbola 2 years ago 2
the way i see it, it was the fault of both the english and the irish. the english govt was callous and only cared to stuff more gold into its treasury, but the irish of the time were undergoing and unsustainable population explosion. add to that dependence on primarily one crop and the famine becomes inevitable, not a question of if but when.
meleezero 2 years ago
But it was poverty that led to dependence on the potato. There was a legacy of 17th English century laws whereby it had been illegal for the Irish to own property, or be educated, or essentially be anything other than a servant class.
heliotropezzz333 2 years ago
Over a millions starved - I don't care what religion you are, that is so horrible. A letter to make anyone cry, as it sure did me. :( . -thanks for posting Macker, to educate, too.
fuhmeregan 2 years ago
not a bother.
macker33 2 years ago
England refused to help ireland during the famine. They said the famine was punishment to ireland, and that it was just a catholic excuse to piss the english off. Now I'm not an english hater, what they did is in the past (an appology would be nice :P) but thats a bit fucked up! England did some terrible things
ashhere 2 years ago 2
During the majority of the blight 45-47 British soldiers were used to remove the only food sources on the island in the name of profit at the expense of people starving.When the blight subsided in late 47 local land lords imposed more taxes on a population that already had been evicted, had their homes destroyed & had no money.Not surprising more people did in 48&49 than others.Its not really about England or Catholics, its about the powerful persecuting the powerless & the tools used to do it
cinnireseisri 2 years ago 3
Yeah but who had the power? The english and the protestants!
I'm not catholic but I am irish so im not just like "oh the proddies whatever" the english couldnt of prevented the famine, however they could of done something about it and would of saved literally millions of lifes
ashhere 2 years ago 2
The landed gentry had the power, no one was more politically powerful during this time. To say it was the English & Protestant simplifies it to a racist, sectarian issue. When you say the Irish, it must be understood it was the Gaels, not the Anglo-Irish that perished. The landed gentry were comprised mostly rich Anglos, but Welsh,Scots, & some Irish,but not Gael-Irish.Some Brits like the Quakers & even Saxon MPs really did try to stop it.But the gov't was a Whig govt,that valued only the gentry
cinnireseisri 2 years ago 2
It's so very sad. But this is why I am an American. This could have been the story of my family!
YOJNEJ 2 years ago 2
"Not allowed to read and right". There you have it England -- you arrogant bastards !
ErnstBecker 2 years ago 2
Actually, by the 1820s ( a couple of decades before the famine) there were believed to be 11,000 schools in Ireland with around 500,000 pupils.
As my old gran (who was from County Cork) was inclined to say, I suspect whoever wrote those letters was a bit of a stranger to the truth.
oarfrost 2 years ago
oh this broke me
hijodepu 2 years ago
Comment removed
Kabousha 2 years ago
the population dropped from 8 million to 4 million on account of the famine,,
The was plenty of food but that was for export.
The confederate wars were bad too,in ten years cromwell reduced the population of ireland from 1.6 million down to 700,000.
He sent the widows and orphans off to the west indies as slaves to work on the sugar plantations,
macker33 2 years ago
The irish were forced to live on potatoes IT WAS NOT A CHOICE.The irish people had been reduced to serfs in their own country.
jimmy27paul 2 years ago 12
For those of you who dont know ENGLAND RULED IRELAND THAT TIME THE IRISH WERE MOSTLY CATHOLICS.
jimmy27paul 2 years ago 2
The irish were stupid.........this drives me insane CATHOLICS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO READ AND WRITE UNDER ENGLISH LAW.
jimmy27paul 2 years ago 10
They didn't need to, they could just go to their Latin church services and have their priests do the thinking for them, as they always have.
ProfessorxVile 2 years ago
i know you ,ach big ian paisley ,you sound a right bigot lol what the fuck are you on about ,we are talking about people dying ,it should never have happened ,go and read the history of the time .i see your name is vile ,it suits you prick ,yes im catholic ,taig,fenian ,mick ,paddy ,one of the chosen people lol lol .
desicaoimhin 2 years ago
Chosen by Father O'Flanagan for a ride on his holy beef baton?
ProfessorxVile 2 years ago
And what good have protestants ever done?If it wasnt for catholics you'd be a muslim by now.
macker33 2 years ago
Spoken like a true Protestant.
ErnstBecker 2 years ago
Not a Prod, but it would be an easy choice between that and Catholicism if I ever had to choose.
ProfessorxVile 2 years ago
Choose whatever or whomever you wish; however, don't preach to me.
ErnstBecker 2 years ago
I'm not preaching (telling you what to believe), I'm merely pointing out that Popery probably isn't your best choice.
ProfessorxVile 2 years ago
Salute !
Well said.
ErnstBecker 2 years ago
@jimmy27paul now allowed to speak the language if they wanted to enter government posts, nor were catholics allowed to enter government posts in penal times, nor allowed to wear national dress, the Leinte and Brat (forerunner of the modern kilt) nor enter the army.
MrThingy3 1 year ago
@MrThingy3 they werent allowed to own property either
macker33 1 year ago
@jimmy27paul
if u watched the video she even says in the letter that shes not alowed to send letter or write them but she got help from sombody!
gymnasticsblastomg 1 year ago
There was no FAMINE there was plenty of food in ireland the brits just sent it ov er seas for the sake of capitalism.
jimmy27paul 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Maybe the Roman Church shouldn't encourage their sheep to have 12-plus kids per family that they can't support.
ProfessorxVile 2 years ago
you sound like one sicko ,the english let them die ,it had nothing to do with the may children they had ,go and read the history of ireland .thats why the english are so hated throughout the world ,and they talk about what the gemans did to the jews ,great britain my arse.
desicaoimhin 2 years ago
Well then you tell me why it is that Catholicism and poverty seem to go hand-in-hand.
Except, of course, for the Roman Church itself. The Catholic overlords have always lived in opulance while their impoverished slaves suffer.
ProfessorxVile 2 years ago
It is simple to understand -- POVERTY !
ErnstBecker 2 years ago
poverty and catholicism went had in hand in ireland because of the legacy of the 17the and 18th centuries when catholics were not allowed to own land, or be educated or work other than in servile postions.
heliotropezzz333 2 years ago
If that is true, what is the rest of the Catholic world's excuse?
I wasn't just talking about Ireland, but all countries with RC majorities (with the exception of the Vatican itself, of course...the belly of the Beast where all the money flows to).
ProfessorxVile 2 years ago
Well, I would suggest that many catholic countires are largely agrarian third world countries which have had a long history of tyranical corrupt undemocratic governments but even when they become democracies it's not easy for third world countries with large agrarian populations to compete and develop as developed countries. Developed countries have a head start advantage and protectionist mechanisms that mean it's not a level playing field but also ( see next comment)
heliotropezzz333 2 years ago
They were developed, Ireland was producing cattle and enough food to feed Ireland a couple of times over but all the food was getting shipped to England cause they were under their rule.
Flipper79able 2 years ago
Ah, but that food was owned by the landlords who were not the native Irish. A develoed country does not hav quite such extremes of wealth and poverty.
heliotropezzz333 2 years ago
Yes, the cattle was owned a small landlord class though , not the majority of the population who were native Irish. This was similar to the set up in many agrarian Latin American "developing" countries where a rich elite owned cattle but the majority of the population owned very little or nothing. Cattle were used to enrich the elite, and exported not used feed the native population, who could not afford to buy it. It boils down to a lack of democracy and a lack of rights.
heliotropezzz333 2 years ago
Are you trying to inform me on information I don't know, or just having a conversation? What your saying seems intelligent but also fairly obvious to anyone who has read history.
Flipper79able 2 years ago
Just taking part in the discussion really. A lot of people outside of Ireland don't know what preceded this period of poverty and famine.
heliotropezzz333 2 years ago
Continue with what you do. I approve.
Flipper79able 2 years ago
fuck anna frank ,, we were first
johnfinbarburke 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dudepersonguy12 2 years ago
I often wondered where they would have been if we hadnt have taken em in fed em washed em thousends in glasgow alone from ireland they came caused nothing but trouble and shame well your famine is over why dont you go home?
hty1961 3 years ago
Good for you,youre great man.
macker33 3 years ago
sure am
hty1961 3 years ago
The same type of people who did this to the Irish people are the exact same type of people that are in charge of Ireland today. Ireland is a mess because of greedy fat cats and the so called holy roman church.
edwardardri 3 years ago
that was so sad
gatheringleaves 3 years ago
pictures of the True Ireland!
gatheringleaves 3 years ago
burn the bastards out of their homes see how they like it
WexfordBoyo18 3 years ago
We think we have it bad now with the recession turning into a depression. These people had nothing, we a spoilt in the modern world in comparison
Seano71 3 years ago
i hate those fuckin british bastard
blurarsenal2 3 years ago 2
yeah all brits should ne put into extermination camps the whole 60 million
frieupfortea 3 years ago
what you idiots do not realise, is that we british are mostly irish, and PLUS, we are obviously not the same people as we were then, so, you douchebags insulting the british. grow up. If someone was related to hitler, would they definately be like him? no. idiots like the IRA causing disruption, this is a different GENERATION for goodness sake. Blurarsenal. if u hate us why support our teams?:) this is no offence to the irish but correcting Blurarsenal:)
updavilla619 3 years ago 3
this is so sad. do you think you could tell the name of the girl who wrote this letter? I'm doing a project on the potato famine, and the trip to america, and finally how the irish were treated in america.
tigresswarrior 3 years ago
Her name was Maggie O Neill(o neal)and i think she was from clare,
macker33 3 years ago
I don`t know who the girl was who wrote these letters, but listening to them broke my heart. Many of my own family were forced to leave Ireland because of the famine. Thankfully though, I still have cousins in Limerick, shannon and Galway. Life in the states was hard at first for the Irish, many of the landowners here were of British descent. It`s totaly different now though, growing up in Boston, almost everyone here is at least part Irish if not all Irish.
Coppa1972 2 years ago 2
Yes Joe how can people do this to one another. Its should be brought to the fore and shouted from the rooftops to tell all what they have done to our relitives. The lowest form of humans compation. Its so despicable
937irish 3 years ago
Appalling suffering, the govt should have been ashamed, it was disgusting the suffering, I can't bear it, I'm so sorry for that little girl with her Mummy dead.
Jo Sparkes
Norfolk
5/11/2008
josparkes 3 years ago