School: Ráth Dubh, An Bhlárna (roll number 8393)
- Location:
- Rathduff, Co. Cork
- Teacher: D. Ó Súilleabháin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0389, Page 050
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- XML School: Ráth Dubh, An Bhlárna
- XML Page 050
- XML “The Famine Times”
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- The old people have many stories about the Great Famine of 1846 and 1847. It affected the district very much.
The district was very thickly populated before this famine. There are ten sites in my district that were occupied in the time of the famine, and they are now in ruins.
When the stalks were green, every night the people used go out to look at their potato crop. One morning when they got the stalks were burned down to the ground. Some decayed in the ground, others were dug and put in pits, but they also decayed.
The following year they had no seed potatoes and the Famine was worse than ever. Raw turnips, weeds, and sea-weeds were commonly eaten. They used to boil the weeds with salt and eat them. The Government Relief did not reach the country, for two years after the famine starting, and many lives were lost before this.
People died in great numbers in my district. The great sickness followed the famine. People say that the potato was their chief food before this.(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Tim Sullivan
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Knockantota South, Co. Cork
- Informant
- Mr John Sullivan
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Knockantota South, Co. Cork
