School: Cohaw (C )
- Location:
- Cohaw, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: E. Ní Aodha
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1018, Page 253
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- XML “Famine Times”
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- The great famine of 1846-47 affected every district in Ireland. There were twice as many people in the district as there are now. At that time there was a house in almost every field, but most of them are now in ruins or have disappeared altogether.
When the blight came the potatoes were only in bloom and were'nt fully grown. They didnt grow any after that and most of them decayed in the ground. Any that were left were dug out and put in pits but most of them decayed there also.
The people then were in great distress because the potato was their chief food. When they had nothing else to eat they ate boiled grass and weeds. Hundreds of people died of starvation and disease. It was only when the famine was raging for two years that the Government did anything to relieve the people. Indian meal porridge was made at the(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Margaret Mullen
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Cohaw, Co. Cavan
- Informant
- Edward Mullen
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Cohaw, Co. Cavan
