School: An Mhaing
- Location:
- Muingatlaunlush, Co. Kerry
- Teacher: Christine Nic Gearaild
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0444, Page 150
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- The great famine of 1846-47 seriously affected the district. This district was thickly populated before them. People still point out sites of houses then occupied and now in ruins. The potatoes were not sown until June and the blight came early when the crop was weak and being unable to stand it the crop decayed in the ground. There are no accounts of seed potatoes for the following year. The food which the people had instead of the potatoes was turnips and crushed grain, crushed by homemade querns. The government relief did not reach the district. People died in great numbers of hunger and of the great sickness which followed the famine. The people do not talk about other periods of famine due to the failure of the potato crop.
