School: Portlaoighse (Convent) (roll number 13386)

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1. The Famine (continued)

   

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   Irish people. The potato blight comes very suddenly a brown spot was seen on the leaf of the plant after a while a lot of spots were seen on the plants and then the plant fell off. Today they have a way to prevent the blight with stuff bought in chemists' shops, the government started work and gave some employment but it helped the country very little. Roads were built where they were not needed.
   The workmen were that weak for the want of food they could not do work. Large quantities of Indian meal were sent to Ireland but the people could not buy it. The hens stopped laying and the people had to buy a little meal. The poor farmer had only his grain for to pay his rent. The children became very hungry, their mothers were broken hearted they used to go in crowds to the mill to get some meal. The father of the house stayed out till after bedtime not to see the children crying.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Lucy Dunne

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Port Laoise, Co. Laois

   Informant

   Mr Thomas Dunne

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Port Laoise, Co. Laois