School: Abbeytown Convent N.S. (roll number 15043)

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1. The Famine (continued)

   “The "Big Famine" which occurred during the years eighteen forty six and forty seven”

   

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   men informed him that everybody had plenty. So he got them to dig pits in the gardens and bury the potatoes in them. The following year the famine came and all the people of the district ran to those pits to get the potatoes out of them. When they found the potatoes they were rotten and not fit for consumption.
   This is another incident which occurred in Boyle in the year eighteen forty seven. There was a shoemaker called Mr. Reilly, living on the Crescent with his wife and children. One day, a poor starving man came into the house and Mrs. Reilly gave him Indian meal and milk to eat. When he was going out the door he fell down dead. The Indian meal was too strong for him because he was very weak from want of food.
   During the time of the famine, the priests encouraged the people to keep the money, which they were paying the landlords, and buy food for themselves and their families. The Government gave the parish priest food to distribute among the people in this parish. The people would gather once a week at the work-house gate, and there the priest

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. time
      1. historical periods by name (~25)
         1. the great famine (~4,013)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Miss M. Kielty

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Boyle, Co. Roscommon