School: Newtown, Fertullagh
- Location:
- Newtownlow, Co. Westmeath
- Teacher: K. Shumacher
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0732, Page 152
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- XML “Famine Times”
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- The old people have stories about the Great Famine. All the potatoes were black, and people suffered great hardship for the want of food. Some people were known to have stolen sheep to get food for their children.It effected the district very much. The district was very thickly populated before that time. People still point out sites of houses then occupied and now in ruins.The blight came when they knew nothing about spraying. The potatoes were black in the ground and they decayed in the pits afterwards. Seed potatoes were imported. "Gangays" was the name of the potatoes that were imported. The potatoes were sown in drills and ridges.The people ate nettles, indian meal, rye bread, leaves and roots of all kinds. The Government sent relief to the district; they gave out pollard for the people to make bread. People did not die in great numbers from hunger, only a few persons died that could not get any food. Great sickness followed the famine called the blackpock and a lot of people died.All the people were mourning, they thought they would never see any more food.
- Collector
- Eirene Matthews
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Ballynagore, Co. Westmeath
- Informant
- Mr Andy Baker
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Ballykilroe, Co. Westmeath
