School: Páirc na Coille
- Location:
- Woodfield, Co. Roscommon
- Teacher: Énrí Ó Maolagáin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0233, Page 217
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- XML “Famine Times”
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- "Famine Times"
In the year 1846-47 the famine was raging in Ireland. This district was effected very much by it. There was a big population in the district and the most of the people died from hunger and from sickness. The people point out the sites of houses where there were five or six houses on a farm and there are only a few ruins left now. In that year the potato crops failed because they were blighted. The potatoes decayed in the ground but some farmer's picked the small ones and kept them for seed for the following year. The crops failed two years in succession and a few farmers had seed to plant the third when there were good crops.
The government gave them free meal to eat. They were got dead in big numbers by the sides of ditchs(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Jim Smyth
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Derrycashel, Co. Roscommon
- Informant
- James Smith
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Derrycashel, Co. Roscommon
