famine
FAMINE AND FLIGHT
In 1841 the population of Ireland had been
8,175,124.
By 1851 it had reduced to 6,552,385. Many had sailed directly from
Irish
ports but most went first to England and sailed from Liverpool. Some
stayed
in England not because they had a love of that country, but because
they
had no money to go further. They were usually made unwelcome,
considered
a pestilence and often driven away. By June 1847, more than 300,000
Irish
had landed in Liverpool, living in appalling condtions. To their
credit many of the English did their best to help but the situation was
hopeless and the plight of these poor immigrants was hardly relieved
once
they got a passage, packed in ships as ballast, a perfect breeding
ground
for disease.
Many sites available on the net which evoke the terribleness of the
famine and the lasting effects on the Irish people
