Pixie Books.ie | The Irish Famine

The Irish Famine
by Gail Seekamp and Pierce Feiritear (48 pages)

Non-fiction, for 10 year-olds including adults

ISBN:0-9543544-2-7

A short, highly readable account of Ireland’s potato
famine that began in 1845.
With original source material.

In 1845 the potato crop in Ireland was struck by a virulent blight.
The event was a disaster for the country’s poor who lived almost entirely on potatoes. Over the next six years, a million people would die and two million more would emigrate.

This concise, informative account of the Irish Famine will appeal to both children and adults alike. It gives a thoughtful and thought-provoking account of the historical events that changed Ireland forever.

The book contains original source material and contemporary graphics.

Excerpt from The Irish Famine

Chapter 2. THE BACKGROUND TO THE FAMINE

…By 1800, most of Ireland’s small farmers and cottiers, the landless labourers, had switched from oatmeal to the potato as their main food. They had good reasons for doing so.
The potato suited Ireland’s wet, cool climate and grew even in the worst soil. It was also nutritious. With a little milk, potatoes provided carbohydrates, protein and minerals; but it took many to make a meal.

And what a lot of potatoes the people ate before the famine! The average man consumed 45 potatoes per day; the average woman 36 potatoes and an 11 year-old-child about 15 potatoes. Over 50 years a man could eat almost a million potatoes. But it was dangerous to be too dependent on a single food.

What the critics had to say:
"In the format of easy-to-read information bites, this well-researched account of the Irish Famine is an excellent pocket history.”
The Sunday Tribune

Price: €5.99