Throughout the 19th century, Ireland endured 29 famines, subsistence crises and crop failures. While the Great Hunger of 1845-1852, when over one million people died, is well known, other crises had the potential to be as devastating. Ireland was the only country in Europe to have a lower population in 1900 than at the start of the century. One of the consequences of these famines and food crises was the large numbers of Irish people who emigrated from Ireland. An estimated 8 million left Ireland in the 19th century, 2.5 million emigrating in the decade between 1845 and 1855, settling in Canada, Australia, Britain and in particular, the United States.  In this presentation you will learn of the impact of famines on Ireland, the role of government and its agencies in relation to famine relief, 19th century emigration patterns, the settlement patterns of Irish emigrants and go through a case study of Irish famine emigrants and marriage in New York. (A reading list of relevant material will be provided).

 

Professor Christine Kinealy is Director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University, Connecticut and a leading expert on the Great Famine of 1845-52. Among her many publications are This Great Calamity: the Irish Famine, 1845-52 (Dublin, 1994).

 

Dr. Gerard Moran ​ is an emeritus researcher at the Social Science Research Center at NUI Galway. He has written extensively on nineteenth-centuury Ireland and among his publications is Sending Out Ireland's Poor: Assisted Emigration to North America in the Nineteenth Century (Dublin, 2004).

 

All you need to attend is an internet-connected device with audio capabilities (computer, iPad, smartphone, etc.)