Have you seen the Irish Famine period drama "The Hanging Gale"?

Ireland Reaching Out recently recommended this BAFTA-nominated "oldie but goodie" as a must-watch for the diaspora. It's perfect for binge-watching on St Patrick's Day weekend. Ireland XO described it this way: 

"The Hanging Gale" (R15+) is a four-part TV mini-series set in Co. Donegal against the backdrop of Ireland's Great Famine in 1846.

It follows the story of a family's struggle to hold their farm when the potato blight struck their harvest for the second year in a row. The narrative is well-balanced, offering perspectives from both land agents and tenant farmers, and provides valuable insights for those of us curious about what our ancestors might have faced.

The title of the series, "The Hanging Gale," refers to a historical practice in Ireland in the time of our ancestors. A 'hanging gale' was when landlords gave new tenants a 6-month grace period on rent payment (with the expectation that the rent owed would be paid when the land's crops were harvested and sold).

Back then, tenant farmers paid their rents to landlords, half-yearly, on 'Gale Days' (typically May 1st and November 1st). It was a time for bringing what they had to market and for taking stock of what they needed to sustain themselves until the next harvest. As you can imagine, Gale Day was the bane of most tenant farmers' lives, especially during years of poor harvests.

Read more here.  The series is available for vewing--at no cost--via DAILYMOTION. (You'll need to register first.) 

WATCH Episode 1      http://tinyurl.com/HangingGaleEPS1

WATCH Episode 2      http://tinyurl.com/HangingGaleEP2

WATCH Episode 3      http://tinyurl.com/HangingGaleEP3

WATCH Episode 4      http://tinyurl.com/HangingGaleEP4