The Great Famine brought mass starvation and disease to Ireland and major impacts to Irish society.
When Irish people think of famine, they immediately think of The Great Famine of the mid 19th century.
The Great Famine, caused by the failure of the potato crop, condemned to death a vast number of Irish people.
The Irish Famine changed the pattern of living in rural Ireland as many left the land for foreign shores. This was the last famine in Ireland but was by no means the first famine the country experienced. Up to 1750, famine occurred from time to time in Ireland and the rest of western Europe. From 1740 to 1741, famine raged across Europe.
There are reminders of these famines dotted throughout Ireland. In 1741, an obelisk was built near Killiney Hill as a relief work to enable starving people to earn money to buy food. The monument serves as a reminder that the famine of that year was just as severe in the east of Ireland as in the west.
Another folly from this period was constructed at Castletown between Maynooth and Celbridge and is currently being restored with the help of the Board of Works. The Connollys of Castletown also built a barn to store crops and grain for times when there would be no crop yield. The barn became known as The Wonderful Barn.
This episode of 'Six Generations: Junior History - The Famine' was broadcast on 20 November 1969. The presenter is Brendan Scott.
