It only seems fitting to display links and topical material related to the Great Irish Famine. There were many famines in the history of the Irish, but it was this singularly tragic period of human history that led to the first major exodus of the Irish Catholic poor. It is claimed that there are over 80 million Americans who claim Irish ancestry; most of these individuals are a glorious testimony to the strength and courage of those starving Irish who were exiled from their ancestral home. I myself owe my existance, in part, due to the courageous spirit of Bernard and Elizabeth Roan. The world is commemorating this tragedy this summer in Ireland and all around the world in recognition of both the Irish people's suffering and their wonderful contributions to American culture.
Below is a quote from Mr. Nicholas Cummins (as cited in Woodham-Smith, 1962) the magistrate of Cork who, as a result of being horrified by the spectacle of starvation around him, sent a letter to the Duke of Wellington which was published on December 24, 1846 in The Times (in London):
"My Lord Duke....I thought it right personally to investigate the truth of several lamentable accounts which had reached me, of the appalling state of misery to which that part of the country was reduced. I accordingly went on the 15th [December] instant to Skibbereen, and to give the instance of one townland which I visited, as an example of the state of the entire coast district, I shall state simply what I there saw....I entered some hovels to ascertain the cause, and the scenes which presented themselves were such as no tongue or pen can convey the slightest idea of. In the first, six famished and ghastly skeletons, to all appearances dead, were huddled in a corner on some filthy straw, their sole covering what seemed a ragged horsecloth, their wretched legs hanging about, naked above the knees. I approached with horror, and found by a low moaning they were alive-they were in fever, four children, a woman and what had once been a man. It is impossible to go through the detail. Suffice it to say, that in a few minutes I was surrounded by at least 200 such phantoms, such frightful spectres as no words can describe, either from famine or from fever. Their demonic yells are still ringing in my ears, and their horrible images are fixed upon my brain. My heart sickens at the recital but I must go on....A mother, herself in a fever, was seen the same day to drag out the corpse of her child, a girl about twelve, perfectly naked, and leave it half covered with stones. In another house, within 500 yards of the cavalry station at Skibbereen, the dispensary doctor found seven wretches lying unable to move, under the same cloak. One had been dead many hours, but the others were unable to move either themselves or the corpse."
Woodham-Smith, Cecil. (1962). The great hunger. New York, N. Y. : Harper & Row, Inc.
This summer all over Ireland and much of Europe people are paying their respects to those ancestors that died, not so much as a result of food deprivation, but rather as a result of a lack of humanity on the part of the world who sat, who watched, and who let it happen. Genocide never happens by accident nor does it happen quickly. It is a slow insidious process that, like the blight that consumed the Irishmen's potato, slowly decimates and ultimately destroys a people from within. This summer marks the passing of the 150th year since "Black 47" as it was called; the exodus that it caused built America's train network, The Erie Canal system, and the political structure and culture of 19th century America.
Links to other sites on the Web
-The Irish Famine-1846 to 1850
-Great Famine Commemoration
-Irish Nobility and heraldry
-Intro to Irish genealogy
-IrishNet: Irish resources in America
-Extracts from: The Cork Examiner
© 1997 mrwonder@gte.net
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