Famines in Ireland 1800–1845: One Major Event (The Great Famine Began 1845)

Clarification

Between 1800 and 1845, Ireland experienced localized food shortages and distress (1800–01, 1816–19 "Year Without a Summer", 1821–22, 1830–31, 1835–37), but only one catastrophic, nationwide famine began in this period: the Great Famine (An Gorta Mór), triggered by potato blight (Phytophthora infestans) in 1845 and lasting until 1852.

Pre-1845 Subsistence Crises

• 1800–01: Post-rebellion disruption, wet harvest.
• 1816–19: Tambora eruption → global cooling, typhus epidemic.
• 1821–22: West/southwest failure; government relief works.
• 1830–31: Cholera + potato failure.
• 1835–37: Repeated blight precursors; Poor Law enacted (1838).

Why 1845 Was Different

• Blight destroyed 50–75% of potato crop nationally for successive years.
• Population 8.5M (heavily potato-dependent).
• British policy (laissez-faire, workhouses, export of grain) exacerbated mortality.
• Result: ~1M deaths, 1–2M emigrated; population never recovered.