Life in Ireland in the 1800s

• By 1841, Ireland's population reached 8.2 million, a significant increase from 5.5 million in 1801.
• Agriculture and industry in Ireland lagged behind Britain's development.
• Industrialization was concentrated around Belfast and Dublin.
• Ireland lacked coal and iron resources, limiting the use of steam engines.
• Ireland possessed railways and canals for transportation.
• Ulster had a successful linen textiles industry.
• Dublin's industries included wool and Guinness's brewery.
• Dublin port served as the primary export point for rural Ireland to Britain.

Life in Belfast and Dublin

• Overcrowding was a major issue, with multiple families often residing in single rooms.
• Diseases like typhoid, cholera, smallpox, scarlet fever, and tuberculosis were widespread.
• Infant mortality rates were notably high.
• Adults and children worked long hours in factories and docks, typically from 5:30 am to 8 pm, six days a week.

Life in Rural Ireland in the 1800s

• In 1841, over 70% of Ireland's population lived in the countryside.
• Ireland's population doubled in under a century due to early marriages and large families.
• Farming improvements and machinery led to increased food production.
• Ireland exported livestock and grain to Britain.
• Land was primarily owned by descendants of planters and rented by Irish tenant farmers.
• Tenant farmers grew crops to feed their families and pay rent.
• Large farmers rented over 30 acres, hired laborers, grew wheat and barley, and kept livestock. Their diet included meat, milk, potatoes, and vegetables.
• Small farmers rented 5 to 30 acres, divided land among sons, and grew wheat and barley. Their diet mainly consisted of potatoes and milk.
• Laborers, known as cottiers, rented one acre from a farmer and paid rent through labor.
• Cottiers lived in one-room thatched cottages and grew potatoes. In 1845, there were one million Irish cottiers, making up half the population with their families.
• In 1801, the Irish parliament ceased to exist, and Ireland sent 100 MPs to the House of Commons and 32 peers to the House of Lords in Westminster.
• Laws passed in London applied to Ireland.
• The government of Ireland was based in Dublin Castle, headed by the Chief Secretary, a British politician residing mostly in London.
• The British monarch was represented in Ireland by the Lord Lieutenant.

The Catholic Question

• Catholic emancipation was a key political issue, aiming to allow Catholics to sit in parliament.
• MPs had to swear an oath recognizing the King of England as head of the Church, preventing Catholics from becoming MPs.
• Catholics resented paying tithes to the Church of Ireland.
• A Catholic middle class emerged, advocating for change.
• Daniel O'Connell, a Catholic lawyer, became their champion.

Daniel O'Connell - 'The Liberator' (1775-1847)

• O'Connell was born in 1775 in Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry, into a wealthy Catholic family.
• He grew up among tenant farmers, learning Irish and English.
• He studied in France, developing a lifelong aversion to political violence.
• He supported the aims of the United Irishmen but rejected their violent methods.
• In 1811, he founded the Catholic Board to campaign for Catholic emancipation.
• In 1823, he founded the Catholic Association, advocating for emancipation, the end of tithe payments, and tenant farmer rights.
• The Catholic Association was a mass membership organization funded by the 'Catholic Rent,' a penny-a-month membership fee.
• In 1828, O'Connell won a seat in Westminster but refused to take the parliamentary oath.
• In 1829, the British government passed the Emancipation Act, and O'Connell took his seat.
• O'Connell was known as 'the Liberator' due to his efforts in achieving Catholic emancipation.
• In the 1830s, O'Connell campaigned against tithe payments and, in 1838, lowered the cost and redirected payments to landlords.
• He was elected the first Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1841.
• In 1830, O'Connell established the Repeal Association to campaign for the repeal of the Act of Union, seeking the restoration of the Irish parliament.
• He organized 'monster meetings,' large rallies attended by over 100,000 people.
• The British government banned a meeting at Clontarf in 1843, which O'Connell called off to avoid violence, leading to a split in the movement.
• Younger members formed the Young Irelanders, advocating for an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform.
• O'Connell's health declined as the Great Famine began in 1845.
• His last speech in the House of Commons in 1847 appealed for aid for the Irish people.
• He died in May 1847 during a pilgrimage to Rome.
• O'Connell's legacy influenced figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
• He inspired American abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
• His rejection of violence influenced Irish politicians like Charles Stewart Parnell, John Redmond, and John Hume.

The Great Famine (1845-1850)

• The Great Famine occurred between 1845 and 1850 due to potato crop failure, leading to starvation, disease, and emigration.
• Most Irish people depended on farming, particularly the potato crop.
• The population increase led to smaller plots of land.
• Tenant farmers and cottiers relied heavily on potatoes for food.
• One acre of land could grow enough potatoes to feed a family for six months.
• Potatoes were suited to Ireland's climate, easy to grow, and stored well.
• Cottiers worked in exchange for rent, lacking cash to buy food when the potato crop failed.
• Potato blight, a fungus, destroyed potato crops in damp conditions.

Course of the Great Famine

• The potato blight affected other European countries, but Ireland was more vulnerable due to its reliance on farming.
• 1845: Potato stalks turned black, and potatoes rotted, but stored potatoes prevented mass starvation.
• 1846: Two-thirds of the crop was lost, leading to starvation and the spread of diseases like tuberculosis, measles, and scarlet fever.
• 1847: Little potato blight, but few seeds resulted in a small crop, and people continued to die.
• 1848-1850: Starvation and disease worsened, with 40,000 more deaths in 1850 than in 1846.
• Typhus and cholera spread due to poor living conditions and contaminated water.
• People moving to towns spread disease rapidly.
• Tenant farmers and cottiers faced eviction for not paying rent.
• Landlords sometimes burned cottages or removed roofs to prevent tenants from returning.
• Some landlords reduced rents or provided passage for tenants to emigrate.
• Ships used for emigration were known as coffin ships due to high death rates from illness and starvation.
• Ireland continued to export food, but it was unaffordable for the majority.
• The middle and upper classes were largely unaffected.

Famine Relief Efforts

• The British government adopted a laissez-faire attitude, believing the economy would correct itself.
• The government underestimated the severity of the situation, assuming Ireland had alternatives to potatoes.
• Initial belief that potato blight would only affect one year led to inadequate planning.
• The British government continued to export crops from Ireland, leading to riots.
• Assistance eventually came in the form of maize, public works schemes, and workhouses.
• Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel sent maize from the USA in 1845, enough to feed one million people for one month.
• Public works schemes, such as building roads and bridges, employed 400,000 people by 1846.
• Workers earned 1 shilling per day, which was insufficient due to rising prices.
• Workhouses provided basic accommodation and food in exchange for labor, with families often separated.
• The workhouses were overcrowded and disease-ridden.
• Voluntary and charity organizations, like the Quakers, set up soup kitchens.
• In 1847, the government established its own soup kitchens.

Consequences of the Great Famine

• The population fell by two million between 1845 and 1850.
• Approximately one million died from disease and starvation, and one million emigrated.
• The trend of emigration continued, and Ireland's population has never recovered to pre-Famine levels.
• The famine led to the end of land subdivision, with the eldest son inheriting the entire farm.
• Cattle farming became more prevalent than tillage/crop farming.
• Anti-British sentiment increased due to the perceived inadequate response of the British government.
• Support for nationalist groups and Home Rule grew.
• Irish-speaking areas were disproportionately affected by death and emigration, leading to a preference for English to aid emigration.

The Irish Diaspora

• Emigration continued after the Great Famine, leading to the scattering of Irish migrants and their descendants across the world.
• Destinations included Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand.
• Emigration soared from the 1840s onward.

The Irish Diaspora in Britain

• Britain was experiencing an industrial revolution, with factories replacing cottage industries.
• Irish emigration to British cities like Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow was common.
• Travel to Britain was cheap on crowded steamships.
• The Irish were among the poorest, living in slums.
• They faced low wages and were unpopular with the British working class.
• Many died of diseases like typhus due to unsanitary conditions.
• Eventually, the Irish became part of the industrial working class, often working as publicans or shopkeepers.
• They were involved in building and transport, particularly as dockers.
• They gradually integrated into British society through marriage and social mobility.
• Migration to Britain continued throughout the twentieth century.

The Irish Diaspora in the USA

• Emigration to the United States was expensive and difficult.
• Irish immigrants entered through New York City, initially through Castle Garden and later Ellis Island.
• Between 1841 and 1850, around 910,000 Irish emigrated to the USA.
• The Famine migrants were Catholic and often spoke Irish, which was not welcomed by the Protestant population.
• Many were uneducated and competed for manual labor jobs.
• They were recruited for the American Civil War and to build the Union Pacific Railroad; around 200,000 Irishmen fought in the Civil War.
• The Irish faced discrimination, such as 'No Irish Need Apply' in job advertisements.
• Due to the Great Famine, Irish-Americans often harbored resentment towards the British government and supported Irish nationalism.
• Today, around 41 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, including several presidents and notable figures.