The Great Famine (known within Ireland as the Great Hunger) was a devastating period of mass starvation and disease that occurred between 1845 and 1852 in Ireland as a result of widespread crop failure. Nearly 1 million people died in Ireland and another 2 million emigrated, leaving a profound impact on Irish culture and society. As of 2023, Ireland’s population has still not recovered to pre-Famine levels. The primary cause of the Great Famine was a potato blight caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans, which thrived in Ireland’s cool, damp climate and spread rapidly across the country in 1845. Without a sufficient potato harvest, many Irish peasants and tenant farmers were left without a source of food or income. As the famine worsened, related diseases, such as typhus and dysentery, spread rapidly due to malnutrition and unsanitary living conditions.

The British colonial government, which ruled Ireland at this time, exacerbated the crisis in many ways. The government initially provided relief efforts, but these were inadequate and poorly organized, and failed to alleviate the suffering of the Irish people. The government’s laissez-faire economic policies and reliance on market forces worsened the situation as food exports from Ireland to England continued despite the famine.