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The population of Ireland in a 1841 cencus was given as 8.1 million people. Some beleive that it could have been as high as 9 or even 10 million. The vast majority of the poor depended on one resource - the potato. One acre of land could grow enough potatoes to support a family. When a mans sons got married they would have erected a mud cabin, take a share of their father's land and start a family, that family would have subdiveded again when their offspring were ready to marry so by the middle of the 19th century with the population at an alarming high rate the competition for land increased and rents rose dramatically. In the Autumn of 1845 a deadly disease struck the potatoes and the following year the crop was totally destroyed. This was The Great Famine, the worst of its kind in European history, which was to have such appalling consequences for Ireland and its people.
The video/dvd Days of Hunger is the story of John Kane, his wife Catherine and their eight children who lived on a six acre holding near the village of Kilrea in Mid Ulster Ireland. John's only right of possession was his apility to pay the rent to his Landlord. The standard of living was always close to the poverty line. Based on a true story, Day's of Hunger follows the struggles of that family through the famine years. Weddings, funerals, evictions, emigration and real video pictures of the blighted potatoes make this video a history lesson not to be missed.
Co Mayo, West Cork and Donegal were the worst affected by the famine and horrowfying tales from these parts are told, courtesy of The Coleraine Chronicle. The Famine Pit at Skibbereen was said to have held over 9000 bodies, tales from there as well as from the many workhouses are relived in this best selling video, which is now used in a majority of Schools in Ireland.
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