Read complete books and articles on: Irish Famine

Irish Land Question - name given in the 19th cent. to the problem of land ownership and agrarian distress in Ireland under British rule. The long-term result of conquest, confiscation, and colonization was the creation of a class of English and Scottish landlords and of an impoverished Irish peasantry with attenuated tenant rights.

In the 18th cent., under the Penal Laws, Roman

In the 18th cent., under the Penal Laws, Roman Catholics—the vast majority of the Irish population—were prevented from acquiring land. Tenants' improvements were discouraged because they led to higher rents. Eviction on short notice was also a problem. The securing (1829) of Catholic Emancipation brought into the British Parliament Irish Catholics who sympathized with the miserable tenantry, and the terrible Irish famine of the 1840s focused attention on the land question. In 1849, Parliament passed the Encumbered Estates Act, which provided for the sale of mortgaged estates. However, its liberal purpose was defeated by speculative purchasers who made the rents even more extortionate from the tenants' point of view.

The Irish Tenant Right League, established in 1850, demanded the "three F's"—fair rent, fixity of tenure, and freedom of sale. The violence of the Fenian movement, the extension of the franchise by the Reform Act of 1867, the movement for Home Rule, and assistance from the Liberal party, headed by William Gladstone, furthered the cause of the tenant. Gladstone's Land Act of 1870 protected the tenant from arbitrary eviction and provided some compensation for improvements.

A major agricultural depression beginning in the 1870s brought a new crisis. The National Land League, founded under the leadership of Michael Davitt and Charles Stewart Parnell, conducted a campaign of boycott and violence that influenced the passage of the Land Act of 1881, called the "Magna Carta" of the Irish farmer. It recognized the three F's and provided a land commission to fix a "fair rent." Thereafter land purchase by the tenant became the predominant issue. The Ashbourne Act of 1885 and supplementary acts of 1887 and 1891 provided a loan fund of many millions of pounds for tenants who wished to purchase their lands.

Difficulties remained because the Anglo-Irish magistracy, which favored the landlords, did not satisfactorily implement the new laws. The Irish National League, an outgrowth of the suppressed National Land League, advocated withholding of rents from extortionate landlords. Its activities, too, were suppressed. The Irish Agricultural Organization Society, fostered (1894) by Sir Horace Plunkett, began to encourage agricultural cooperation and improved farming methods; this led to the establishment (1899) of the Irish Dept. of Agriculture.

The agitation of the United Irish League, under William O'Brien, demanding compulsory sales by landlords, led to the Wyndham Act of 1903 and the Amended Land Purchase Act of 1909. The Wyndham Act, which provided loans to tenants at reduced interest for the purchase of land and gave bonuses to landlords who sold, proved, in effect, a solution to the Irish Land Question. In 1907 the Evicted Tenants Act provided for the compulsory sale of land needed for evicted tenants. By 1921 two thirds of the land in Ireland had become the property of Irish tenants, and a compulsory law transferred the remaining portions soon after the establishment (1922) of the Irish Free State.

See J. E. Pomfret, The Struggle for Land in Ireland, 1800–1923 (1930, repr. 1969); N. D. Palmer, The Irish Land League Crisis (1940); P. Bew, Land and the National Question in Ireland, 1858–82 (1979).

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16 of the Best Books and Articles on: Irish Famine

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The Great Famine: Studies in Irish History, 1845-52 » Read Now
by R. Dudley Edwards, T. Desmond Williams. 526 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...WORKHOUSE. 1846 The Great Famine STUDIES IN IRISH HISTORY 1845-52 EDITORS...1850. CHAPTER VII The Famine in Irish oral tradition I. INTRODUCTION...present the picture of...
2.

A Nation of Beggars? Priests, People, and Politics in Famine Ireland, 1846-1852 » Read Now
by Donal A. Kerr. 370 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

This is the first full account of the role of the Irish Catholic Church in the Great Famine of 1846 and its aftermath. Kerr shows how the Famine and consequent evictions led to rural violence and assassination and how these years also saw an increase in religious tensions as Protestant Evangelicals...
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This is the first full account of the role of the Irish Catholic Church in the Great Famine of 1846 and its aftermath. Kerr shows how the Famine and consequent evictions led to rural violence and assassination and how these years also saw an increase in religious tensions as Protestant Evangelicals made an all-out effort to Protestantize Ireland. His incisive analysis charts the souring of relations between church and state and the destruction of Lord John Russell's dream of bringing a golden age to Ireland.
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3.

Why Ireland Starved: A Quantitative and Analytical History of the Irish Economy, 1800-1850 » Read Now
by Joel Mokyr. 334 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
4.

The End of Hidden Ireland: Rebellion, Famine, and Emigration » Read Now
by Robert James Scally. 266 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Many thousands of Irish peasants fled from the country in the terrible famine winter of 1847-48, following the road to the ports and the Liverpool ferries to make the dangerous passage across the Atlantic. The human toll of "Black '47," the worst year of the famine, is notorious, but the lives of...
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Many thousands of Irish peasants fled from the country in the terrible famine winter of 1847-48, following the road to the ports and the Liverpool ferries to make the dangerous passage across the Atlantic. The human toll of "Black '47," the worst year of the famine, is notorious, but the lives of the emigrants themselves have remained largely hidden, untold because of their previous obscurity and deep poverty. In The End of Hidden Ireland, Scally brings their lives to light. Focusing on the townland of Ballykilcline in Roscommon, Scally offers a richly detailed portrait of Irish rural life on the eve of the catastrophe. From their internal lives and values, to their violent conflict with the English Crown, from rent strikes to the potato blight, he takes the emigrants on each stage of their journey out of Ireland to New York. Along the way, he offers rare insights into the character and mentality of the immigrants as they arrived in America in their millions during the famine years. Hailed as a distinguished work of social history, this book also is a tale of adventure and human survival, one that does justice to a tragic generation with sympathy but without sentiment.
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5.

Famine in Peasant Societies (Chap. 5 "The Commercialization of Irish Agriculture: The Great Famine and Its Aftermath") » Read Now
by Ronald E. Seavoy. 484 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...Commercialization of Irish Agriculture: The Great Famine and Its Aftermath...The Great Famine 317...Emergence of the Irish Yeomanry 323...societies, with the Irish...
6.

The Great Irish Famine: A Crime of Free Market Economics, in Monthly Review » Read Now
by John Newsinger. 8 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
7.

Irish Potato Famine, in The Reading Teacher » Read Now
by Cyndi Giorgis, Nancy J. Johnson. 4 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library
8.

Fleeing the Famine: North America and Irish Refugees, 1845-1851 » Read Now
by Margaret M. Mulrooney. 154 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

The Irish Potato Famine caused the migration of more than two million individuals who sought refuge in the United States and Canada. In contrast to previous studies, which have tended to focus on only one destination, this collection allows readers to evaluate the experience of transatlantic Famine...
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The Irish Potato Famine caused the migration of more than two million individuals who sought refuge in the United States and Canada. In contrast to previous studies, which have tended to focus on only one destination, this collection allows readers to evaluate the experience of transatlantic Famine refugees in a comparative context. Featuring new and innovative scholarship by both established and emerging scholars of Irish America and Irish Canada, it carefully dissects the connection that arose between Ireland and North America during the famine years (1845-1851).
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9.

The Irish in Philadelphia: Ten Generations of Urban Experience (Chap. Two "The Famine Generation") » Read Now
by Dennis Clark. 246 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...seaboard to which the Irish fled after the potato famine. Yet everyone knows...the city. TWO THE FAMINE GENERATION Sundering modern Irish history is the...
10.

Receiving Erin's Children: Philadelphia, Liverpool, and the Irish Famine Migration, 1845-1855 » Read Now
by J. Matthew Gallman. 306 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Between 1845 and 1855, 2 million Irish men and women fled their famine-ravaged homeland, many to settle in large British and American cities that were already wrestling with a complex array of urban problems. In this innovative work of comparative urban history, Matthew Gallman looks at how two...
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Between 1845 and 1855, 2 million Irish men and women fled their famine-ravaged homeland, many to settle in large British and American cities that were already wrestling with a complex array of urban problems. In this innovative work of comparative urban history, Matthew Gallman looks at how two cities, Philadelphia and Liverpool, met the challenges raised by the influx of immigrants.
Gallman examines how citizens and poiicymakers in Philadelphia and Liverpool dealt with such issues as poverty, disease, poor sanitation, crime, sectarian conflict, and juvenile delinquency. By considering how two cities of comparable population and dimensions responded to similar challenges, he sheds new light on familiar questions about distinctive national characteristics -- without resorting to claims of "American exceptionalism." In this critical era of urban development, English and American cities often evolved in analogous ways, Gallman notes. But certain crucial differences -- in location, material conditions, governmental structures, and voluntaristic traditions, for example -- inspired varying approaches to urban problem solving on either side of the Atlantic.
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11.

Irish Migrants in Modern Wales ("South Wales, the Coal Trade and the Irish Famine Refugge Crisis" begins on p. 9) » Read Now
by Paul O'Leary. 183 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Until relatively recently, immigrant and ethnic minority groups were relegated to one of the silences in the history of modern Wales. Where they were mentioned at all it was as outsiders who added a dash of color and exoticism to the story of the majority but who had little to contribute to our...
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Until relatively recently, immigrant and ethnic minority groups were relegated to one of the silences in the history of modern Wales. Where they were mentioned at all it was as outsiders who added a dash of color and exoticism to the story of the majority but who had little to contribute to our understanding of developments in the "mainstream" of society. In recent years this picture has begun to change, and historians, sociologists, novelists and the media have all given sustained attention to the immigrant and ethnic minority experience.nbsp;The essays in this volume examine the experience of Irish migrants to Wales, comparing their experience with that of other migrants and offering case studies of Irish settlement in a number of Welsh towns. Attention is also given to anti-Irish protest movements in the late nineteenth century and the later imprisonment of Irish Republicans. The essays examine in depth the social and cultural impact that Irish migrants have made on Wales, and show more broadly the ways in which the study of such migrant groups poses searching questions about the nature of society as a whole.
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12.

Ireland: Historical Echoes, Contemporary Politics (Chap. 2 "From the Famine to the Rising") » Read Now
by Richard B. Finnegan, Edward T. McCarron. 454 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Incorporating extensive new research that allows him to make richer interpretations, Richard Finnegan considers such issues as the impact on church-state relations of the national referenda on divorce & abortion, the rise & fall of governments & political figures, the pathbreaking potential of the...
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Incorporating extensive new research that allows him to make richer interpretations, Richard Finnegan considers such issues as the impact on church-state relations of the national referenda on divorce & abortion, the rise & fall of governments & political figures, the pathbreaking potential of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, & the effects on the country of changes in the European Community.
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13.

A History of Ireland ("The Great Famine" begins on p. 135) » Read Now
by Mike Cronin. 273 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

A tiny island in the North Atlantic, Ireland has had an astonishingly powerful impact on the world, both at the height of its independent power in the early Middle Ages, as the key exporter of Christianity to Europe, and at the depth of its colonial subjugation by Britain, as the primary source of...
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A tiny island in the North Atlantic, Ireland has had an astonishingly powerful impact on the world, both at the height of its independent power in the early Middle Ages, as the key exporter of Christianity to Europe, and at the depth of its colonial subjugation by Britain, as the primary source of settlers in North America. A History of Ireland explores the story of Ireland from the twelfth century to the end of the twentieth century. Written chronologically, it explores the period of the English invasion of Ireland, the emergence of a Gaelic culture, the religious conflicts across the centuries, the struggle over home rule, and the complex nature of the country's modern troubles. Available now for the first time in paperback, A History of Ireland explores economic, social, political, and cultural events and offers a fascinating glimpse into Ireland's past.
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14.

The Age of Atonement: The Influence of Evangelicalism on Social and Economic Thought, 1785-1865 ("Charity in the Irish Famine" begins on p. 108) » Read Now
by Boyd Hilton. 414 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

In this study of the British upper and middle classes during the first half of the 19th century, Boyd Hilton reveals that the people of this age were obsessed with catastrophe: wars, famines, pestilences, revolutions, floods, volcanoes, and the great commercial upheavals which periodically...
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In this study of the British upper and middle classes during the first half of the 19th century, Boyd Hilton reveals that the people of this age were obsessed with catastrophe: wars, famines, pestilences, revolutions, floods, volcanoes, and the great commercial upheavals which periodically threatened to topple the world's first capitalist system. The dominant evangelical sentiment of the day interpreted such sufferings as part of God's plan and, not wanting to interfere with the dispensations of providence, governments took a harsh, stand-on-your-own-feet attitude towards social underdogs, whether they were bankrupts or paupers. In this work, Hilton studies how the transformation of religious thought--including new ideas about the nature of God and the Atonement--affected the economics, philosophy, science, and politics of the period.
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15.

A Brief History of the Potato in Ireland, in Social Education » Read Now
by Social Education. 4 pgs.

Collections: History, Education, Entire Library
16.

Writing the Irish Famine » Read Now
by Christopher Morash. 213 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This book is an original and compelling contribution to Irish cultural studies. Morash examines literary texts by writers such as William Carleton. Anthony Trollope, James Clarence Mangan, John Mitchel, and Samuel Ferguson to reveal how they interact with histories, sermons, and economic treatises...
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This book is an original and compelling contribution to Irish cultural studies. Morash examines literary texts by writers such as William Carleton. Anthony Trollope, James Clarence Mangan, John Mitchel, and Samuel Ferguson to reveal how they interact with histories, sermons, and economic treatises and construct a narrative of one of the most important and elusive events in Irish history. Drawing on the methodology new historicist literary criticism, he examines the attempts of a wide range of nineteenth-century writing to ensure the memorialization of an event that seems to resist representation.
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