Irish Potato Famine Research Paper

The years during the mid 1840s to 1850s in Ireland were definitely not the best for many families, it was a time of tragedy. These were the years during the horrific times called the Irish Famine, also known as the Potato Famine or Great Hunger. The Irish Famine claimed innumerable amount of lives, leading to a “mass emigration of famine survivors to the United States” (McCallum). There were countless of families who emigrated to America during this catastrophe in order to escape starvation, poverty, and death. Millions of families shared similar situations to one another; however, each family experienced history in their own way, like the Griffin family. Part of the Griffin family was Braden Griffin, who was merely twelve years old at
Although, there was the British’s “relief effort,” that “was declared successful.” However, that only lasted “one year” and it was unable to contain “the fungus and the hunger” (McCallum). Because of the “economic theory known as laissez-faire” that the British practiced, they “provided minimal relief to the starving peasants.” (Irish Potato Famine). They even “enacted a new Poor Law, which made Irish landlords pay the entire cost of famine relief” and “the landlords also had new rights to evict tenants,” leading “peasants to choose between giving up their land or starving” (McCallum). Kieran made a difficult choice and ultimately decided to give up their land, in order for his children to survive from starvation and would be
Although living scarcely with not enough food was severe and rough, sleeping outside in harsh conditions turned out to be even worse. Everyday they smelled the horrid stench of death and the strong odor of rotten potatoes. The Griffin family could not bear to live a life of tragedy and hunger no more, so Braden’s parents sought for different solutions, and finally, they discovered it. Kieran Griffin, Braden’s father, heard that people left Ireland and emigrated “for the United States but also to New Zealand and Australia” (McCallum). Because Braden and his family “aspired merely to survive,” they were very eager to move to the United States, New York specifically (Gribben). There were about “two million” Irish people who “fled their homeland and emigrated to the United States” plus “Canada, and Britain” (Bartoletti). Kieran Griffin desperately counted up his money to see if he had enough for his family, which he did not. However, he went around and borrowed money, it was pitiful, but it was all worth for his family and him. After he finally gathered enough money, he “paid [a tremendous amount of money] for their passage to America or Australia.” Kieran gave Braden the choice of Australia or America and