The Irish Potato Famine
The Great Irish Famine
Ireland 1847
Approved by the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education on
September 10th, 1996, for inclusion in the Holocaust and Genocide
Curriculum at the secondary level. Revision submitted 11/26/98.
0.
DEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This curriculum is dedicated to the millions of Irish who suffered and perished in the Great Starvation. It is also dedicated to those who escaped by emigration, and to the great Irish Diaspora worldwide.
The Irish Famine Curriculum would not have been possible without the work of New Jersey Senator James E. McGreevey,
Rutgers Economics Professor Jack Worrall, historian Dr.
Christine Kinealy, teacher Jim Masker, and author Liz
Curtis.
We express our gratitude to Eoin McKiernan, Fr. Des Wilson, the late Dennis Clark, and the late Michael J. Kane, who have shown us their Faith by their Works.
"Truth flourishes where the student 's lamp has shown, and there alone..."
- W.B. Yeats, 1921
TEACHER 'S INTRODUCTION
Between 1845 and 1850, more than a million Irish people starved to death while massive quantities of food were being exported from their country. A half million were evicted from their homes during the potato blight, and a million and a half emigrated to America, Britain and Australia, often on-board rotting, overcrowded "coffin ships". This is the story of how that immense tragedy came to pass.
The necessary historical and political context for a study of the Irish Famine is provided to you in the Teacher and
Student Summary, immediately following the Table of
Contents.
It would be very difficult for the student to understand any of the six study units that follow without first reading the
Summary. If time constraints only permit the study of one or two sections of this curriculum, the Summary should be used first. Thank you for all your efforts to make this history come alive.
Prepared by the Irish Famine Curriculum Committee, James Mullin,
Chairman:
Ireland 1847
Approved by the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education on
September 10th, 1996, for inclusion in the Holocaust and Genocide
Curriculum at the secondary level. Revision submitted 11/26/98.
0.
DEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This curriculum is dedicated to the millions of Irish who suffered and perished in the Great Starvation. It is also dedicated to those who escaped by emigration, and to the great Irish Diaspora worldwide.
The Irish Famine Curriculum would not have been possible without the work of New Jersey Senator James E. McGreevey,
Rutgers Economics Professor Jack Worrall, historian Dr.
Christine Kinealy, teacher Jim Masker, and author Liz
Curtis.
We express our gratitude to Eoin McKiernan, Fr. Des Wilson, the late Dennis Clark, and the late Michael J. Kane, who have shown us their Faith by their Works.
"Truth flourishes where the student 's lamp has shown, and there alone..."
- W.B. Yeats, 1921
TEACHER 'S INTRODUCTION
Between 1845 and 1850, more than a million Irish people starved to death while massive quantities of food were being exported from their country. A half million were evicted from their homes during the potato blight, and a million and a half emigrated to America, Britain and Australia, often on-board rotting, overcrowded "coffin ships". This is the story of how that immense tragedy came to pass.
The necessary historical and political context for a study of the Irish Famine is provided to you in the Teacher and
Student Summary, immediately following the Table of
Contents.
It would be very difficult for the student to understand any of the six study units that follow without first reading the
Summary. If time constraints only permit the study of one or two sections of this curriculum, the Summary should be used first. Thank you for all your efforts to make this history come alive.
Prepared by the Irish Famine Curriculum Committee, James Mullin,
Chairman:
Bibliography: Information on Ireland, 6th Edition, 1991. First printing, 1984. Gallagher, Michael & Thomas, Paddy 'S Lament. Harcourt Brace & Company, New York / London, 1982 Gray, Peter, The Irish Famine, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1995. Kinealy, Christine, This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine 1845-52, Roberts Rinehart Publishers, Boulder Colorado, 1995 Litton, Helen, The Irish Famine; An Illustrated History Wolfhound Press Ltd., Dublin, Ireland, 1994 Mangan, James (Ed.), Robert Whyte 's 1847 Famine Ship Diary Mercier Press, Dublin Ireland, 1994. O hEithir, Breandan, A Pocket History of Ireland, The O 'Brien Press, Dublin, Ireland, 1989 Poirteir, Cathal, Famine Echoes, Gill and Macmillan Ltd., Dublin, Ireland, 1995 Ranelagh, John O 'Beirne, A Short History of Ireland Cambridge, England, Second edition, 1994. First printing, 1983 Scally, Robert James, The End of Hidden Ireland: Rebellion, Famine, and Emigration, Oxford University Press, New York, 1995 When Ireland Starved (video) Celtic Video Inc., New York, NY Radharc Films Penguin Books, London, England, 1991. First Printing: 1962. Publishing Co., New York, 1922 O hEithir, Breandan, A Pocket History Press, Dublin, Ireland, 1989 Woodham-Smith, Cecil, The Great Hunger; Ireland 1845-1849 Penguin Books, London, England, 1991. Encyclopedia, Americana, Grolier Incorporated, 1992.