Before accompanying you throughout your trip, our organization would like to provide you with as comprehensive an overview as possible of the cultural and historical heritage of your Country . Today, as part of your language study trip to Ireland, we invite you to revisit a very dark chapter in the Emerald Isle’s past: the Great Famine.
What are the names for the Great Famine in English and Irish?
In the language of Shakespeare, there are many expressions used to describe this catastrophic episode in Country s history Country The Blight, The Irish Potato Famine, or The Great Famine. In Irish, it is known as An Gorta Mór or An Drochshaol.
A language study trip to Ireland to learn more about this episode
A language study trip to Ireland may provide an opportunity to learn more about the many complex factors that led to the unprecedented famine on the island from 1846 to 1848. Among these factors are:
- a British imperial economic policy that was ill-suited to the situation
- inappropriate farming methods
- the emergence of late blight on the island, a disease that will take a heavy toll on local potato crops
A decline in the population due to mass emigration
The Great Famine led to the emigration of millions of native inhabitants: from nearly 8.5 million people on the eve of the famine, the island’s population plummeted—in just five years—to 6.5 million, and then continued to decline until it stabilized at the beginning of the 20th century at just over 4 million. Today, the island has a population of approximately 6,400,000.