The Irish famine of 845-52 was the greatest catastrophe in recorded Irish history. It was caused by the repeated failure of the potato crop, the main food source of the poorer class. The failure resulted in hunger, starvation, and ultimately death or emigration for a quarter of the population - one million died and over a million emigrated. The emigrants formed the main basis for the Irish diaspora, in Britain, the United States, Canada and Australia. This source-book documents the course of this calamity through contemporary newspaper reports, workhouse records, maps, statistics, and engravings. Education officer for the Irish National Library, Kissane arranges the material by such topics as the potato, relief under the Conservatives and Liberals, soup kitchens, fever and disease, charity, evictions, and emigration. The texts also reveal the attitudes and prejudices of Prime Ministers, administrators, and landlords. It also provides first-hand experiences of those involved in relief efforts and the trauma and tribulations of the victims and common people. -- Publisher description