The Irish Famine in a New Light

Many people throughout the past 150 years have written about the food crisis in Ireland and how horrible it was. It is true that nearly a million people perished during the famine years of 1845 - 1850. However, very few people have ever written or commented on the positive side effects of the famine. This project will discover the positive side effects of the Great Irish Potato Blight. This paper will include many different aspects of the famine and the aftereffects, including the diversification of the crop base in Ireland, health issues surrounding the famine, emigration from Ireland during and after the blight, population control following the famine, and the increase in the quality of life for both the survivors of the famine and those who moved abroad to escape the famine. The few works that have touched on this aspect have been very limited and concise. This project will bring the famine into a new light and will expose a side of this that is commonly ignored