Ellen's Story- The Great Hunger and the birth of a new baby
Ellen Kinsella turned 10 years old in January 1844. Her sister Bridget turned six that year, and Robert was just three - barely toddling about the cottage. John Kinsella had no sons old enough to help him in the fields. He would have relied on the help of relatives and neighbors, and helped them in return. There had to be a cash crop to pay the rent- most families grew oats or barley and sold milk or butter from a family cow. They lived simply but honestly, and with faith and persistence, carved out an existence from the rocky hillside and green fields below. But the next seven years would provide hardships that John Kinsella, Margaret Grace, and 10 year old Ellen could have never imagined, hardships that would change their lives forever.
Although bread was eaten in the towns, where there were bakers and ovens, in the countryside the small farmers ate oatmeal porridge or oatcakes in the Spring and Summer,when the fields provided grain. Spring and Summer were fine months when Margaret and the children could forage on the hillside for edible greens and herbs and collect the delicious summer fruits in the hedges and woods- the children would have delighted in blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries.
In the winter most people survived on potatoes. Potatoes were nutritious, and one acre of land could feed the whole family. A grown man might eat four pounds a day, a woman three pounds and the children somewhat less; so in a family, ten pounds might be consumed each day. Each family also had milk, butter milk, sour milk (sour cream) and fine butter from the family cow.
In the spring of 1845, they planted their potatoes as always. That summer was chilly and wet. Then in Fall, just before the harvest, disaster hit. John Kinsella watched as leaves on the potato plants began to wilt and turn black- the blight. Within a day, a field could turn from healthy green to wilted black, and the disease quickly spread from field to field. Soon the stench of rotting potatoes filled the air. Any dug up were mushy with the rot of the fungus. In Kilkenny, about 1/3 of the potato crop was ruined by the blight.
There was a mild winter in 1846, and there was hope that this year, the crops would be good. There was even a heat wave that June, so the hillside was green and full of flowers and berries and their hopes were high once again. But in August, another blight struck. This time almost all of the potato fields were affected. 90% of the potato crop in Ireland was destroyed. The Great Hunger was upon them.
While the people starved, food was still being sent out of Ireland. The grain crops were not affected, but the farmers had to sell those in order to have money to pay their rents. If not, they would be evicted from their cottages. They watched as people's homes were torn down, and the starving homeless wandered the roads.
With food scarce, the prices increased sharply. In the cities, there were riots, as the hungry attacked the warehouses that would ship the grain out of the country. Outdoor soup kitchens were set up, providing relief to over 3 million hungry people. While John Kinsella wondered how he would feed his family, another baby was born. In 1846, Martin Kinsella entered the world in the midst of the terrible famine.
1847 was known as "Black 47." It was the peak year of blight and hunger in Kilkenny. The tiny cottages were damp and cold, and filled with the smoke of indoor peat fires. With no money for cloth, the inhabitants were reduced to wearing little more than rags for clothing. With inadequate nutrition, they became weak. Sanitary conditions became worse, with clean water a problem for many. Disease crept in; diarrhea and dysentery were spread by flies and polluted water. Typhoid fever raged- a rash, body aches, and a high fever that often killed the victim within two weeks of the illness. There was suffering and mourning across the countryside. Hungry people roamed the countryside, scavenging the fields for food. But it was worse in the towns and cities. Tens of thousands of people were dying.
Ironically, there was no blight that year. But with the hunger, there were few seed potatoes left to plant. The soup kitchens were closed in favor of Work Houses. But few farmers wanted to go. In order to enter a workhouse, they would have to give up the rental on their land. Without land, there was no hope at all for the future.
In July of 1848, the blight returned, affecting about half of the crops in Kilkenny. Outdoor relief began again, and by September about 1/4 of the population was depending on the soup kitchens for survival. Increasingly, landlords evicted tenants who could not pay their rent. Their cottages were torn down, so they could not re-enter. People wandered the roads, starving, taking shelter in the ditches, working their way to the dreaded workhouse, with no other option left to them. Soon the workhouse in Waterford was overcrowded, with hundreds of more people outside the gate, begging to be let in. By 1849-1850, nearly 1/4 of the population in Kilkenny City lived in the workhouse.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amhlaoibh_%C3%93_S%C3%BAilleabh%C3%A1in
the diary of an Irish countryman- humphrey o'sullivan- lived in Callan- about 10 miles from our kilkenny ancestors- written 1827-1825
https://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/past/famine/index.htm
https://www.irelandsown.ie/diary-of-an-irish-countryman-writings-of-humphrey-osullivan/
no ebook but available at Library of Congress
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