The Great Famine is possibly the most pivotal event/experience in modern
Irish history. Its global reach and implications cannot be
underestimated. In terms of mortality, it is now widely accepted that
over a million people perished between the years 1845-1852 and at least
one million and a quarter fled the country, the great majority to North
America, some to Australia and a significant minority ((0.3 million) to
British cities. Ireland had been afflicted by famine before the events
of the 1840s; however the Great Famine is marked by both its absolute
scale and its longevity. It is also better remembered because it was the
most recent and best documented famine. This atlas comprising over
fifty individual chapters and case studies will provide readers with a
broad range of perspectives and relevant insights into this tragic
event. The atlas begins by acknowledging the impossibility of adequately
representing the Great Famine or any major world famine. Yet by
exploring a number of themes from a reconstruction of pre-Famine Ireland
onwards to an exploration of present-day modes of remembering; by the
use of over 150 highly original computer generated parish maps of
population decline, social transformation and other key themes between
the census years 1841 and 1851: and through the use of poetry,
contemporary paintings and accounts, illustrations and modern
photography, what this atlas seeks to a achieve is a greater
understanding of the event and its impact and legacy. This atlas seeks
to try and bear witness to the thousands and thousands of people who
died and are buried in mass Famine pits or in fields and ditches, with
little or nothing to remind us of their going. The centrality of the
Famine workhouse as a place of destitution is also examined in depth.
Likewise the atlas seeks to represent and understand the conditions and
experiences of the many thousands who emigrated from Ireland in those
desperate years. Included are case studies of famine emigrants in cities
such as Liverpool, Glasgow, New York and Toronto. A central concern of
the atlas is to seek to understand why a famine of this scale should
occur in a nineteenth-century European country, albeit a country which
was subject to imperial rule. In addition, it seeks to reveal in detail
the working-out and varying consequences of the Famine across the
island. To this end, apart from presenting an overall island-wide
picture, Famine experiences and patterns will be presented separately
for the four provinces. These provincial explorations will be
accompanied by intimate case studies of conditions in particular
localities across the provinces. The atlas also seeks to situate the
Great Irish Famine in the context of a number of world famines. To
achieve these goals and understandings, the atlas includes contributions
from a wide range of scholars who are experts in their fields - from
the arts, folklore, geography, history, archaeology, Irish and English
languages and literatures
Atlas of the Irish Famine
- Product Code: Cork University Press
- Availability: In Stock
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€55.00