The Great Famine : a geography of distress and relief in County Donegal, 1845-50

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to provide an explanatory narrative for the geography of distress and relief in Co. Donegal during the Great Famine. A further critical component seeks to set Donegal within a western seaboard and all-Ireland context. Mindful of a complex historiography, an extensive review of literature charts the study of the Great Famine, noting strengths, gaps and weaknesses, while homing in on the regional dimensions of the crisis. In setting the scene, the eve of the Famine within Donegal and Ireland is outlined in a cogent series of demographic and socio-economic indices. Then the study assumes tight chronological order, charting a partial potato failure and response in 1845-6, and a dramatic lurch from crisis to catastrophe in 1847, in which the provision of Public Works featured prominently. At the same time, in the spring and summer of 1847, a new departure commanded the relief of distress by way of the provision of soup kitchens. Thereafter, from the autumn of 1847 onwards, the relief of distress was supported mainly through the provision of workhouse and outdoor relief under an extended Poor Law system. To end, intra-regional patterns of relief and distress in Co. Donegal are outlined and inteipreted; the anomalous status of Donegal within Ireland is opened up to scrutiny and exploration; and the adequacy of state relief evaluated.