Limerick crest

This is the crest of Limerick, the place where I live. I really love this county and of course the city. Everything on this crest has a meaning.

The castle on the left is King Johns castle. It was used to keep invaders out of Ireland during the viking invasions in 922. You can get more information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_John)

The stone in the centre is the treaty stone. This is where the treaty of Limerick was signed in 1691. I don't really know much else but you can reads about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Limerick

The hurleys and football are a symbol of Limericks participation in sport. Hurling and gaelic football are traditional irish games. Hurling is played with a stick called a hurley and a small ball called a sliotar. 2teams play and can score goals and points by hitting the ball between the posts of the goals (which is a point) and if they get it in the goals it's a goal. The same thing applies in gaelic football but instead of using a hurley and sliotar you use a football. It is different to soccer as you can catch the ball in your hands and carry it.

Here is a picture of Irelands biggest GAA stadium, Croke Park, in Dublin

http://www.gaa.ie/

The river in the middle is the river Shannon. This river is the longest river in Ireland and it enters the Atlantic ocean at Limerick harbour.

The fields and town on the right represent the green fields around Limerick and it's towns.

God bless

Ireland

I'm thinking about doing posts on various topics about Ireland. I am thinking of doing ones on traditional aspects such as Irish dance, music and folklore. I may do ones about various cultures in Ireland and may put up a post or two about the Irish language ;). I think this would be good as so many people who visit here, say to me that they have Irish family background so I thought lets teach them about this wonderful country!! :)

Irish Potato Famine Part 3: Governments Response

Part 3: Governments Response 

Since Ireland was under English rule, Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel purchased £100,000 worth of indian corn secretly from America. Due to weather conditions the first shipment of indian corn did not arrive in Ireland until February 1846.

The corn was sold for a penny a pound. This corn, when it arrived was inedible and had to be ground twice before consumption and had to be cooked for a very, very long time. If not people would have suffered with  severe bowel problems.

Sir Robert Peel then introduced Corn laws or tariffs to keep the cost of grain relatively high. The situation worsened in 1946 and the repeal of the Corn laws did little to help the staving Irish. It spilt the Conservative party (a British Political party) and lead to the fall of Peels ministry.

 Peels successor Lord John Russell provided inadequate help to the Irish. He started public works, which didn't help in any way. He had starving men digging holes and breaking up roads which done no service.

I cannot find information on how else the government helped but I read that charities helped and many, many people emigrated - I will post this soon

Irish Potato Famine Part 2: Potato blight in Ireland

Part 2: Potato blight in Ireland

There were many reports of blight in Ireland in the years prior to the famine but in September 1845 it was official, blight was widespread in Ireland. In November 1845 it was said that over one third of the potato crop had been destroyed.

In 1846 three quarters of the harvest was lost to blight. It was in autumn 1846 when the first deaths caused by starvation were recorded and they weren't the last. There are no exact figures to show how many people died from starvation but I'm pretty sure it was thousands.

It must have been awful to see such hunger and starvation right on your doorstep!!

Irish Potato Famine Part 1

Part 1: Causes and Contributing Factors

The great famine (in irish "An gorta mor" literally meaning: "the big hurt" or "An Drochsaol" literally meaning: "The bad life") was a period of starvation, disease and mass emigration between 1845 and 1852. During this time the population of Ireland was reduced by 20-25% - Dramatic!! On top of that over 1 million emigrated.

One third of Irelands population was entirely dependent on potato for food. Following reports of potato blight in England  the blight was first reported, in Ireland on the 13th of September 1845.

Also, as England had rule over Ireland all land was owned by the English. Irish tenants rented the land from English landlords. Some of these landlords lived in England and were called "absentee landlords". This made the Irish frustrated as most of their produce went to their landlords in England and they got very little pay for it.

Some families lived on potato and water, had a one bedroom house with no insulation and a bed and blanket was a rare luxury.

This caused tension between the English and Irish. Landlords used their power remorselessly and people lived in dread of them. Many people were evicted because of high rents of not producing enough food. This also contributed  to the effects of the famine as people were homeless too.

Further posts will be up in the coming weeks. Hope you enjoy.

The Irish Potato Famine

OK I cannot do this blog all at once so I will do it in parts

• Part 1: Causes and Contributing Factors
  
• Part 2: Potato blight in Ireland
• Part 3: Governments Response
• Part 4: Emigration 
• Part 5: Aftermath