Irish Potato Famine

"The Almighty indeed sent the potato blight, but the English created the Famine." (John Mitchell)

The Irish Potato Famine, which took place between 1845 and 1852, is considered a major turning point in Ireland's history.  The Famine caused thousands of deaths and led to massive immigration.  Here are ten facts you may not know about the tragedy.

1.  The island was on the brink of disaster due to laws biased heavily in favour of the landlords.  The tenants lived in abject poverty.

2.  The middleman who collected the rent for the landlord, kept redividing the properties to extract the maximum rent.  By 1845, one fourth of farms were only 1 to 5 acres in size while 40% were a mere 1 to 6 acres.  The potato was the only crop that would feed that families on these small plots of land.

https://learnodo-newtonic.com/irish-potato-famine-facts

3.  Britain had a huge demand for beef and therefore much of Ireland's land was set aside for cows to graze.  The remaining land was used to grow crops.  No crop could grow more abundantly in less favourable soil than the potato.

4.  Over 3 million Irish people were dependent on the potato.  Therefore the effects were devastating when in 1845, the potato blight arrived.  The first year, one third of the crops were destroyed; the second year, three-quarters.

5.  The blight, caused by HERB-1 strain, is now extinct due to scientists' breeding practices to eliminate it.

6.  One million, or one-eighth of Ireland's population, starved to death as a result of the Potato Famine.  Another two million left Ireland by 1855.  Overcrowded and poorly managed immigration boats, called "coffin ships" led to more deaths en route to the New World.

http://brilliantmaps.com/potato-famine/

7.  While Britain was the world's richest nation at the time, due to poor governance of Ireland, effects of the Potato Famine were even more widespread.  "The Almighty indeed sent the potato blight, but the English created the Famine." (John Mitchell)

8.  Throughout the Potato Famine, Ireland exported large quantities of food, food that could have sustained the country's population.

9.  The Potato Famine changed the island's demographic, cultural and political landscape.  The population took a nose dive from which it's never recovered.  The Irish language was gradually replaced with English.  The Famine triggered the Irish War for Independence.

10.  The Irish have never forgotten the tragedy of the Famine.  Today, the island is at the forefront of famine relief, donating more to the fundraising efforts of Live Aid per head than any other nation in the world.

Potato Famine Memorial in Dublin, Ireland courtesy 

https://learnodo-newtonic.com/irish-potato-famine-facts.

Source:  https://learnodo-newtonic.com/irish-potato-famine-facts

The Cliffs of Moher

https://livingtheirishlife.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/cliffs-of-moher_geografie_wissen_februar_04.jpg

One million visitors flock to the Cliffs of Moher each year, named after an old promontory fort called Mothar or Moher.  Located in Clare County, Ireland, the cliffs rise 214 metres above the Atlantic Ocean at their highest point, O'Brien's Tower.  From the cliffs, visitors can spot the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, the Twelve Pins mountain ranges and the the Dingle Peninsula.  The cliffs consist of eight kilometres of Namurian shale and sandstone, with 300 million year old river channels cutting through them.

The Cliffs of Moher are home to 30,000 birds including Atlantic puffins and razorbills.  The puffins arrive at about the end of March.  During the height of nesting season, visitors see hundreds of the puffins.  In spring and summer clusters of wildflowers dot the landscape.


The cliffs of Moher have served as the backdrop in several movies including The Princess Bride, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Leap Year.

Matthew Goode's character proposes to Amy Adams' character in Leap Year courtesy http://weheartit.com/entry/group/18769988. 

Thomas Fitzgerald Renounces Cousin King Henry VIII

Dublin Castle, with the Medieval tower circa 1228, courtesy http://www.cityscouter.com/travelguides/dublin/Dublin-Castle.html.

In February of 1534 Gerald Fitzgerald, the 9th Earl of Kildare, was summoned to London and appointed his son, Thomas Fitzgerald, later known as Silken Thomas, as deputy governor of Ireland.  The following June, Thomas heard rumours that his father had been executed in the Tower of London on order of his cousin, King Henry VIII.  Thomas summoned the council, along with 140 gallowglasses, with silk fringes on their helmets (hence the nickname), and headed to St. Mary's Abby in Dublin where he publicly renounced his allegiance to King Henry VIII.  The Chancellor , Archbishop John Allen, tried to persuade Thomas to have a change of heart, but the deputy governor was undeterred.  The council issued a warrant for Thomas' arrest.

Dublin Castle alone supported the King of England.  In July of 1534, Silken Thomas attacked Dublin Castle, but his army was routed.  He ordered the archbishop to be executed, a move that lost his favour with the church.  In the meantime, Thomas' father, who turned out to still be alive, passed away from an illness and Thomas became the 10th Earl.  He retreated to Maynooth Castle.

Sometime between 1535 and 1538, King Henry the VIII was excommunicated and no longer posed a threat to Thomas. Thomas, after seeing his army dissipate, and seeing his allies submit one by one, requested a pardon of the English government.  He was sentenced to prison time in the Tower of London with the promise that his life would be spared.  Later, however, the prison time was commuted to a death sentence and Fitzgerald was hanged, along with his five uncles, in February of 1537.  While Thomas' uncles were hanged, beheaded and quartered, Thomas was hanged, beheaded and properly buried.  Silken Thomas' revolt played a major role in the creation of the Kingdom of Ireland in 1542.

Silken Thomas attacks Dublin Castle circa 1534 courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_FitzGerald,_10th_Earl_of_Kildare.

Kilkenny Castle: Two Modern Sieges in a Medieval Castle

https://wildrovertours.com/private-tours/private-tour-dublin-kilkenny-glendalough-wicklow-mountains/

Kilkenny Castle was first built in 1172 under the Anglo-Normans.  James Butler, the 3rd Earl of Ormonde, purchased the castle in 1385.  The castle was featured in the reconquest of Ireland in 1650 as well as in Ireland's Civil War in 1922.  William Marshall, one of the most successful and fearless Norman knights, took over the property and built a stone castle to replace the wooden one in 1213.

Thousands of tourists visit Kilkenny Castle every year and they notice that one of its four walls is missing.  The eastern wall, along with the northeastern tower, were blown to bits during William Cromwell's siege in 1650.  William Cromwell, a devout Protestant, was bent on reconquering the predominantly Catholic island.  In the bloody battle, anywhere from 15 to 50% of the Irish population was wiped out.  Although James Butler was Protestant, his castle was seized and used as the Parliament of the Irish Confederate.

Butler, who was exiled to France, returned later to his castle with plans to restore it along the lines of a chateau.  His descendants, however, decided to demolish the castle's chateau elements in the 20th Century and return the structure to its medieval roots.

http://www.theirishstory.com/2016/04/11/

In 1922, Kilkenny Castle was again seized, this time by the Republican forces during the Irish Civil War.  Twenty two men, armed with rifles and bombs, descended on the Butler family.  The siege ended two days later when Free State forces crashed a car into the castle.  While the structure sustained significant damage, no one was hurt.

In 1935, with the Butler family in financial straits, they abandonned the castle and moved to London. Fjor thirty years, the castle fell into a state of disrepair.  Nature started to reclaim it.  In the 1960's, the Butler family sold the castle to the Irish Ministry of Public Works for the nominal sum of 50 pounds. It reopened in 1967 as a museum and hosts about 185,000 visitors each year.

http://www.kilkennycastle.ie/media/305x415xt4_5655673798650915035.jpg.pagespeed.ic.zaWfH9CIzG.jpg

Vikings Bring Red Hair Gene to Ireland

http://gingerparrot.co.uk/facts-and-myths-about-red-hair/

When the Vikings conquered the British Isles and established settlements in the late 700's and early 800's, they brought with them the red hair gene.  Today, 10 to 30 % of Irish people have the red hair gene; 10 to 25% of Scotland; and 10 to 15 % of Welsh people.  If you examine where the Vikings settled in Ireland (Limerick, Cork, Wexford, Dublin) you see the highest concentration of redheads. While the Danes, associated with blond hair, conquered parts of the British Isles, the red hair is traced more so to Norway.  Remember Eric the Red, the first Norse settler of Greenland?  He was named for his red hair and beard.  Redheads have the stereotype of being hot-tempered.  Maybe this trait originates in their Viking roots.

http://www.eupedia.com/genetics/origins_of_red_hair.shtml#45th_parallel

According to one website, the dividing line for red hair seems to be the 45th parallel which runs through Central France, Northern Italy and Croatia.  The 45th parallel sits exactly half way between the equator and the North Pole.  South of the 45th parallel, the UV rays become so strong that it is no longer beneficial to have red hair and fair skin.  Ireland, which sits on the 53rd parallel is definitely north of the dividing line.

Ireland offers several redhead conventions to cater to the ginger population including festivals in Cork http://www.redheadconvention.com/,   To learn more about redhead stereotypes, visit http://gingerparrot.co.uk/facts-and-myths-about-red-hair/.

Ten Things You May Not Know about Ireland

1.  The average Irishman stands 5 foot 8 inches tall; the average Irishwoman stands 5 foot 5.

2.  Ninety percent of Irish Nationals are Catholics but only 30% attend church.

3.  The Irish are known for their red hair, a result of the Viking influence in the 800's.  However, today only 9% of the Irish population are natural redheads.

4.  Dublin boasts one pub for every 100 people.

5.  A book only needs to sell 3000 copies to be an Irish bestseller.

6.  The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland or Britain.

7.  Cats outnumber dogs as Ireland's most popular pet by a ratio of 2 to 1.

8.  Over 30,000 castles and castle ruins dot the Irish landscape.

9.  As many as 73% of Americans cannot locate Ireland on a world map bereft of place names.

10.  Ireland, called the Emerald Isle, is covered in lush green grasses and shamrocks.

Source:  http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/craic/20-interesting-facts-about-the-irish-and-ireland-photos

http://ohmygodfacts.com/5-interesting-ireland-facts/

Max Manus: Saboteur Extraordinaire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Manus

Max Manus served in the Rognus Operation, a resistance movement headed up by the British during the Second World War.  In 1940, discovered by the Gestapo, they were about to bring him in for questioning.  Knowing their brutal tactics, Manus jumped through his apartment window and fell two floors to the street below.  Hospitalized, the doctor announced that he had a concussion, broken shoulder and spinal injuries.  The doctor likely spared his life but putting him in isolation where the Gestapo could not question him.

With the help of Nurse Olsen and a resistance fighter on the outside, Manus was able to escape from the hospital one night using a fishing line and some rope, blocking out the intense pain from his still injured shoulder.  Fearing that Nurse Olsen would be punished by the GEstapo for aiding him in his escape, he arranged to have the doctor give her a facial injection to make it look like he had beaten her up.  A waiting car outside the hospital whisked him away to Roa.  But his escape was not yet complete.  From there, Manus strapped on some skis and skied for six hours until he reached a remote hut where he spent ten days recovering.  There, he bleached his hair, reshaped his eyebrows and adopted a pseudonym, all to keep the Gestapo off his scent.  A resistance fighter met Manus at the hut and escorted him to the Swedish border where he was arrested and questioned by the Swedish Police who were sympathetic to his plight.

German soldiers watch over Oslo Harbour early in Second World War courtesy http://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/occupying-german-soldiers-watching-over-oslo-harbor-after-news-photo/50875946#april-1940-occupying-german-soldiers-watching-over-oslo-harbor-after-picture-id50875946.

Manus returned to Finland and made a roundabout journey to England to join the Special Operations Executive (SOE).  Manus' transformation was complete.  His James Bond career began in earnest as he set out to sabotage the Nazis from afar.  It was not long however before the SOE arranged to have Manus return to Norway, this time via parachute.  While he survived the parachute jump, he almost did not survive his bout with pneumonia.  After recovering, he set to work to sabotage the Nazis.


 "It was Manus' idea to sabotage shipping in Oslo Harbour using specially constructed charges placed on the sides of ships from canoes."  In April of 1943, Manus and a fellow saboteur rowed out to Nazi ships in the Oslo harbour and attached charges to them.  The Orteslburg exploded and sank while the other ships were injured.  The charge on the Tugela also exploded.  Manus received the Military Cross for his dangerous exploits.  After the war, Manus served as Crown Prince Olav's bodyguard when he returned to Oslo.  Manus married in 1947 and opened an office supply business.  While he struggled with nightmares, depression and alcoholism, he lived a long life, passing away in 1996.

Max Manus (right) protecting Crown Prince Olav courtesy http://www.nuav.net/maxmanus.html.

Note:  See Max Manus:  Man of War (2008).