What really caused the Irish Potato Famine - Stephanie Honchell Smith
In the fall of 1845, the bright green
leaves of potato plants
dotted the Irish countryside.
For over 200 years,
the South American vegetable had thrived
in Ireland’s rough terrain
and unpredictable weather.
Packed with carbohydrates,
vitamins, and minerals,
the potato was a remarkably
nutrient-rich crop
that made it easy for less wealthy
families to maintain a balanced diet.
By the mid-19th century, potatoes had
supplanted other staple foods.
And since British mandates ensured
Ireland’s more valuable
agricultural products were exported,
roughly half the country’s
8.5 million residents
lived almost entirely on potatoes.
But when harvesting began in 1845,
farmers found their potatoes
blackened and shriveled.
Those who ate them suffered severe
stomach cramps and even death.
Today, we know the culprit was
Phytophthora infestans—
a fungus that flourished in the season’s
unusually damp weather.
But at the time it was simply
called “the blight.”
The fungus likely originated
in the Americas,
traveling across the Atlantic on ships.
And while it destroyed potato harvests
across Europe,
wealthier countries— then as today—
generally fared better,
as they had more resources to draw on.
Meanwhile, the southern and western
regions of Ireland
were already impoverished
and entirely dependent on the single crop,
making them disproportionately vulnerable.
The impacts of food insecurity are often
most severe at the poverty line.
But while the failed harvest
created a class crisis,
the government's response turned
it into a national catastrophe.
For centuries, Ireland had been
under varying degrees of English control,
and by 1845,
it was part of the United Kingdom
with its government based in London.
During the famine’s first year,
this distant ruling body imported corn
from North America
and offered the Irish employment
on public works projects.
But this relief only caused more problems.
Imported food was poorly distributed
and offered insufficient nutrition,
making the previously healthy population
more vulnerable to disease,
and increasing maternal
and child mortality.
Worse still, the British continued
to export Ireland’s grain and livestock.
Meanwhile, the public works projects
required lengthy shifts
of grueling manual labour and
were far from where most workers lived.
For example, just one of countless tragic
incidences is the story of Thomas Malone,
who walked 18 kilometers roundtrip
to work every day.
One night, exhausted and starving,
he collapsed and died
just before reaching home,
leaving behind his wife and six children.
Despite the year’s countless tragedies,
many families managed to scrape by.
But in 1846, the damp weather returned
and the blight worsened,
impacting 75% of Ireland's potato yield.
British relief efforts diminished
substantially in the famine’s second year.
And while international aid
helped save lives,
the overall need was enormous.
As the crisis wore on, the government
limited who was eligible for relief
and tasked Ireland with funding the relief
efforts themselves
by increasing local taxes.
Most modern historians view these
disastrous policies
as stemming from a mix
of toxic religious ideology,
laissez-faire economic policies,
and political infighting.
British news sources callously
depicted the Irish
as lazy, simple-minded alcoholics,
and some London decision-makers believed
the famine was God’s punishment
for these sinful behaviors.
Other government officials purposefully
blocked efforts
to provide meaningful relief
due to internal political rivalries.
As with famines and food insecurity today,
it wasn't a lack of resources preventing
the British from aiding Ireland,
but rather a lack of political will.
Seven years after the blight began,
Ireland’s weather patterns
returned to normal
and the potato crop finally stabilised.
But over 1 million people had perished
from starvation,
malnutrition, and disease.
Between 1 and 2 million more
fled the country,
beginning a trend that dropped Ireland’s
population to half its pre-famine levels
by the 1920s.
Today, climate change is making
extreme weather more common and sustained,
leading countless agricultural communities
to face similar struggles.
Just as in Ireland,
farmers living on the margins
are increasingly facing starvation,
malnutrition, and disease
due to global weather patterns
for which they bear little responsibility.
But history doesn’t have to repeat itself
if governments and institutions
can provide the kind of aid
these regions need:
relief efforts that are coordinated
and ongoing,
provide sufficient nutrition
to prevent disease,
and are offered with compassion
rather than judgment.
