The case study of a town and its rural hinterland during the Great Famine breaks new ground in the historiography of that cataclysm. The focus on a single community allows the author to highlight the cumulative and shattering impact of disastrous government relief policies on a population rendered prostrate by repeated failures of the potato harvest. He outlines in turn the shambles of the public works, the loathed soup kitchens, and most horrifically the appalling disease and mortality that occurred both inside and outside the Ennis Union Workhouse and its auxiliaries after 1847. Among the topics which this book illuminates are a huge upsurge in violent and non-violent crime, desperate individuals attempts to survive by stealing, and collective attempts to prevent the outward movement of food supplies. The brutal outrages of secret societies, and harsh judicial reaction also feature, in addition to the unsympathetic and often indifferent attitude displayed by officialdom at all levels towards those whose misery they were appointed to relieve. Important new insights are offered on a wide variety of other topics such as corruption on the boards of guardians, the bizarre election campaigns of 1847, the Special Commission of 1848 and the hangings which followed it, and a merciless campaign of evictions carried out by landlords in the district.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
It looks a very well researched, digested and written account of the famine in the worst affected part of the country -- Books Ireland, Sep. 1998
This is a comprehensive and scholarly study of a small community battling with catastrophe -- The Irish Times, Sep. 1998
This is a comprehensive and scholarly study of a small community battling with catastrophe -- The Irish Times, Sep. 1998
From the Publisher
Among all the recent historians of the Great Famine, no one else has made more effective use of local newspapers than " Murchadha, or has shown more tellingly how much they can contribute to our understanding of this social disaster. While his book is steeped in these rich local sources, " Murchadha is extremely well-read in the burgeoning scholarly literature in Ireland as a whole. He engages with it frequently and in ways that broaden or deepen our understanding at many points. Exhaustively written and compellingly written, this book is sure to set the standard for future work of a similar kind.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!!!!!!,
By Joseph Kello (Belleville, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sable Wings Over the Land: Ennis, County Clare and its Wider Community During the Great Famine (Hardcover)
I bought this book not knowing what to expect, but knowing that my great great grandfather emigrated in 1848 from his home in Ennis to the United States. This book surpassed my expectations as it was so well researched and so well written by Ciaran O Murchadha. It was a fascinating study to view the famine not in the county as a whole, but specifically how it evolved in County Claire and specifically in and around the town of Ennis.
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