Were Protestants affected by the famine?

Ireland’s Great Hunger did not discriminate. The famine of 1845 targeted both the Irish Catholic poor and the Protestant poor in the north of the country, a historian has stressed. Across Ireland, about one million people died in the famine and a further 1.5 million emigrated to Canada, America and England.

What happened to Protestants in Ireland?

After the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the Protestant population declined sharply, reasons for which included: The end of the union between southern Ireland and Great Britain. Purchase of land owned by British landowners by the British government and later the Irish Free State government.

Who in Ireland was least affected by the famine?

Ireland’s rural population fell dramatically, with Connacht’s falling by nearly 30\% and Munster’s decreasing by 20\%. In contrast Dublin, Belfast and Cork, cities least impacted by the famine, experience a growth in population as thousands rushed to escape hunger.

Who owned most of the land in Ireland during the famine?

English and Anglo-Irish families owned most of the land, and most Irish Catholics were relegated to work as tenant farmers forced to pay rent to the landowners. Ironically, less than 100 years before to the Famine’s onset, the potato was introduced to Ireland by the landed gentry.

How many Protestants died in Irish famine?

Of the 2.15 million people lost over the period, 90.9\% were Catholic, and for every Protestant lost 7.94 Catholics were lost. This ratio is, however, slightly misleading as before the Famine Catholics outnumbered Protestants by 4.24 to one.

What did the Catholic Church do during the Irish famine?

THE Catholic Church “took advantage of the prevailing destitution to increase its land holdings” during the Famine, according to an editorial in the current issue of the respected British Catholic weekly, The Tablet. It also notes that Irish landowners, “some of them Catholic”, were “among the indifferent”.

Did any priests died in the famine?

Priests put their lives at risk answering calls to attend the dying. Over 40 priests died off famine fever in 1847. Pope Pius IX on March 25th, 1847, issued an encyclical letter to the universal church calling for financial relief and prayers for the famine-stricken Irish.

Did any priests died in the Famine?

What was the Great Famine in Ireland?

The Great Famine ( Irish: an Gorta Mór [anˠ ˈɡɔɾˠt̪ˠə ˈmˠoːɾˠ] ), also known as the Great Hunger or the Great Starvation and sometimes referred to as the Irish Potato Famine mostly outside Ireland, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1849.

How did the Dublin parochial Association help the Great Famine?

On March 27th 1847, at the apex of the Great Famine, a group calling itself the Dublin Parochial Association was established, consisting of Established Church clergy men with the aim of relieving the impact of the potato famine in Dublin city. The vehicle for the relief was the Protestant clergy but,…

What is another name for the Great Famine?

The Great Famine (Irish: an Gorta Mór [ənˠ ˈɡɔɾˠt̪ˠə ˈmˠoːɾˠ]), also known as the Great Hunger, the Famine (mostly within Ireland) or the Irish Potato Famine (mostly outside Ireland), was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852.

What was the role of the churches in the Great Famine?

The most extensively-published author on the ‘Great Famine’ in 19th century Ireland is Christine Kinealy. In 2002, she remarked: ‘The role of the various churches in Ireland throughout the famine, especially (the main) Protestant churches, has been largely untold.’ 1This paper is an attempt to fill that gap.