Irish America

History of Ireland

Walking into Irish Famine History

Story by Kelly Candaele
Photos by Adrian Tiernan
Winter 2022

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A man and his family are trying to preserve something very important in a remote area of County Mayo – away from the tourist buses and interpretive centers. The Lost Valley of Uggool is not easy to find. Driving south out of Louisburgh in County Mayo, a small two-lane road narrows to a smaller one lane road bordered by hedges that remind you not to place your arm out the … [Read more...] about Walking into Irish Famine History

Why Famine Came To Ireland


By Thomas Cahill

January 2000

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Thomas Cahill writes on the great catastrophe that became known as the Famine. The mass exodus of people during and following this period would forever change the course of Irish and American history. The potato blight that arrived in Europe in the summer of 1845 was, like the potato itself, an American export. The fungus that caused the blight was a microscopic organism … [Read more...] about Why Famine Came To Ireland

NLI to Digitize Pre-Republic History of Ireland

By Mary Gallagher, Editorial Assistant
April / May 2018

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The National Library of Ireland rolled out plans in January for a new digital archive of modern Irish history. The archive, called Towards a Republic, will document the tumultuous series of events between 1918 and 1923, beginning with the Irish Republican Army’s brutal struggle for independence from Britain and ending with the Irish Civil War. It is one product of a €2 million … [Read more...] about NLI to Digitize Pre-Republic History of Ireland