Poetry & Stories of the Irish Potato Famine 

• "The Passing of the Gael", by Ethna Carbery

 
• Folktales from Lady Augusta Gregory

 
• "Victory in the Time of Famine", a poem

 
• The Gruel Cauldron, a story

 

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Recipes using Potatoes

              Strategies for the maintenance of life when the food supply is threatened reveal a lot about how a culture works.  Cultural taboos for example will keep hungry people hungry and from time to time lead to suffering and death. The example of prohibition of the eating of beef in
India comes to mind.  Once  a student of mine who had been brought up in Galway reported
that his family practiced a prohibition against the eating of seafood. "It will rot your brain..."
his mother and his relatives told him. Certainly the Irish are known for having a taboo against
the eating of seal because seals are thought to be re-incarnated relatives. Could the Irish Culture have hindered the search for alternative foods? Yes! If it did then how did it?
In any case Potatoes as  a staple are a part of Irish culture. Below  are links to some recipes. Included are a few known to be associated with the Famine. Do you have any to add? If so please send them via e.mail- Click here to send e.mail.
Famine Related:

• Famine Soup
• Potato Beer
• Potato and Point
• Kitchen
• Egg Milk

Other Potato Recipes

• Potato Candy
• Burn Remedy using potatoes

Other Irish Potato Recipes Using Potatoes can be found here: click for recipes


A great Source of Potato Recipes is:
      Potluck Potato Recipes from Ireland
      Nell Donnelly
      Wolfhound Press
       Dublin,1997
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Commemoration

Goals
Our commemoration has several goals:

1. Education of the public in the many dimensions and lessons of the famine: economic, political, and social
2. Feeding the hungry - those taking part are encouraged to collect potatoes for the hungry, so that the potato which once harmed can now help.
3. By giving up the potato for a day, children especially will have an opportunity to contemplate life without the potato and will have a chance at home to discuss the history of the famine and relate it to their own lives. (This is not a boycott.)
4. Support for those working to combat the potato fungus Phytophthora infestans , which currently threatens crops worldwide and is the same which killed the potatoes in the 1800s.

We hope that programs and events designed and produced for the commemoration will also take time to focus on genealogy and immigration.
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What can you do?

• Scientists & educators can help the commemoration

• We have a special page just for teachers

 
• Artists and others can help document the history of the Great Famine

 
• Attend or Sponsor an Educational Event see suggestions on the teacher page

 
• Collect Potatoes for the Hungry: Aid providers are exempt from the abstention. Kitchens, shelters, and pantries may serve the potato--Use the potato to feed where once it starved!

• Learn about potato farming by growing your own potatoes! See our Farming Techniques page.

 
• Learn about the history of the Famine and about the potato crop today! The same fungus still threatens our crop! See the main Menu

• Whatever it is let us know about it- send an e.mail to us or paste it into our guestbook.
• Go back to commemoration menu-click here

Significance:
This event is of local, national, and international importance. Individuals and organizations are now celebrating events around the world as part of the commemoration. A traditional Irish band will perform in Canada, theater groups are doing plays, a class is being taught in Catonsville MD, a bagpiper has played for spuds outside his local grocery in Canada somewhere, others protested, and some are undertaking research projects.

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Events
             If you  help to feed  or educate only one  person  the world will be a much better place!
             Your event need  not be fancy  or big or expensive to be effective. Whatever you
             plan we  will help you by posting the information here. You may post  your event
             information directly into  the guestbook for all to see or mail the information to us0
            Click to Send Mail

Many commemorative events have already occurred. These may give you some ideas for things you or your group may like to do.

• We encourage all those who have benefited from these pages to plan an event to

feed and educate.
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Late Blight Simulation Program

Learn how difficult it is to combat the blight using modern methods.
This program simulates the relationships between the blight and
farming techniques. It is truly a complex issue. Click here to download (for PC) Zip file.
Give it a try- if it is so difficult with modern methods just think how difficult it must have been
in the 1840s when there was little understanding of underlying causes.
 
 

Conrad Bladey is a specialist in the field of Irish Studies,  an expert on the Potato Famine as well as an Irish Traditional Tin whistle player and Storyteller. He is responsible for one of the web's largest Irish Studies web pages which can be located here: click here for Irish Studies Pages  Conrad has worked with Christopher Smith since the beginning of these pages providing much of the page content.
These potato famine pages are now hosted  as a donation by Hutman Productions which provides  a wide range of internet services including classes and web page editing. Please stop by the Hutman Productions Web Page to learn what we can do for you!

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Help!
These pages are provided as a volunteer service by Conrad Jay Bladey.
  These pages may disappear if they are not supported
  by those who read them. Please be generous! Thanks in
  advance. Just click here to help us pay our bills.
  There are many costs of the maintenance of these pages   I encourage you to search your pockets for any donation you might be able to make so that these pages might be continued. Computer upgrades   new software and the costs of our internet provider are significant and with   your help we can be able to improve and expand these pages. To contribute   please send your contribution in the form of a check in US Dollars made payable  to Margaret Christiana Bladey to:

           Conrad Bladey
           PO Box. 268
           Linthicum, Maryland
           21090. USA

  We are not a non profit organization. All proceeds in excess of costs of  hardware, software, or internet provider fees will be directed to feeding
   the hungry via Potato Famine Commemoration Events.    For further information contact me by e.mail: Click Here
  

I  thank you in advance for your generosity and assistance

    Conrad Jay Bladey
    Webmaster

The organizer of the Commemoration can be reached at:

PO Box 268
Linthicum Md 21090
USA
Email: cbladey@verizon.net
 
 

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 Copyright © from March 23,1998,2003,2004,2005,2012, Hutman Productions
Mail to Conrad Bladeycbladey6@verizon.net