1846 AD
1846
AD
Charles Trevelyan the Permanent Under - Secretary to the British Imperial Treasury for Famine Relief, who was a committed devotee of "Laissez Faire"" (Let the Market Rule), instead of dispersing the much needed Indian Corn immediately, continued to store it for a further 2 months, just to keep the local prices up, before he opened the depots, to sell it anyone who could afford to buy it among the desperate starving population in Ireland and he was then to close the Corn depots again in the Summer for another month just in anticipation of an Autumn potato harvest, and then tried to bring in another "Irish Coercion Bill" with transportation for 15 years against anyone who desperately tried to gain any of the provisions that were still available in Ireland for any chance of their families to survive the continuing effects of the expanding "Great Famine.
William Smith - O Brien, the Anglo - Irish Land Lord, who had been born at Dromoland Castle in Co. Clare in the north - west of the Munster Province, had co - founded the "Irish Confederation" with John Mitchell the Unitarian journalist who had been determined to bring about Irish Independence, but he then suddenly decided to withdraw from the Confederation although he was also previously a member of the United Irishmen Society who had nearly all, by now, been exiled out of Ireland and he may have been warned by the other members of the Descendancy Establishment of which he was still a part of.
The compact between Daniel O Connell
"The Liberator" who was in reality an Irish
Patriot, while the
"Young Irelanders" who
were Irish Nationalists, now
came to an end once and for all, when he committed the
Repeal of the
Immoral Union Association not to be
involved in the use of any armed force in trying
to
persuade the British Imperial Government to bring about
reform in
Ireland,
but
the situation in the rural areas in
Ireland
was becoming really desperate and the various ""ecret Societies""
were now becoming more active again, while also trying to
obtain some relief from the harshness that the
Land
Lords on their Estates were carring out on their tenant farmers in
Ireland.
These new robust activities that were now being carried out by the Secret Societies
really suited the agenda of the
"Young Irelanders,"
and excited by the possibilities some of
them now left the
Repeal of the
Immoral Union
Association
altogether, while others were
expelled from the Association for displaying their intention to try and
bring about a more immediate result for the tenants in Ireland by the use of revolutionary force, if
necessary. From this time on the "Young Irelanders,"
who were
so disposed, were to continue on with their own agenda independently for another
4 years,
pushing forward their revolutionary proposition for
Irish Freedom / Self Determination,
and this particular activity then went someway towards keeping alive the previous
diminished
spirit of the previous similar body the
United
Irishmen Society.
This time the potato crop in Ireland, had been planted earlier to try and get through the "Hungry Months" when there would be no crops available at all, but many of the Conacre lots that had been previously rented out for only a short period of cropping, were also not let out this year, due to the rent now being required in "advance" by the Land Lords on their Estates, and to make matters even worse still this was also be followed by a "total loss" of the potato crop the following year in 1847 AD.
June:
Sir Robert "Orange"" Peel,
the British Tory Prime Minister, finally knew the situation was getting
worse so he decided to go against the agendas of the
Laissez Faire Protectionists
in the Conservative Tory Party, as
he was now looking towards the
Whigs and
the Radicals
in the Opposition in the Westminster Parliament, to give him
their support to repeal
the harsh
British Imperial "Corn Laws"
imposed on the Irish population, but unfortunately it was all too late, as he was to be
defeated
by the "Irish Coercion Bill,"
that had been
brought about after the
previous outbreaks of violence over the hold up of the Indian Corn that he had
basically purchased on his own initiative to try and bring about some
relief in
Ireland.
(This meant that the disposal of this particular food source was now under the total control of
the
penny-pinching
Charles Trevelyan.) The
Laissez Faire Protectionists, in a bid to get
back at Sir Robert "Orange" Peel for interfering in the Corn trade had joined their vote
once again in this
their interest to that of the
Whigs, the Radicals and
the Repealers.
July - late: A stench was
now noticed
coming from the ground throughout Ireland, and there were
diseased blackened leaves showing up on the potato plants, and many labourers in
desperation repudiated
their agreements to work on farms for a potato patch only, and they cried out for cash instead to
work the land, to ensure they received the means somehow for their families to survive,
as it was not now practical and they abandoned their potato plots to try and obtain Public
Works or go into the Work Houses, and besides this drastic measure the potato seed
itself was nearly unprocurable even if you had the money to buy some.
Emigration figures from Ireland jumped up to 106,000 people, with three quarters of these going to the United States of America, while 19,000 also made it all the way to Australia, while the rest migrated to British North America.
September: The ongoing overall starvation of the Irish population was still allowed to continue on under the ongoing export of Irish production by the British Whig Government, and because of the systemic malnutrition it was only natural that an outbreak of fevers would also soon occur and this month in Belfast in the north - east of the Ulster Province, due to the refugees in the surrounding rural areas fleeing there also for assistance, it broke out there, so a Central Board of Health was set up to organize a system of temporary Fever hospitals, which were to operate until 1849 AD.
October: Lord
John Russell,
the British Whig Prime Minister,
showed the true measure of the
Immoral Union
with
England, when he openly stated
that, "We
cannot afford to feed the people in
Ireland, their
poverty must be supported by
Irish property."
Though there was by now well established widespread "Death and
Disease" throughout
Ireland, due to their
indifference to the overall humane crisis by the British
Imperial Government, they still decided in their commercial greed,
racism and lack of any
humanity, to continue on with their Laissez Faire policy of "Let the
market forces rule." They then issued instructions to all of the
Relief Committees in
Ireland, that they were
not to sell any food below the market prices in any area
at all, so as
not to interfere
with their normal trading opportunities, which was in direct opposition to the original intentions of
Sir Robert "Orange" Peel, to give the
initial starving population in Ireland the opportunity to purchase cheaper corn,
to survive, if they had the money to do so,
and things were far, far worse by now.
The British Whig Lord Lieutenant
in Ireland,
now disowned any responsibility at all to the
population
in Ireland under the auspices of the
Immoral Union, while on the other hand the
Land Lords took this further advantage to clear their Estates
in Ireland again of all of their tenant farmers and
their families
by eviction. If
Ireland had
truly been part of the
United Kingdom,
as it was supposed to be under the
Immoral Union, it should have been the
responsibility of the British
Imperial Government at Westminster,
to ensure the well being of all of the Irish people, who they had
continually restricted, oppressed and repressed, by now,
for nearly 700 years.
Daniel O Connell denounced the miserable relief measures taken by the British Whig Government for Ireland, but still continued on with them as their unofficial advisor on Irish affairs, always hoping to bring about an improvement to their disposition of what was really occurring in Ireland and there were also attempts to try and reconcile the political differences that had occurred in Ireland between Daniel O Connell and the impatient members of the "Young Irelanders," to bring about any chance of reform in Ireland, but they came to nothing.
Many deaths due to the ongoing never - ending starvation were now occurring in Ireland, under the Immoral Union and the self-indulgent irresponsible policies of the pompous indifferent British Whig Imperial Government whose only real policy was Laissez Faire, with no responsibility at all being accepted for the lives of the population in Ireland, although they were still supposed to be part of the United Kingdom and were under their direct total control,
The Anglo - Celt newspaper was founded this year, which is still operating today in Co. Cavan in Southern Ulster.
Druishane House at Baltimore, in Co. Cork in Southern Munster, was this year to be the scene for the worst kind of Land Lord treatment to be handed out on any of the Estates in Ireland.
John Henry Newman,
the previous Ascendancy Church of England
prelate
at Oxford University, now became a
Catholic priest in England,
who would in the future as a Catholic Cardinal bring about great change in Ireland to
the Catholic Education system.
November: Viscount Midleton, who was a Land Lord, who had his Estates in Ireland at Cove in Co. Cork in Southern Munster, evicted 350 tenant farmers and their families.
The Society of Friends / Quakers who were by now well aware of what was occurring in Ireland began operating their soup kitchens in Co. Cork, where the Workhouse was originally built to hold 800 persons, but already held nearly 900 persons with another 300 to be added to these within 2 months and 400 of these initial families where to be suffering from Fever, and reports of the terrible situation there spread throughout the whole World, which resulted in contributions to the Famine Relief from other Countries, wherever it was occurring in Ireland.
Steerage passage costs to Canada from Ireland were from 50 /- shillings to 60 / 2 1/2 pounds / 3 pounds,) to the USA - 70 / - shillings (3 1/2 pounds / 5 pounds,) which was in reality a year's wages for a common labourer, who had no work anyway, and therefore no chance of having such money to be able to pay, and were therefore not to be among those who were economically capable of leaving.They would naturally now be among those 1,000,00 who were to continue to die miserable emaciated and excruciating painful deaths along the byways throughout Ireland.
In desperation the Society of Friends / Quakers were to set up their own committees in London, and also in Dublin, to try and assist in Famine Relief in Ireland, while the British Whig Imperial Government under Lord John Russell were totally indifferent to the terrible things that were now occurring in Ireland, who just left it to their own devices to work it out for themselves although they were the ones who had total control over the government of Ireland under the Immoral Union.
While this terrible famine was all occurring the Land Lords in Ireland were also to continue on with further evictions of their tenant farmers and their families from off of their Estates, by tearing the rooves off of the cabins, forcing them out into what can only be described as terrible circumstances and appalling weather conditions that by now applied, and even to those in whole villages, until 1847 AD.
James Fintan Lalor,
the father of
Peter
Lalor of
Eureka Stockade rebellion fame in
Australia, also wrote scathing articles for
The
Nation newspaper,
at this time until 1847 AD.
Charles Stewart - Parnell,
was born this year, who was to become a
non - Catholic Land Lord, who was to have
5,000 acres
on his Estate
in Co. Wexford in the south - east of
Southern Leinster, and in the future he would
go were none of his class had gone before, while endeavouring to try and bring
about Irish Home Rule, and some
Michael Davitt / Mac Devitt, was born this year, at Straide near Castlebar in Co. Mayo in the mid - west of the Connacht Province, who would become, due to the continual British Imperial aggression against the population in Ireland, a committed Fenian at 19 years of age, and as a contemporary in the future, would work in with Charles Stewart - Parnell to bring about the return of the rural land of Ireland to the people of Ireland, by founding at that period in time the highly successful Irish Land League.
Dr. Edward Walsh, was to become the Catholic
Bishop of
Ossory in Co. Kilkenny in the south - west
of Southern Leinster, until 1872 AD.
December: Over half of the existing Workhouses in Ireland by this month were full, and were refusing any further admittance to those who were either standing if possible or lying around sick and emaciated outside their walls, who were really destitute, with many of these by this stage very ill, and there was also a widespread shortage of bedding, clothing and medicine and all of this led onto the practise of giving the clothing of the previously deceased, directly to the new destitute inmates without any chance of disinfecting, while a shortage of coffins for the people also meant many of their emaciated and feverish bodies were interred within the Workhouse area, even sometimes near the water supply. Many of the Guardians and the Workhouse officers who were in Ireland, seeing the desperate plight of the general population in Ireland, were also trying to give out food to those who they could not take in, although it was now an "illegal act" under British Imperial Law, and they were being widely condemned by the British Poor Law Commissioners, for doing so.
1846 AD - 1850 AD During this period in time, due to the lack of any real type of responsible humanity by the British Imperial Whig Government, 1/8 of the population in Ireland were to die in terrible untold misery and emaciated pain, especially in Co. Cork, Co. Clare and Co. Kerry in the Munster Province, and also in Co. Galway and Co. Mayo in the west of the Connacht Province, which were the 5 most western Counties on the Atlantic seaboard of Ireland.
Aubrey de Vere the poet, who retold the Irish Myths, also died this year, who had been born at Curragh Chase near Askeaton and his son who had also been born at Curragh Chase in 1814 AD, was also to be a poet, who would die in 1902.
James Clarence Mangan, who had been a hedge schoolmaster at Myross, between Castlehaven and Glandore Harbour, was also an Irish poet who wrote for The Nation newspaper, and had translated the poem by Sean O Coileain (1754 - 1816 AD) - the Silver Tongue of Munster, also died this year at Skibbereen in Co. Cork. George Darley, another Irish poet was also among those who died this year.
1846 AD - 1851AD During this period in time, Co. Cork in Southern Munster and Co. Leitrim in Northern Connacht, were to be the two most effected Counties, as to the ongoing terrible Deaths due to the never - ending starvation and emaciated sickness that followed on from all of this indifference, the likes of which no human should have suffered under the overall protection of the Immoral Union and the British Imperial Empire. who was still to continue to ravage Ireland of all of its produce, while the population continued to starve to death.
Owen Connellan published "The Annals of the 4 Masters" containing the History and Genealogy of Ireland up to 1636 AD in English.
1846 AD - 1853 AD During this period in time, while the population of
Ireland was suffering so dreadfully the English
Earl of Devonshire alone,
who had Estates also in Ireland, was to collect 300,300
pounds of rent monies from his tenant farmers
17,000,000 Pounds
of produce was exported out of Ireland to
England
this year,
while a 100,000 British Government Military
force was stationed in Ireland
to keep the starving masses under the control of
the British Whig Imperial Government, and from any chance of
gaining any type of sustenance.