New Book: Heroes of Ireland’s Great Hunger. Eds. Christine Kinealy, Jason King and Gerard Moran. Cork Uni Press

Heroes of Ireland’s Great Hunger
Edited by Christine Kinealy, Jason King and Gerard Moran
The
tragedy that struck Ireland between 1845 and 1852 is often viewed through the
lens of cold-hearted bureaucrats, greedy merchants or indifferent landlords who
put profit, principles of political economy, and prejudice against the Irish
poor, above the need to save lives. This ground-breaking volume examines the
contributions of the numerous men and women who risked their lives—and
sometimes their livelihoods—in caring for the sick and the starving.
This publication examines the uplifting contributions of numerous
individuals who combatted hunger, famine and disease in the mid-nineteenth
century in order to save the lives of strangers. At a time that the world is
struggling with the deadly COVID pandemic and its aftermath, these stories are
a tribute to all forgotten or nameless caregivers and front-line workers.
Despite these generous interventions, over one million died in Ireland
from disease and starvation, another 2.1 million left Ireland between 1845 and
1855, more than had emigrated from Ireland over the previous two-and-a-half
centuries. While some names might be familiar due to the large body of research
undertaken on the Great Famine since 1995, a number will be less so.
Individually and collectively, their contributions to saving the people from
starvation and death and giving them hope cannot be understated, nor should the
personal and professional sacrifice that they made on behalf of the Irish poor
be forgotten.
June 2021 | 9781736171202 | €25.00 £21.95 | paperback | 229
x 178mm | 328 pages
Published by Quinnipiac University Press and distributed by Cork
University Press
Look inside https://www.book2look.com/book/Jev2ER1UFP
You can order at: https://www.corkuniversitypress.com/Heroes-of-Ireland-s-Great-Hunger-p/9781736171202.htm