What do the Irish call the famine?

What do the Irish call the famine?

Great Famine, also called Irish Potato Famine, Great Irish Famine, or Famine of 1845–49, famine that occurred in Ireland in 1845–49 when the potato crop failed in successive years. The crop failures were caused by late blight, a disease that destroys both the leaves and the edible roots, or tubers, of the potato plant.

How many people died in An Gorta Mór?

1 million
The potato blight returned to Europe in 1879 but, by this time, the Land War (one of the largest agrarian movements to take place in 19th-century Europe) had begun in Ireland….Great Famine (Ireland)

What event is known in Gaelic as An Gorta Mór meaning the Great Hunger?

Crop failure is a hardship, but for the Irish people it was devastating. In Ireland these years became known as An Gorta Mór—or “the Great Hunger.” From 1845 to 1849 Ireland’s potato crop was ruined by late blight, a disease that destroys both the leaves and the edible roots of the potato plant.

Why did the Irish have a famine?

Scientists have long known that it was a strain of Phytophthora infestans (or P. infestans) that caused the widespread devastation of potato crops in Ireland and northern Europe beginning in 1845, leading to the Irish Potato Famine.

Why did Ireland only grow potatoes?

For a long time Ireland was sparsely populated, and it was only with the discovery of potatoes that they could grow enough food to allow for significant population growth, as potatoes could grow on harsh terrain that was unsuitable for other crops such as wheat or barley.

Where Is An Gorta Mór?

An Gorta Mór – Ireland’s Great Hunger To this day, all over Ireland the landscape bears mute testimony to the events that occurred in the horrific period from 1845 – 1850. Starvation graveyards offer silent tribute to the millions of Irish men,women,and children buried in unmarked mass graves.

How did the Irish eat potatoes?

Irish people have traditionally preferred floury potatoes to waxy varieties. Whilst silversmiths in Georgian Ireland made potato rings for the Anglo-Irish ascendancy, the poor cottiers cooked in a cauldron and ate their potatoes ‘with and without the moon’, using a long thumb nail to peel the skin.

What does “Gorta Mór” mean in Irish?

The “mór” part is like “more”, with a long o and an audible r. An Gorta Mór is Irish for “The Great Hunger”, i.e. the Irish famine, although it smacks of translationese. The more genuine word is An Drochshaol, uh DROKH-heel, which means “the bad life”, word for word.

Was an Gorta Mór a genocide?

Even with the benefit of history and hindsight, there is still much debate over whether the actions of the British government during An Gorta Mór (meaning ‘The Great Hunger’) should perhaps be referred to by another term: The Irish Genocide. That is, a deliberate, sanctioned and sustained to ensure the death of a distinct group of people.

How do you pronounce “UN gorto more”?

Un gorto more is the pronunciation. The “an” part is practically a short “uh” sound like the English “a”. The “gorta” part is “GORR-tuh”, with an audible r and a short o. The “mór” part is like “more”, with a long o and an audible r.

What is the correct pronunciation of the Spanish word’mór’?

However, a good, ‘neutral’ pronunciation (‘neutral’ in the sense that it does not obviously belong to any particular area and will be universally understood) is as follows: un (g) gor -ta more (where ‘mór’ sounds approximately like the English word ‘more’). As for meaning, well, literally it means ‘the Great Hunger’.