Abstract
Ireland in the beginning of the 1840's had a population of eight million inhabitants of whom more than four-fifths lived on the land and it was one of the most densely populated countries in Europe. The prosperous phase which prevailed in Ireland at the beginning of the 1840's was unfortunately not representative of the entire decade, because in 1845 a great calamity strickened the country, the potato famine. This misfortune had very strong consequences on the country which occurred both during and after this event. All this, leads us to the question: How did the famine show its greater significance? Firstly, we will focus on the arrival of the famine in Ireland. Then, we will place emphasis on the instantaneous consequences of the famine. Last but not least we will deal with the long lasting effects of the famine. First of all, the role of the potato in Ireland must be ascertained. The potato was introduced in Ireland in about 1590 and its advantages were that it "could grow in the poorest conditions, with very little labour" and that "even a small plot of land could support a large family, if you grew potatoes" . The potato was recognised as "a cheap and plentiful source of food" and it was the main element which enabled the Irish population to feed itself. However, even if the potato was seen as the easiest and cheapest foodstuff, "it was a source of concern to some authorities that people had nothing to fall back on at all, if the potato ever happen to fail" . Unfortunately, this worrying was not considered relevant and never taken seriously. Then, European reports began to deal with a new blight in June 1845 which had been noticed in Belgium.
