Introduction
Ireland was devastated by a potato blight that triggered a famine of catastrophic proportion. In Ireland it was considered the Great Hunger although else where it was called the Irish Potato Famine. It began in 1845 when their main crop, the potato, was attacked by a fungus called Phytophthora infestans. This fungus killed off one third to one half of the Irish potato crop in the first year, setting off a year of hunger and hardship as the potato was the main staple of the Irish diet. This would be difficult for the poor country but what made it catastrophic was that it lasted for over four years.