The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine
Documentary

The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine

"A tragedy that shaped a nation."

In the 1840s, a catastrophic famine brought about the decimation of Ireland’s poor and the exodus of millions from the island. This major, ground-breaking documentary, narrated by Liam Neeson, explores the famine’s international origins and development in Europe, Britain and Ireland and charts its long-term legacy as it plays out for much of the century that follows. Today the Irish famine is recognised as the worst humanitarian disaster of the 19th Century but what is less recognised is that the crisis impacted far beyond Ireland’s shores. The story of the Blight pathogen that killed the potato crop, starts in the Andes of South America and then reaches into the heart of northern Europe where the collapse of potato crops causes the deaths of 100,000 people adding further fuel to social tensions that lead to Europe’s year of revolutions in 1848.

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Created By

Status

Ended

Original Name

The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine

First Air Date

November 30, 2020

Last Air Date

December 7, 2020

Seasons

1

Episodes

2

Language

English

Production Companies

Networks

RTÉ One

S01E02

Episode 2: 1847 to 1852

In late 1847, the famine is at its height in Ireland. A million people have died and of those who got to America, the diaspora work hard to rebuild their lives. Even so the British government decides that all further famine relief for the Irish must be paid for from rates raised in Ireland on Irish landlords. When landlords either cannot or will not pay, many evict their struggling tenants. 500,000 evictions force millions onto the roads – slums build up in cities, workhouses become overcrowded and fetid, millions emigrate. When it’s all done, one million people have died across Ireland. An entire class, the poorest, has been wiped out by death and emigration. In America, the Diaspora works hard to climb the economic ladder and in Ireland, a new generation is determined to achieve self-determination and to revive a dying culture.

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