The Great Famine in Nenagh Poor Law Union - Daniel Grace PRICE:IRP£15.00 pbk. PUBLISHER: Relay

This comprehensive study of the Great Famine begins with an examination of Nenagh poor law union before the disaster of potato blight struck in the autumn of 1845. It ends with the flight of hundreds of its inhabitants to distant lands such as the USA, Canada and Australia. In the intervening chapters a story of heartbreaking human misery and ceaseless efforts to stem the mounting tide of distress unfolds. In opting for a thematic approach the author helps to disentangle for the reader the various strands of workhouse admissions, public works, soup kitchens, outdoor relief, fever and mortality. Multiple primary sources have been drawn on to re-create the story -poor law guardians minute books, relief commission and parliamentary papers, estate records and two local newspapers.