Irish Famine (1925)
|
Irish Famine (1925) Gorta 1925 |
|
|---|---|
| Country | Irish Free State |
| Location | mainly Connacht |
| Coordinates | 53°47′N 9°03′W / 53.78°N 9.05°WCoordinates: 53°47′N 9°03′W / 53.78°N 9.05°W |
| Period | 1925 |
| Preceded by | Irish Famine (1879) |
The Irish famine of 1925 was the last major Irish famine.
In 1925 the Irish government denied that 750,000 people faced famine, however, in the West of Ireland, several people had already starved to death.
In the early 1920s the Irish Free State was in a ruinous state. The Irish War of Independence, the Irish Civil War and an economic depression were taking their toll on society, with over 100,000 unemployed in a population of 3 million.
Speaking in the Dáil, the Minister for Lands and Agriculture Patrick Hogan claimed "There is no abnormal distress in the West this year. I say that definitely and deliberately. There is always distress in the West, but the distress this year is not ... particularly unique....There is never real famine in the West unless there is a failure of potatoes, and there was no failure of potatoes this year."
Hogan’s claim was not only at odds with media reports over the previous six months but also with his own colleagues. His close friend and minister for Justice, Kevin O’Higgins, had predicted food shortages in a speech marking independence in December 1924. Heavy rain had caused crop failure and destroyed animal fodder, and the flooding of peat bogs had also deprived people of fuel.
The government were accused of covering up the famine in order to avoid bad publicity.
Conditions returned to normal with better harvests in 1925 and 1926.
...
Wikipedia