The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine - Season 1 - Episode 1
Outlines the social, political and economic conditions that allowed the famine to occur and charts the first 3 years of the crisis in Ireland and Europe. In Ireland we see how the British government’s initial response was successful in staving off the worst impact of the famine. With the coming of a new government under John Russell in 1846 the response hardens as they struggle to deal with the fall out of an economic crash. The death rate rises exponentially as resources run out for the Irish poor. By contrast, in Europe authorities act fast to ensure the impact is lower.
About The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine
Title: The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine
First Air Date: 2020-11-30
Last Air Date: 2020-12-07
Status: Ended
Rating: 0/10 (from 0 votes)
Language: EN
Seasons: 1
Total Episodes: 2
Network: RTÉ One
Genres: Documentary
Production Companies: Unknown
Synopsis
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.
