Irish Famine (1879)

Irish Famine (1879)
an Gorta Beag
CountryUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
LocationIreland, mainly Connacht
Coordinates53°47′N 9°03′W / 53.78°N 9.05°W / 53.78; -9.05
Period1879
CausesThe Long Depression, inclement climate, potato blight, cholera among chickens
ReliefHome Rule League, Land League and clergy successfully campaigned for British Crown relief. Aid raised in the United States, including over 3000 barrels of food sent aboard USS Constellation.
ConsequencesIncreased emigration and urbanisation (often temporary). Religious revival, including Marian apparition in Knock. Helped incite the Land War of the late 1870s and early 1880s.
Preceded byGreat Famine (1845–1852) (an Gorta Mór)

The Irish famine of 1879 was the last main Irish famine. Unlike the earlier Great Famines of 1740–1741 and 1845–1852, the 1879 famine (sometimes called the "mini-famine" or an Gorta Beag) caused hunger rather than mass deaths and was largely focused in the west of Ireland.