What caused the potato famine for kids?

The immediate cause of the famine was a disease called blight, which affected potato crops. Blight stopped the potato plants from growing properly. Most people in Ireland at the time were very poor. Potatoes were their main source of food, and they had little else to eat.

What was the great Irish famine for kids?

Top 10 Great Irish Famine facts for children The Great Irish Famine was caused by a disease called potato blight. It began in 1845. A huge number of Irish people emigrated during this time. The famine is also known as An Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger) in Ireland.

Did the Irish live off of potatoes?

Why were potatoes so important to Ireland? The potato plant was hardy, nutritious, calorie-dense, and easy to grow in Irish soil. By the time of the famine, nearly half of Ireland’s population relied almost exclusively on potatoes for their diet, and the other half ate potatoes frequently.

How the Irish Potato Famine was solved?

The “famine” ended in 1849, when British troops stopped removing the food. While enough food to sustain 18 million people was being removed from Ireland, its population was reduced by more than 2.5 million, to 6.5 million.

How do you explain famine to a child?

A famine exists when large numbers of people cannot get enough food for long periods of time. People in a famine may die from starvation or disease. There have been famines throughout history and in all parts of the world.

Did people eat grass during the potato famine?

During the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, mass starvation forced many Irish to flee their homeland in search of better times in America and elsewhere. Kinealy says those who stayed behind turned to desperate measures. “People were so deprived of food that they resorted to eating grass,” Kinealy tells The Salt.

How did the famine start?

The Irish Potato Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, began in 1845 when a fungus-like organism called Phytophthora infestans (or P. infestans) spread rapidly throughout Ireland. The infestation ruined up to one-half of the potato crop that year, and about three-quarters of the crop over the next seven years.