The Hidden Famine
Hunger, Poverty and Sectarianism in Belfast 1840-50
Drawing on a wealth of original research, Kinealy and MacAtasney begin with an examination of society and social behaviour in Belfast prior to 1845. They then assess the official response to the crisis by the British government, the response by the Church in both England and Ireland, and the part played by the local administration in Ulster. The authors examine the impact of the cholera epidemic on Belfast in 1849-50, the city's recovery after the Famine, and the beginnings of open sectarianism among the business and landed classes of the province.
Christine Kinealy is a lecturer in history at the University of Central Lancashire. She is the author of The Great Calamity: The Irish Famine, 1845-52 (Roberts Reinhart, 1994) and The Hidden Famine (Pluto Press, 2000). She has written for History Ireland and the New York-based Irish Echo.
Gerard Mac Atasney is an Irish historian based in Belfast who has written widely on the Great Famine in Ireland. He is the author of The Other Famine (The History Press, 2010) and The Hidden Famine (Pluto Press, 2000).
Introduction
Part I. The ‘Old’ Poor Law c. 1640-1845
1. Poverty before the Famine
Part II. A National Crisis. c.1845-47
2. A Man-Made Famine
3. All the Horrors of Famine
4. An Droch-Shaol . Disease and Death in Black ‘47
Part III. A Divided Town
5. Public and Private Responses
6. Conflict and Rebellion.
7. The Crisis is Passed
Aftermath
Appendices
Further Reading
Index
eBook ISBN: 9781783715855
140mm x 216mm