Before and After the Great Famine (population density per 100 acres, 1841-1851) https://www.rte.ie/history/post-famine/2020/1116/1178465-before-and-after-the-famine-an-interactive-map/

“We have not too much population.” Richard Allen’s account of the Famine in Ireland (1847) https://limerick1914.medium.com/we-have-not-too-much-population-c4d138aae498

“Ireland, the land of oppression and famine — and yet Ireland, rich in soil to a proverb, abounding in wealth — Ireland made rich by God, but made poor by man...”

“...a watchword must spread far and wide. The land — gift of the Almighty to all, must no longer be held in the grasp of the few.”

Today the total population of Ireland is approx 6.6 million people (2016 census), which still leaves it around 1.6 million (or almost 20%) lower than it was in 1841.

I still struggle to comprehend the degree to which my home parish of Youghalarra was decimated during the Famine and its aftermath.

Its population dropped from 3321 souls in 1841 to just 1594 in 1851.

The number of families reduced by over *50%* from 591 to 289.

The class aspect of this social destruction is brought into stark relief at a local level when you consider that the number of families living in 4th class housing in the parish dropped from approx 44% in 1841 to just 13% in 1851.