Postcard
Collection object
2005.0015
H. 11.4 W. 19.5
Postcard, b/w. Title at bottom right "Main St. Killaloe, Co. Clare". View looking down the street from about mid point with Cathedral in background; a small knot of onlookers by lane entrance at right, with another small group by cart further downhill to right, several people on cross road at bottom looking up. Reverse printed in black; at bottom left "The potato crop, or its failure was responsible for Ireland's worst disaster of/ all time. In the early 1840's the country's 9 million population were hard/ pressed paying rent to their English landlords with cereal crops. For their/ own survival they depended almost completely on the humble spud./ Thus in 1845 when that crop was seen to have been completely destroyed by/ a blight, the nation was devastated. Over two million people died in the years/ following as a direct result of the Great Famine, and an equal number scraped/ together the £5 single fare to the New World to find a more bearable life./ The resilient 4.5 million people who stayed at home were to be rewarded with/ a breathtaking part in the country's history- The Industrial Revolution"; to right box for stamp and five address lines.