The period in Ireland between approximately 1845 and 1852 is
commonly referred to as the Irish Famine. However, although
the potato crop failed during those years, there was an abundance
of food in the country. Much of this food was produced to feed
a rapidly growing British empire, and so it was destined for the
export market. The poor were totally reliant on the potato crop for
survival, and when that crop failed, they faced years of starvation,
disease, and displacement. This is why in the Irish language we
more accurately refer to this time as “an Gorta Mór”, or “the
Great Hunger”. It is perhaps this collective trauma that has helped
the Irish empathize so strongly with the plight of Palestinians,
especially as they endure imposed starvation and displacement in
the wake of the October 7th attacks by Hamas