* There was no 'Great Famine' in Ireland because there was plentiful supplies of food. There was in fact a starvation. The death of a hundred thousand people is a great famine. The death of over one million people is a catastrophic famine. Ref: The International Criminal Court – The Hague. See genocide convention definition.
* Why were 3 million of the Irish race dependent on the potato crop?
* The legality of the evictions of 250,000 Irish families during and after the famine.
* The cause of 300,000 deaths in the workhouses and the failure of the British government to respond to this crisis.
* The identification and mapping of the mass famine grave sites throughout Ireland.
* Food exports and other agricultural products - huge amounts of food including eggs, butter, bacon, pork, beef, wheat, corn, barley, oats, vegetables, fruit, alcohol, leather and a large range of other products were escorted to the Irish ports by British regiments which were stationed all over Ireland with British ports as their destination.
* The 1801 Act of Union resulting in the loss of government in Ireland created the political chaos and lack of concern from London which meant there could be no proper response to the great famine.
* Mental Health…Ireland had the highest number of people per capita in mental health institutions in post famine Ireland and in particular in the 1950's relative to the rest of the world.
* The study of Intergenerational Trauma as a result of the great famine and the effects of the organised removal of 2 million of the Irish race.
* Research into the Irish colonial experience, especially in the context of post colonialism.
* The study of Epigenetics with relevance to health outcomes in the Irish population as a result of the famine.
* Detailed research of the Great Famine, in particular the structural causes and to assist in the modern understanding of global famine and starvation.
* The eventual establishment of a database to support our diaspora in the understanding of their own personal history related to the famine.
* To create and develop a deeper relationship with our diaspora and all of the Irish race around the globe.
* Research into the life, wellbeing and death of the Irish passengers on the coffin ships and into the mass graves located in the United States and Canada.
Can you help support the Institute’s work and research?
Contact: Director Mr Emmanuel Sweeney LL.B Law
Donate: Click here to donate to the Irish Great Famine Research Institute
