During the Great Hunger of the 1840s, one million Irish perished from starvation and hunger-related diseases. However, Ireland is surrounded by some of the best fishing grounds in Europe. This begs the question: why didn't the Irish turn to the sea to survive?

Some have argued that our ancestors didn't know how to fish or that they didn't like fish. The answer is, unsurprisingly, a little more complicated.

This podcast delves into the complex historical, economic, and social factors that contributed to the tragic paradox of people starving in a sea of plenty.


All 23 chapters of my book Life in Medieval Ireland is available for show supporters on Patreon here https://www.patreon.com/posts/life-in-medieval-116757407.


(If you support the show on Acast+ I will post the book tomorrow. Its a little tricky to post 23 chapters without clogging up your feed!)

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/irishhistory.


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