Famine

These figures stand on the river Liffey to commemorate the great potato famine of the 1840's. They are taller than life size which makes them seem thinner and more haunting. It is thought that a million people died of starvation and over 1 million fled when the potato crops were blighted. My ancestors must have been affected as they were around at the time and were farmers but I have no details.
To this day (in our part of the country anyway) potatoes aren't really produced and 80% are imported. They are also quite expensive compared to England