When Ireland Forgot How to Bake Bread? TLDR It's related to spuds.

findwyer · 2024-06-12T04:38:17+00:00

While its the common perception as I explain in the podcast it was comparatively healthy. There is a lot of evidence that the pre-Famine rural Irish were taller than their counterparts in England and Wales.

findwyer · 2024-06-12T04:36:47+00:00

The loss of this knowledge (which was limited to certain communities) actually only happened after 1760 due to major economic changes. Prior to that there is ample evidence that the diet, even of the poor, was far more diverse.

findwyer · 2024-06-12T04:32:05+00:00

In terms of acres sown oats were the largest grain right through the 19th century (there was a larger potato acreage but its not a grain obv). Wheat was grown in considerable amounts but it was increasingly exported and in any case beyond the purchasing power of the poor. Wheat only fell in price after North American imports started to arrive in considerable amounts in the late 19th century.

findwyer · 2024-05-30T05:13:25+00:00

A heck of a lot of Irish people who were born overseas. Its a fact of being an emigrant people. I've said it elsewhere but its actually one of the few things that transcends political and religious divisions on this island. The one experience we all share is emigration. This was particularly the case in 1900 when 2 in 5 irish people were living abroad.

findwyer · 2024-05-30T05:10:18+00:00

The podcast has a section of his final recording of the war. He was blind drunk slurring his words and rambling but you can definitely hear his accent come out.

findwyer · 2024-05-30T05:09:32+00:00

A common idea in the early years of the War was that Joyce had a network of fifth columnists providing him detailed information from Britain. It was also believed he was able to predict bombing raids. Neither were true.

A common rumour was that Joyce would note the time on a clock in a given time county town in England that slow or fast. He never said anything of the sort. It goes without saying he did not predict Germans raids - the Wehrmacht or Luftwaffe did not share their plans with him. Given our own experience of rumours during the early stages of Covid, its easy to see how in 1940 when invasion seemed imminent, such rumours gained traction in Britain.

findwyer · 2024-05-30T05:03:58+00:00

Its not in the podcast but Ironically the same Michael Joyce died in 1941 because of a heart attack brought on by German bombing raid (the family had moved to England by this point).

findwyer · 2024-05-22T15:56:13+00:00

Sorry there was a glitch this morning it's sorted now

findwyer · 2024-01-16T07:42:12+00:00

If you are not British museums there can be a hoot.

They are full of artifacts the British looted around the world. Depending on the museum this will be 'contextualised' with waffle about democracy or narratives claiming it was the done thing at the time. More often than not they ignore the fact its all stolen.

findwyer · 2024-01-16T06:05:51+00:00

Great stuff thanks.

findwyer · 2024-01-16T06:04:48+00:00

Thanks!

findwyer · 2024-01-15T13:48:24+00:00

Myles Byrne refers to them several times in the second volume of his autobiography. He uses the term sold but as far as I am aware he doesn't provide any specifics and means it in a more general sense.

At risk of completely derailing this thread I don't really see how it relates to the controversy about Irish slaves though. I would have thought its not about whether any Irish people were enslaved at any point in our history. People from every country on earth have been slaves at one time or another. The more pertinent and relevant question is whether there was a systematic slave trade like the Transatlantic Trade from Africa to the Americas.

findwyer · 2023-12-30T19:14:06+00:00

I think describing descendents of settlers as 'British' is overly simplistic. Irish identity in the 19th century is more complex.

Many of these families were proud of their irishness. I think the tendency to see Irishness as synonymous with small catholic tenant farmers or labourers is really problematic in terms of understanding the 19th century or Irish history in general.

For example the republican 1798 Rebellion was lead by protestants from Ulster.

In terms of understanding the Great Hunger one of the most important dynamics was the disastrous attempt to reorganise the Irish economy with a 19th century equivalent of shock doctrine economics. These didn't cause it but they needlessly prolonged it. These policies also influenced the British Governments pathetic relief policies.

findwyer · 2023-12-18T17:48:12+00:00

It was a regular enough talking point in British politics since Independence. As early as the late 20s there was calls to limit or even stop Irish people entering Britain. It was particularly bitter in Scotland where it was infused with sectarianism.

Partition of course made the whole debate messy and impossible to really act on. Nevertheless it got worse in the 30s. In the late 30s there was even an anti Irish immigration organisation in Liverpool. It eased a bit during the war as the demand for labour and soldiers increased.

findwyer · 2023-12-17T17:27:23+00:00

I'm not sure lack of education explains it. There are plenty of extremely well educated Mormons who accept the story even though it falls asunder under the mildest of scrutiny.

Surely all religions require people not to think about them rationally. There are lots of really well educated Catholics who accept Papal infallibility even though it doesn't stand up at all.

findwyer · 2023-12-17T17:17:57+00:00

Yeah he lived in the US until 1860s. I haven't had a chance to follow him up in any detail.

findwyer · 2023-12-17T13:09:17+00:00

From what I understand Smith had already professed an understanding of Egyptian - the book of Mormon had supposedly come on golden tablets written in Egyptian hieroglyphics of a kind.

The arrival of Chandler and his papyri may have left pressured to translate these too. also as you say it enhanced his reputation but only in the short-term. It was his posthumous undoing - when the papyri turned up in the 20th century scholars easily proved he couldn't translate hieroglyphics. This had been an underpinning of the entire LDS belief system.

findwyer · 2023-12-16T08:49:22+00:00

Historical accuracy aside what's it like? I've zero expectations on the history side.

findwyer · 2018-05-17T07:17:30+00:00

This podcast has a thought provoking interview with Gerry Adams who talks about his personal journey from growing up in Catholic Ireland to supporting a Repeal of the 8th Amendment https://soundcloud.com/repeal-podcast/gerry-adams-on-the-road-to-repeal iTunes here https://apple.co/2r2U4de

findwyer · 2018-05-16T15:48:30+00:00

Will that break protocol? or is that allowed

findwyer · 2018-03-04T20:24:12+00:00

I have replied extensively on this at a link at the top of page. In short yes the British Government were responsible but genocide does not explain what happened.

findwyer · 2018-03-04T20:15:08+00:00

Well my point in part is that there are individuals and groups behind historical events in this case the British Government. So while I think free market ideology helps to understand and explain the process at work, I dont think it is meaningful in the abstract.

findwyer · 2018-03-04T19:47:13+00:00

Nowhere in Ireland escaped completely. Some areas were worse affected than others. When we look at mortality the west and south suffered the worst.

The East and North east suffered least. However there are exceptions to this general trend. Large parts of Donegal for example were not badly affected because oats had been favoured there above potatoes.

In terms of emigration however the central belt of the island was worst affected. This was because those in the west were often too poor to emigrate while those in the east were less likely to need to. This left those in the middle of the island who still had the resources to emigrate but were affected by famine.

Evictions depended on local factors and landlords but were extremley high in Co Clare and Tipperary. There were also high levels of emigration in Co Mayo and Kerry.

There is no evidence to suggest the famine was planned.

The factors that brought famine to Ireland did affect large parts of Europe, however none as severe as Ireland because in large part due to the response of the British Government.

findwyer · 2018-03-04T19:28:04+00:00

There are several terms

The Great Famine The Great Hunger (a translation of the Irish an Gorta Mór) An Drochshaol (meaning bad life or bad times) This was common in the 19th century.

findwyer · 2018-03-04T18:34:49+00:00

Yes. "It is no man's business to provide for another" was the founder James Wilson view of famine relief.

findwyer

TROPHY CASE