Why Ireland Has Fewer People Than 200 Years Ago

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[@jackhanafin]

Being Irish and knowing the full story, I have one big issue with this otherwise very well made video. It fails to fully explain why we were so dependent on potatoes, when we actually farmed a large variety of food types at the time. Oats, barley, meat and more were all being plentifully produced on the island during the famine - all were forced exports to Great Britain. Cheap spuds were the mainstay of the Irish due to general poverty under British rule and lack of time and resources for homestead farming. This dependency on potatoes was artificial, a result of the demands of colonial rule. Food was continually robbed from the island even as we starved - 'starving in the midst of plenty' is a quote taken from a sympathetic landowner of the time. While this video acknowledges to a degree the British role played in the starvation of the Irish during the 1840s, it actually understates it, and in so doing suggests that it was Irish short-sightedness or, even worse, laziness that led to an over-reliance on a single crop type. The Irish have been master farmers for centuries upon centuries, and although new to the potato as a crop, would have been well aware of the dangers of putting all their eggs in one basket, so to speak. They simply had no choice but to do so.

[@samsungphone-fw2hc]

Extremely well put young jack not to mention what has happened since, I come from crossmaglen

[@lukelyons7255]

Exactly the point in my comment also. Well said Jack.

[@quintdegourd6342]

Exactly, the English landed gentry was in power and saw an opportunity to expand its holdings and further enrich themselves. Who cares about people below 'the cut'? No ruling class has been as hypocrite as the English toffs and still is. They did it again in 2016 by fooling people into Brexit from which the wealthy profit immensely. And again in 2022, grabbing billions in the midst of an extreme crisis for the non-wealthy. Dumbdumb Truss was fooled and now went full Trumpian with her tax bill.

[@quintdegourd6342]

The Irish would have done better agriculturally if they would have teamed up with the Dutch. But unfortunately, the Irish are Roman Catholic to the hilt and Roman Catholic countries are notorious for underdevelopment as there is something wrong with that church (I don't know what, probably the way it is organised, for the faith itself is OK) that keeps people stupid and down. You see this in every R-C country of the world.

[@Haru-nee]

I'm not surprised. Britain did that with all its colonies. Who cares if there's a famine, right?

[@liamcullen5105]

As an Irishman my myself I can say that the great famine was one of the greatest tragedies that ever happened in Europe… some would even call it an attempted genocide

[@patrickbutsmart]

Due to one of the main reason for why the famine happened being legal reason (britain) it is fair to say a genocide.

[@50TNCSA]

The English attempted genocide... I'm shocked I say shocked / heavy sarcasm

[@becomingachristian]

I’m sure the monarchy has taken full credit for this and worked to rectify its history

[@avshzjkncffj8652]

@@Felixxxxxxxxx The difference is the government (the British government) did nothing to help us. They let us starve because they thought we deserved it. We owe more to the Turks and to the Chocotaw then we ever do to the British.

[@clashwithdaragh]

So true, even the 1916 rising, the troubles or the cromwellian war don't compare to the devastation that was the famine

[@vladpetric7493]

Irish GDP per capita tends to abstract away the "pass-through" economy problem. Essentially, the Republic of Ireland is perhaps the best entry point into the European Union economy, primarily (but not only) because of really low taxes. A lot of goods and services enter into Ireland only to be sold to the rest of the EU. GDP is going to be artificially high, but the benefits to the Irish economy and people are tiny.

[@richl6966]

Yes, there are a lot of big firms based in Dublin that do nothing for Dublin as a city, let alone the country as a whole.

[@petergibson2318]

A 2019 UN "Quality of Life Index" of all countries ranked Ireland as having the 2nd best "Quality of Life" in the world. Only oil-rich Norway scored better. No country is perfect ...but... being ranked the 2nd best place to live in the world by the UN must mean something. Happy New Year from Ireland.

[@WhatTheFunK.]

It’s no longer a republic but rather a woke democratic system.

[@bu7833]

yeah this is kinda poorly researched for this video and dissappointing

[@aluminiumknight4038]

@@richl6966 but does provide jobs for your people?

[@pancake_ghosty]

You missed out on an important figure, Thomas Malthus. He was a Welsh economist who theorized that Ireland was overpopulated in 1794, thus leading to the action of forcefully withdrawing food from the Irish by the British army, causing a famine. Malthus actually coined the term "overpopulation", that we now use today. He wrote an essay titled, "A Principle on The Theory of Population" in the late 1700's where the term was first used. In it, he theorized that populations can be controlled through war, famine or disease. I would recommend everyone read it. Malthus is often quoted by some political figureheads today which is a bit concerning to me, personally. Klaus Schwab wrote a a dissertation in 1964 regarding controversial Malthusian ideas, here's the title of that, "Thomas Malthus was right and I can prove it." Some governments still seem to be on board with the idea of controlled famine, so what happened to Ireland doesn't seem to be ancient history. It may even be regarded by some as a blueprint for successful depopulation.

[@hattielankford4775]

Are you saying that the British government intentionally committed genocide on Ireland's population?

[@oscaralegre3683]

definitely there are governments that want to depopulate the world nowadays

[@AB-fo3hj]

That's a silly theory, the population is the biggest drive of the economy. In Ireland case, the stupid or cruel British laws are to blame

[@MiloManning05]

@@AB-fo3hj you know nothing of the true intentions

[@AB-fo3hj]

@@MiloManning05 it saddens me when white nations are put in collision with each other, instead of synergizing. Analyzing these instances (of clashing) is very important

[@devanman7920]

As an irish person I find it absolutely baffling how there were more Irish than Egyptians in the 19th century. Ireland are doing well now but it's been a combination of hard work and smart thinking. We were poor as crap up until the 90s. While we come across very jovial at times scratch below the surface and there is still a lot of pain.

[@IchBinDerTitan]

Well we weren’t too bad off since the early 70s, it’s just the 90s when we got rich

[@Mbwunion]

Now it’s the rising cost of living putting downward pressure on population growth

[@RealEngineering]

Generational trauma runs deep in Ireland

[@bighands69]

Ireland is wealthier today because it abandoned the idea of government socialism and adapted free market thinking but it has a welfare state mentality. And slowly that welfare state is eating up all of the great market gains Ireland achieved.

[@newjerseyselfdefense6199]

Look at how much arable land Egypt does not have

[@brendanl8390]

My grandparents left Ireland in 1961, they said there were no economic opportunities for them at home. They're amazed at how much the country has grown since

[@MarsJenkar]

Seems they left as the island's situation was scraping rock bottom, and about to finally take a turn for the better.

[@Declan_Moriarty]

Oh wow. That's my family's story too. My grandparents left the homeland in the late 50's, settled in the Bronx, NY. God bless

[@IchBinDerTitan]

Same thing happened to my grandparents and my my grandaunts and uncles, but luckily my grand parents ended up moving back after 20 years. But since my grand aunts and uncles didn’t I have a lot of American/English/Welsh relatives

[@brendenmcmahon2023]

Me too- did they go to the USA or Canada?

[@arolemaprarath6615]

So sad that Irish language is now extinct

[@jstone247]

My great-grandmother x3 came to Australia 1849. She was a famine orphan. Came through the Earl Gray transport system. She had a hard life, had 11 children and I thank her for giving me a life. I've been to Ireland,and I hope to return one more time. The Irish are truly welcoming people.

[@christophercolumbus8944]

how many children do you have?

[@jstone247]

@@christophercolumbus8944 five. And five grandchildren.

[@christophercolumbus8944]

@@jstone247 excellent good for you

[@christophercolumbus8944]

i hope theyre all full blooded irish

[@alis.b.4631]

@@christophercolumbus8944 That doesn't really matter.

[@jasonquigley2633]

One important thing to point out, Ireland's gdp is distorted by the presence of large American multinationals. The Irish government posts figures that exclude these distortions, and these numbers indicate that while Ireland is wealthy, its roughly in line with other parts of Western/Northern Europe.

[@jamesmason8944]

Exactly, his statistics gloss over what is the reality. One reality being young people unable to purchase homes and high rental rates.

[@occamraiser]

Corporation Tax farming is a major income stream for ireland - that's why it dropped its rates to bring HQs from europe to irl.

[@jamisojo]

I was thinking the same thing. A distorted statistic.

[@Mei_1453]

The most amazing thing about Ireland is how they turned their history into a positive by helping other countries who struggle with hunger, I love the Irish!

[@kitkat47chrysalis95]

how can you love them? they are white colonizers

[@tacotuesday2489]

Cool

[@himynameis3664]

That's why you see a lot of Palestinian support here aswell. We understand how wrong it is to hold an entire population hostage in their own country.

[@derekbolger8330]

Thanks

[@tacotuesday2489]

@@himynameis3664 Oh yeah hundred percent.. Cant believe after what the jews were through theyd do the exact same thing without a second thought..

[@niamhl6964]

You did a great job with this video! I'm a 22 year old Irish woman, I've lived in Mayo in the West of Ireland (which was one of the counties that suffered the most during the famine) for my entire life, and I can absolutely still see the great effects the famine has on the people. The tiny road I live on, which is barely a kilometre long, used to have 100 people living along it. Now there are less that 40. There have been studies to suggest that current generations are still effected by the feeling of starvation and scarcity mindset that means that our bodies actually hold onto more calories than average. It can be hard to find records of our ancestors, as so many moved abroad and brought their documentation with them. I know maybe 4 people who speak fluent Irish, but that's only because they grew up in Gaeltacht areas, where most people speak Irish on a day-to-day basis in their communities. Most of my peers would regard the famine as a genocide. Although the overreliance on potatoes was real, other crops still existed and would have kept us afloat if the English didn't insist on exporting them. It's true that the average Irish male ate approx. 20 potatoes A DAY, but we did have other food available. During the famine, people resorted to eating grass, hedgehogs, all sorts of stuff because they were so desperate. Some of the quotes from English leaders at the time about the famine are actually appalling and downright heartless. They had no problem stripping the lands of its resources, helping out their own English landlords, and leaving the Irish to starve. No wonder we still have bitterness towards the English.

[@NashvilleUK]

Bit dumb singling out the English when it was the British government in control

[@niamhl6964]

@@NashvilleUK Scotland and Wales were colonised by the English. So I think blaming the individual coloniser, the English, over the British as a whole, makes more sense

[@zakcullen6124]

Despite all that happened, in schools they never call it a genocide, to avoid anti British sentiment. We are a nation that experienced immense tragedy whether it be under the British as well as under our own catholic church and laundries. Hopefully as we begin to thrive we can be a good example to other nations.

[@hotbeefo]

@@niamhl6964 Scotland joined the union voluntarily.

[@cheesebuger13]

My grandmother is from Mayo, she immigrated to the states in the 50's. She told me about the effects of the famine as well.

[@dancommadirty]

My father's family came to the New World from Ireland during the Famine in the 1840s and worked as fur traders in Canada before making their way down to the states. My mother's family, however, stayed, only leaving for the states during the political unrest and economic turmoil leading up to the Troubles in the 1950s. I'm still astounded by the way they were able to find each other. While my father's family had slowly begun to let go of their heritage as they became Americanized, only preserving certain cultural artifacts and celebrations tangentially during holidays, my mother's family fought to hold onto their heritage and worked to instill a great sense of pride in us as we grew up. I still have a lot of family members in Ireland who, as you mentioned, moved across the island from counties Mayo and Galway to Dublin in the decades after the Famine. It was through hard work and a great sense of national pride that they stayed on the island through the war for independence, the Troubles, and even today with Brexit raising major red flags with regards to the ROI/NI border. While I don't think this video was necessarily a perfect history of the Famine, it's good to see people continuing to speak about it both through the lenses of historical fact and as a major influence of the modern day. Erin go Bragh! ☘

[@jamestoh2519]

It's time to fight off British rule

[@aboutlivvy]

BRITISHHHHHHHHHH

[@nickiemcnichols5397]

Maybe the Irish are too smart to overpopulate.

[@icosthop9998]

@@nickiemcnichols5397 yes

[@drumtheraver9452]

I'm from Great Britain, I feel saddened that our government did that and feel very sympathetic towards Ireland, our government should be sending over serious amounts of compensation

[@suetrublu]

Your content is so interesting and inspiring!

[@madjames1134]

During the Famine, Ottoman Sultan sent three ships loaded with wheat. The British blocked the ports for them, but one of the ships managed to drop the cargo at a beach close to Drogheda, it helped local starving fisherman.

[@Karlach_]

People harp on about the messed up stuff the US has done but completely ignore the evil shit England has been doing for centuries

[@JohnnyDoh]

That Sultan probably saved lots of lives. And even more if not for the English. Thank you from a Irish American and thank you for this story 🙏

[@lasakau272]

Lies lol

[@jamescurtis9634]

@@lasakau272 No, truth in that one. The Drogheda football team even have a crescent moon on their jerseys in honour of it. Worth a look, and if you're interested in outside help to Ireland check the Choctaw Nation from the USA, amazing solidarity

[@katemarin8363]

@@jamescurtis9634 Glad you mentioned the Choctaw- Their numbers were literally decimated, having just struggled to their new, bare land over the "Trail of Tears." Yet their hearts were so touched by this evil, they sent almost $100 (which was clearly worth far more then than now) to those suffering in Ireland. I will always have a warm place in my heart for the Choctaw.

[@Daigotsumax]

I've lived in Ireland for the past 13 years, and it's fascinating to think of how the country would have looked had it not suffered the famine and reached the 20+ millions you indicated. Instead of just Belfast and Dublin we might have had other large cities, perhaps in Cork, Waterford, Limerick, or Galway.

[@somerandomperson3970]

The world would suffer. Remember, the Irish had the 3rd largest voting population in the US. Without them, most nations would still be a colony after WW2.

[@itsjonathanbitch]

If you look at the population spread from 1800, it’s seems most populated areas where mid north east. I’d say we could have had a few mega city’s up the east coast, like Dublin, in Drogheda and Dundalk leading up to Northern Ireland city’s.

[@Abhinav_Sengupta]

A city like Dublin would have been a metropolis.

[@mycelia_ow]

@@somerandomperson3970 US would have been better for it too, if the famine did not happen. We're talking about a massive butterfly effect here that gets stronger the more time goes on. By the time ww2 comes around people who wouldn't have otherwise been born in Ireland could end up changing the geopolitical landscape as we know it, long before ww2. Perhaps Ireland annexes England or becomes their equal in power. Many possibilities.

[@closki226]

@@mycelia_ow England will always be part of Ireland with Northern Ireland

[@kyt-brawlstars]

Love your content bro you're an absolute legend

[@nmn9166]

As an Irish person settled in Norway with Norwegian family I can say that the need to emigrate is still very high in Ireland . Modern issues mostly revolve around housing , we can’t get that right even after the worlds worst housing crash the world has seen.

[@apjpisared]

Sure even those of us looking at a year or two back are eyeing up Belfast. The Republic is no place to risk being homeless/living out of grossly overpriced short term lets or airbnbs while looking for work. Even those living back there still, many have moved up North from what I see.

[@Patterrz]

As a Brit, what England did do Ireland is heart breaking, it's not something we learn about in schools very much which is a crime, we need to hear about the consequences of Empire more often

[@WinterIsBestSeason69]

its not a crime though its completely irrelevant

[@oliverleonard7730]

True it's not a crime, but we should and could have done a lot more to help the Irish than we did.

[@glandersonbooper9342]

@@WinterIsBestSeason69 I agree with your name. It's almost that time of year! We already have snow in the mountains where I live.

[@WinterIsBestSeason69]

@@glandersonbooper9342 mhm, 9 full months without summer is quite nice

[@gibbo7879]

​@@WinterIsBestSeason69 The UK is happy to call what Russia did in Holodomor a genocide but what they did in Ireland and Bengal isn't?

[@RealEngineering]

Fun fact: I helped paint the graffiti on the building at 0:18. Finbar McHugh is the artists name!

[@brickmedusa]

Never thought I'll see you here

[@simonsaysno]

Real Engineering and RealLifeLore should form a team and challenge Sam to do another Jet Lag: The Game.

[@some_guy7734]

Hi Real Engineering :D

[@hubertmenschubermensch2985]

Real Engineering helped paint graffiti featured in b roll footage of the footage explaining how our population is small... Forget the video, that shows how small we are lmao

[@Rmx2011]

Nice, that's a cool piece of art.

[@robbieirish]

Enjoyed this. Thanks

[@georgeyoung8450]

Thank you , it's well made and a step forward.

[@Kalvinism]

As a young Irish lad from Dublin, I have to say that this is one of the best summaries of recent Irish history that I've seen, and way more consumable than hisory class. I want Ireland to do great, and I primarily want the Irish language to grow. This video has reminded me how important this country and this language are to me and other Irish people. Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam. Go raibh míle maith agat don físean seo! Tiocfaidh ár lá!

[@grandebadidea7689]

Can you tell me why are Irish so rich, the GDP per capita omg?

[@centurymemes1208]

Cope, seethe. Rule britannia 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@katherinelennon668]

I agree I really hope the Irish language will flourish again someday. I am an American with Irish grand parents so it’s difficult for me to learn Irish. But if I had the opportunity I absolutely would!

[@danielbentham758]

@@grandebadidea7689 because corporations register there for tax purposes pushing it up massively. Its inflated

[@dhanvi-shah]

Dia duit!

[@irishpatronimo5875]

Nowadays it’s not a shortage of food, it’s a shortage of housing. Right now we aren’t able to keep a roof over the heads of our homeless, refugees and sometimes even students. Definitely a problem we’ll have to work hard to tackle over the next decade or so

[@darkMuffin31]

How do you rationalize a country where new housing is always being built and the average family has 1.38 children also has a housing crisis? Seems obvious that the problem isn’t housing…

[@conallmccabe385]

@@darkMuffin31 do some research before you comment, it’s not just the fact that there are little houses being built, it’s the extortionate price of rent that landlords are charging meaning young people and worse off families are unable to have their own home.

[@eugeniabarsukova]

@@darkMuffin31 there's a video by Foil, Arms and Hog: "Why you'll never buy a house in Ireland"

[@MichaelDavis-mk4me]

@@conallmccabe385 But they couldn't charge a lot if loads of houses were built, increasing competition between landlords. The same thing is happening in Canada, I loan my house, it used to be very hard to find people that wanted an apartment, but now that there are no houses being built and no apartments left, I crank up the prices, just like everyone else since there is no competition. That and rising interest rates mean the house costs more, which is then passed on the people loaning. Landlords don't do charity, welcome to the real world.

[@ElectrostatiCrow]

@@darkMuffin31 Well if I remember correctly I read that Ireland and the UK have enough house for all their homeless and about 10% of houses in London for example are vacant because people who buy real estate do that to push up prices and profit.

[@jojokhan-ps3ye]

it's kind of sad that the Irish population is declining. i visited Ireland back in 2015 with a few friends and honestly the Irish are the sweetest and funniest people ever and the landscape is so sooo breathtaking. hope to visit soon. love from Pakistan.

[@Seactor]

Excellent video bro

[@peterdcrowley]

As an Irishman this was a well put together summary of the whole issue. Well done.

[@Mr.Noob1]

@@abcxyz2927 You do know that increased abortion rights don't decrease the size of a population. Also why bring this subject into this?

[@xotan]

@@abcxyz2927 Are you Irish? Do you know the second horror that beset our poverty stricken island? Have you checked the number of clergy who died of starvation during the Great Famine? Are you aware of the state within the state? Ultramontanism? . An aristocratic clergy who owed its allegiance to Rome, not to Ireland? We had two battles for freedom, one against the British. Guess what was the second one! Do you know the song "The fields of Athenry" whose composer died a matter of a few weeks ago? It's about the Great Famine. We Irish have long memories, and although generally polite, do not forget or easily forgive those whose loyalty was not focused entirely on our land. "We serve neither King nor Kaiser, ( nor any other foreign potentate) But Ireland". Now tell me, what did the Papal States do for the starving millions in Ireland? Sweet Fanny Adams, although the Vatican was/is rich.

[@MoreGeography]

@@xotan That guy didn’t mention the clergy at all though? What was the long rant for?

[@DIEKALSTER8]

He didn't include the population of Northern Ireland in the modern picture, but it was included in the older ones?

[@Mr.Noob1]

@@abcxyz2927 The median age of Ireland was 37.4 in 2016, that's where you are right. But how did you come up with 40.2? in 2021 it was 38.25 and in 2022 it is 38.2, so it's currently sinking slightly, which btw is good in comparison to the rest of europe.

[@chad_b]

I'm a Canadian of Irish descent. My ancestors came to Canada because of the famine. I find this stuff fascinating. I really want to go to Ireland some day

[@alanbudde8560]

Its beautiful, highly recommend! Scotland too!

[@Lando-kx6so]

You can get Irish citizenship & live there if you want

[@robertcarter4722]

@@alanbudde8560 SCOOTLAND FOREVER lol I agree, thoughts on nicola?

[@chad_b]

@@alanbudde8560 Scottish is the second biggest chunk of my heritage so I'd love to go there too

[@chad_b]

@@Lando-kx6so I've actually thought about that before. It might be kind of cool to start over somewhere and return to my ancestral land

[@MrStephendavy]

Thanks for the video RealLifeLore from the native Irish people like me.

[@DaBlackHeat]

Can you do one like this for Jamaica regarding the slow population growth. This is Very informative. Thank you.

[@akihiro6635]

As an asian, I was always wondering why so many people in the US have Irish ancestry but I found the answer today. Thank you for a nice video!

[@attiladahunk8211]

@ Ui Chroinin Did you have a stroke when writing this?

[@georgeiii2998]

@Ui Chroinin He/she said that they knew the answer.

[@kobemop]

most americans are germans, but yes there are lots of irish

[@v.e1374]

@@kobemop that's not even true idk where u got that from

[@brownjatt21]

@@v.e1374 if You break down the white population by race there's more of German ancestry than Irish in the US. There's probably more English tbh but a lot of English Americans had been here so long they just started marking down American in the census after that option was opened up so it's hard to know exactly.

[@rossedwardmiller]

When I visited, I was shocked at how sparsely populated Ireland is and how small it’s cities are compared to the US. Crazy to think how culturally important and popular Ireland is vs how small the population is. The people there are incredible and were very friendly.

[@mrcaboosevg6089]

Only culturally important and popular in the US, the rest of the world really doesn't notice Ireland exists. i'm 20% Irish and i don't really care about Irish culture at all

[@guysumpthin2974]

Mostly,They’re incredibly wise with high family values and great work ethic (for those who stay out of the pubs)

[@yoyoholck]

Nah families are mostly completely broken.

[@Isjshdkskskajsj]

@bab ep3 Irish culture is also popular and culturally important in my country Japan, not just in U.S. Try searching about significance of Irish culture around globe, you will be astonished how much significance it has.

[@barryb90]

@bab ep3 There's a massive Irish diaspora in Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand.

[@patricmolin3149]

Great video! I am currently working on an essay regarding Irish language. This video presents a lot of useful facts for my essay! Is there any possibility for me to receive or know the sources you have used in making of this video? Thank you! Love your channel and the work you do.

[@ANNA-nb8jg]

One thing. You failed to say why many of us Irish can't speak Irish fluently. The real reason was the Penal Laws. The Penal Laws applied to Catholic's and Christianity was the main religion on the Island at that time,so it affected practically the whole Island. Penal laws included:No Catholic had the right to attend school,No Catholic could practice Catholism,No Catholic could practice Gaelic Football and Caomogie (girls version of hurling),No Catholic or anybody on the Island could practice Irish/Gaeilge. There are much more rules that I can't list at the top of my head. As a Irish person I try my best to focus on learning Gaeilge and I very proud that I can call Ireland home. P.S. you make awesome video's!

[@OzzyM1998]

As an Irishman I would have loved if Irish was still the main language of the island. I've learned it throughout school but sadly hardly remember any as it isnt widely spoken, especially in the east where I live.

[@X525Crossfire]

From what I've been able to hear, it's a beautiful and unique language (at least within the context of European languages). Really does suck that England is such a sucky overlord.

[@silveriver9]

Economically, Ireland is better off having English as the main language as English is the world's lingua franca and it is one of the main reasons for foreign direct investment.

[@OzzyM1998]

@@silveriver9 That is certainly true! It would just be nice to have our own language I believe. I am also envious of the fact that the majority of Europeans are bilingual and how they seem to find it much easier to pick up other new languages as they already have experience becoming fluent in a second one.

[@liamcullen5105]

The education system teaches it horribly

[@OzzyM1998]

@@liamcullen5105 Terrible, but no use of it outside of school doesnt help. I'd love to compare it to how English is thought in other countries.

[@limerickscummer]

Greetings from Limerick in the Republic of Ireland. I am a 70s baby growing up in a hugely challenging and changing Ireland. I thoroughly enjoyed watching RealLifeLore breakdown of Irelands turbulent past. The piece was well researched and written by . No real sticky bits. Thanks RealLifeLore.

[@barcodereader]

🇬🇧

[@cro1884]

Yessir fellow limerick brother

[@reece6188]

Excellent video! Even though I’m from just over the water in Scotland and have Irish ancestry it still amazes and saddens me how the famine as well as Britains policies against Ireland, its culture, identity and its people made such an impact. Your video puts it into reality👏🏻 Would love to see your take on the Scottish Highland Clearances. A somewhat similar situation where people were forced off the land and had no choice but to immigrate to America, Canada, Australia etc.

[@jason-gf8dg]

It wasn't just against ireland it was laws for the whole country including England.

[@MarcEastwood]

This video actually shows how badly the famine struck the emerald isle, the graphics and the comparisons help you to understand the HUGE IMPACT it had, congrats 👏

[@quinnodonnell3906]

Love the video, I feel you did the history a justice. One short note though: I feel like it's important to explain why the Irish became dangerously reliant on potatoes, because it wasn't out of choice or ignorance. The vast majority of land used for agriculture production was owned and organized by platantioners from England and worked on by Irish laborers. Most Irish had to grow crops in off seasons or on land considered unsuitable for crop production (except for the amazing potatoes that grow anywhere) when the famine hit, most of these plantationers were concerned about their yields and profits and not the lives of those living and working on their plots, so they sent mercenary tax collectors and farm managers to make sure tenants were still paying dues (or being evicted if they weren't) and still producing their crops. That's why food exports didn't stop during the famine, that's why the whiggs built workhouses instead of provide aid to make sure the Irish were still producing value instead of consuming. In my opinion, it's profit incentivized genocide and should be labeled as such. The same title can be given to the horrific famines during colonial India imo. But we should legitimize this definition of genocide.

[@wainber1]

Ukraine's own Golodomor (aka Holodomor) was also a genocide although collectivization across the Soviet Union was likewise an abject failure.

[@CrabTastingMan]

Yeah I was a bit ticked this video kinda makes it look like Ireland just screwed itself over with eatingn too many potatoes like some dumb pig. I am thoroughly disappointed for this video not showing the oppression of Ireland that has been going on for centuries before this, and outcries of "let the Irish starve, it is their divine punishment" kind of rhetoric that existed during the famine but was certainly far older, as in the 1600s, some English scholars suggested an artificially created starvation to teach the Irish their place. Not to mention numerous attempts to paint Irish as "half-ape subhumans related to half-ape Iberians" etc. to dehumanize and discourage any human sympathy to the residents of the island. The starvation and the refusal to give back what they exploited for centuries by basic relief aid, was just what the English were trying to do for centuries: steal the land and drive out the population. Not to mention the steady decrease in land fertility was at the expense of Ireland but done for the benefit of England. Then of course when the English took everything and some Irish followed it to England, the English will portray this as Irish being spiteful but cannot help but eat off the England's hand. But in actuality more like robbing people and using to build industries with it, then pretending giving mere crumbs of what was stolen that Irish are forced to "work to earn" as "magnanimous ever-sympathetic charity" from the English.

[@CrabTastingMan]

@@wainber1 England killing 7 million people in the Bengal Famine, despite even the viceroyalty objecting Churchill's requisition of Indian grain "for English to eat in case the war drags on for longer." (Churchill ignored the warnings and said something along the lines of "if the famine is so bad, why isn't that rebel Gandhi dead yet?") was tantamount to the 7 million for the dead Ukrainian deaths during the Holodomor. This is why 50,000 Ukrainians fought their oppressor Stalin with Germany's help in the Ostlegionen, and 5,000 Indians even went to Germany to form the Free India Legion to fight the English oppressors.

[@KrishnaSharma-io4ic]

thanks for bringing out the similarities of genocide in India in 19th century and Genocide in Ireland. British were even more evil than Nazis

[@quinsuchor7725]

EXACTLY!! It wasn't a famine--there was food to be eaten, but the Irish weren't allowed to eat it. It all had to be exported. Behind the Bastards did a great 2 parter on this back in April (That Time Britain did a Genocide in Ireland) that goes over all the ways that The Hunger was a genocide and not a famine.

[@lornafarrelly7797]

This is one of the most accurate accounts of the situation we faced here in Ireland. Thank you for drawing attention to the devastation our country suffered.

[@CrabTastingMan]

I am thoroughly disappointed for this video not showing the oppression of Ireland that has been going on for centuries before this, and outcries of "let the Irish starve, it is their divine punishment" kind of rhetoric that existed during the famine but was certainly far older, as in the 1600s, some English scholars suggested an artificially created starvation to teach the Irish their place. Not to mention numerous attempts to paint Irish as "half-ape subhumans related to half-ape Iberians" etc. to dehumanize and discourage any human sympathy to the residents of the island. The starvation and the refusal to give back what they exploited for centuries by basic relief aid, was just what the English were trying to do for centuries: steal the land and drive out the population. Not to mention the steady decrease in land fertility was at the expense of Ireland but done for the benefit of England. Then of course when the English took everything and some Irish followed it to England, the English will portray this as Irish being spiteful but cannot help but eat off the England's hand. But in actuality more like robbing people and using to build industries with it, then pretending giving mere crumbs of what was stolen that Irish are forced to "work to earn" as "magnanimous ever-sympathetic charity" from the English.

[@dusk1673]

Australia and Canada will rule the commonwealth in 100-200 years, UK is next to fall

[@shaundgb7367]

After just watching this, trying to think of what little I know of my family tree. I am in Victoria, Australia but the last person in family tree that came from any other nation was Ireland in 1890s. But before him there were others that line up with this famine period in Ireland. I think the ones that went to Victoria were decades after the famine but also have ancestors that came from Tasmania and some of them were born in Ireland and some must have emigrated from Ireland in this time period as a result of this famine but do not know much about them. But I suspect some went here and others to places like America, Canada and New Zealand and never saw each other again. Never been to Ireland but it would be fascinating to go there one day and imagine what life was like for my ancestors both before and around that period. It is crazy to think how Ireland itself was stunted in growth in this period and how many left those lands and had to start a whole new life on other sides of the world as far away as America and Australia.

[@mhhocane3513]

Love your content 👻

[@veritasvanburen_]

I’m British and I seriously, *seriously* wish this was taught in our schools. Ireland is our next door neighbour, we have similar geographies and ancestries. We should have been natural allies. I’m sorry that the British aristocracy and political class used and used Irish lands like they meant nothing. Great video as always.

[@Racko.]

Sometimes I really think countries really love to leave out major horrible conflicts they did to others out of their education system to keep students from knowing it

[@alcabone1126]

Another one is British rule in India. At least 3 big famines(larger than the Potato famine by deaths, doesn't make any of these famines more important just a comparison. Benghal famine of 1770, Bangalore Famine 1876-8 and the Benghal famine of 1943-44. Largely due to the priority placed on growing cash crops to export to the UK compared to food for Indians.

[@joshwenn989]

@@alcabone1126 The Bengal Famine literally caused by the Japanese invasion of India?

[@adamshatwell8437]

I couldn't agree more here. Whilst we are generally taught about the atrocities caused by and as a result of British imperialism, Ireland in general is barely touched upon despite it essentially being lodged under England's (later Britain's) foot for 800+ years. There's a focus on teaching appreciation of humanity's past mistakes to prevent them from being repeated (transatlantic slave trade, inter-war Germany etc.) and yet our mistreatment of our neighbour was never covered when I was at school, despite the millions of lives lost or ruined as a result. You'd think the comparatively recent troubles would make it even more relevant in context, but apparently not. The actions of those Brits mentioned in the video, as well as others like Oliver Cromwell, are in my opinion completely and utterly despicable and I seriously wish all the best for Ireland as a nation, regardless of whether or not the north reunites with the republic :)

[@maxdavis7722]

@@alcabone1126 I don’t know about the other two famines but the bengal famine in 1943 is not due to the British at all.

[@pebystroll]

As an Irishman this still stings terribly to think about, it's insane the country was so much bigger, at its lowest we got to only 3 million I believe

[@CrabTastingMan]

It's even infuriating, like with India and Pakistan, even as the English were driven out they sowed division in Ireland to make the nation to split apart to delay England from receiving the tiniest fraction of what can be called its just desserts.

[@jonchedgy6654]

@@CrabTastingMan I don't think we sowed division as we were driven out - I think we did it 300 years earlier during the european religious wars.

[@Booz2010]

Ya surname Gonzalez but Irishman 🏄 Cool story bruh💬

[@bristoled93]

@@CrabTastingMan You can't blame the English if south Asians and Irish hate each other, it's not England's fault if Irish protestants and Catholics hate each other or Hindus and Muslims hate each other.

[@pebystroll]

@@bristoled93 wow I wonder if you're biased at all with that profile picture

[@hugowhite1793]

I'm British and it makes me sick what our government did in that period (and still f**king do). At least a national recognition in Britain is in order, if not a full official apology from the royal family. I have never met an Irish person I disliked, and agree that as a nation, it is truly remarkable how much they have given the world, in music particularly. Long live Ireland!

[@peterdoyle1591]

Thanks, Hugo that's a really nice post. We did get an apology of sorts from the Queen when she visited Ireland. She said "things that were done in Ireland which she wished never happened" We'll take it and move on. It's not like the ordinary British people were treated any better in the industrialised city slums of GB. The rich are always fu*king over the hard-working middle class and the poor.

[@mohdadeeb1829]

Tears of Crocodiles. Edit: If a butthurt is still reading this, do not reply. I am tired of this and you will neither get nor deserve any reply from me.

[@mohdadeeb1829]

Apology? What's apology gonna do? That's right! Nothing. Your government comitted massive atrocities in my country India but as an Indian, I would rather have British Government have some dignity than Tears of Crocodiles. Apology for something which happened centuries ago is not going to change anything. If I was a British Person, I would've been extremely ashamed of you. My country is not Innocent BTW, over 400,000 Hyderabadis were killed in the Hyderabad Genocide. I do feel sorry for it but I do not think I am the one who's accountable for that horrific events. I would stand against any form of apology though I will 100% support reparations. This is what I don't like about the modern west. They base their entire Identity around a guilt that happened a long time ago.

[@vladitnt7576]

​​@@mohdadeeb1829 what do you want them to do? Yes, the people who ruled britan a century ago did unspeakable things to India and all the other colonies, but what do you want the modern british population to do? They can't go back in time to stop colonialism and why should they pay for something that they have nothing to do with and that they didn't even ask for? No one can fix the past and that's that. If you don't want an apology from them then there's nothing else they can do for you.

[@mohdadeeb1829]

@@vladitnt7576 I just want everyone to move on just like the Japanese.

[@seancurley441]

First of all it's a well made video, however the narrator seems to talk in a way that what he's saying is absolutely fact which is his first mistake. He's completely wrong about how irish people became largely dependent on potatoes somehow implying that they somehow knew no better and that it was their own choice to become complacent. The truth is that the British forced this diet on the poorer and working classes of the day. Before the potato blight it was common practice for all grains and meats harvested to be taken by the British to be shipped around the empire. Ireland was yielding incredible amounts of food both before the blight, during it, and afterwards. When the blight happened it was seen by the British as an opportunity to thin out the troublesome irish population who had already many many attempts to break away from British rule, most notable at that time was the 1798 rebellion. The British were losing their grip on this valuable island, the blight came at the right time for them. What they did then was possibly the worst crime against humanity in human history even rivalling the holocaust. They simply did nothing and continued to remove food from Ireland and even increased exports under armed guard. They systematically starved my ancestors. There was no famine in Ireland. It was merely a result of tyrannical rule under one of the most evil empires ever to exist. It took 800 years of continuous attempts to free Ireland of Britain, so this video is poorly informed to think that the Irish were some sort of absent minded race of people who just became too reliant on one crop. Also the narrators version of events after the war of independence is the result of lazy research. It's far more complex than what he says. I could go on and on but I'm not going to. I'll just say I wish this guy done more research about my homeland in which I still live. We are a proud race of people with a rich history that can be traced back to ancient times, long before British rule where we built some incredible structures that predate the pyramids. The British almost wrote us out of history, but they didn't succeed, we're still here and we still have our cultural identity and heritage.

[@lovecraftianwalrus4490]

To be honest… I haven’t really watched your videos in a while, but years ago, on a different account, I used to be a HUGE fan. Your tsunami video is still my favourite KZbin video to date. The book you wrote is sitting on my shelf right now, one of my favourite non-fiction books. I watched your 100k, 1 mill and 2 mill QnA’s. It’s crazy coming back to you with 6 mill. I think I’m gonna start watching you consistently again, since I don’t really know why I stopped watching you in the first place. I love your channel!

[@diabolivirtusen-tavares-ea4645]

maybe you didnt turn on post notifications.... maybe u thought u were too good for the channel and us 🤔

[@_Super_Hans_]

Why haven't you watched his videos of you're a 'huge fan'? Obviously not that 'huge'.

[@aquietwhyme]

Edgelord responses to your comment, lulz.

[@eh8706]

I was always drawn to Ireland the green island. 🙂 I hope to visit one day. Greetings fellow humans from Bosnia 🇧🇦

[@grumpofitzgerald4350]

Greetings from Ireland, I've always loved Bosnia and feel we share a history of enduring hardships. I'd love to visit your beautiful country one day. 🇮🇪❤️🇧🇦

[@theresanolan1157]

Cead mile failte

[@aliannarodriguez1581]

It’s very nice, but they need more trees. Also I noticed an astonishing lack of plant diversity even in the wilder areas. I was in the southwestern part of the country.

[@knighty7912]

@@grumpofitzgerald4350 Strange thing I noticed, a lot of us Bosnians feel attracted to Ireland for some reason. Maybe it is our similar histories of hardships? Either way, I hope to visit Ireland aswell some day

[@nollag]

@@aliannarodriguez1581 this is a legacy of our colonial past. Our country was originally covered in wonderful Irish oak, which was felled to build the cities and infrastructure in England. Today, you can visit the Mary Rose or the House of Commons - all built using Irish oak.

[@dougfowler1368]

I have family who left Ireland in the late 1860s or 1870s, The dad coming 1st to find work and then the mom and 11 kids after. Crazy to think the 1st of those kids was born a few years after the famine. Makes me wonder just what kind of stories They had to tell, we have so much more from my great grandma's side than from her husband who is the one of Irish descent.

[@jamestoh2519]

It's time to end British rule

[@stephaniegormley9982]

Both mine and my husband's relatives came here after the Easter uprising of 1916. What I learned from them was to be grateful for the opportunity to live here in the USA. And not to live in the past because 'there's no future in it'

[@anna-gt2mu]

Earea

[@cannabislife1688]

@@stephaniegormley9982 My family immigrated from England on fathers side in the 1920’s . in 1916 my Great Uncle was in the Battle of the Somme. 🇺🇸🇬🇧🩸

[@cannabislife1688]

@@stephaniegormley9982 I too am grateful to live in the United States. My State ( Colorado ) is beautiful 🏔️

[@mpmurfee]

Thanks!

[@dagadgetguy]

My family left during the famine after we were nearly wiped out. I love the Irish, their history, and how they have bounced back in many ways. They are always quick to have sympathy and empathy for others going through struggle and give everything they can. Love you guys, you make me proud and I hope to visit some day 🇮🇪☘️💚

[@vazatimo3000]

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you are doing ok sir.

[@nathanon7177]

@@vazatimo3000 bruh nothing happened to him it was his great great great grandfather

[@OhEidirsceoil]

Do, come visit us👍🇮🇪

[@Karlach_]

@@vazatimo3000 Wtf do you mean? It was his ancestors who suffered, not him. I'm sure he's not starving to death lmao

[@vazatimo3000]

@@Karlach_ I know that I was just saying I'm sorry to hear that. That's all and that I hope he and is Family are doing ok now that's all. Nothing wrong with that

[@federz666]

As someone from (born and raised) Ireland and a fan of this channel, this makes me happy!! It’s good to see our story told.

[@Booz2010]

Cymru am byth

[@Substance2020]

And to remind ourselves of our own story. I deliver goods across all the country and I've seen just how fine the Irish people are in every corner. Obviously you get the scum as in every country but overall some great people. It's no surprise that the Irish have flourished across the world.

[@ardri31]

@Robert Evans No thanks

[@mynym4543]

An important thing to consider with the Famine was how is served the interests of the landlords who wanted to have less tenants on larger farm

[@occamraiser]

it is 'fewer tenants;' not 'less tenants' and grammar isn't the only error in that statement.

[@cushyglen4264]

Not all landlords by any means. Many did their best for their tenants but were victims of the system they inherited. It’s interesting to reflect that the decline of the landed gentry in Ireland began with the 1840s. By the end of the century they were finished. I think the British concluded they were no longer useful agents in governing Ireland. Instead they built up the Catholic Church to a point where they were able to take over after ‘independence’.

[@ismilehossain3588]

@@occamraiser This sounds like something an english person would say.

[@vatnidd]

@@occamraiser "Less" has been used with countable nouns since Old English times (i.e. over 1000 years ago)

[@DreamteamCarlo]

Interesting video, thank you. I am a bit amazed by the tone in the final part of the video, where population growth by itself is portrayed as the obvious way towards a glorious future. The island's population density is only slightly lower than in Spain or Austria, and slightly higher than in Scotland or Croatia. What's wrong with that? Despite the current prosperity / high GDP per capita, the fertility rate is far below 2, so any population growth is purely caused by net immigration. In stead of rushing to over 10 million people and having a rapidly growing GDP in numbers, I hope (N-)Ireland can diversify away from the FIRE sector and its tax haven-ish initiatives (my own country has the same issues btw) towards qualitative growth.

[@livvyflynn9364]

*me, Irish and a history student, watching this video to see if he made any mistakes* But you didn't! Everything you said was dead on. It's so nice to finally see a video on the Great Famine that actually spoke about the reality of the situation. We didn't starve because of the potato. We starved because of the British policies against us. It was a mass attempted genocide. And it partially worked. Thank you for the amazing content as always!!

[@joerourke8393]

He made loads...go read some real history books...

[@livvyflynn9364]

@@joerourke8393 he didn't? Lol

[@joerourke8393]

Penal laws? Cromwell? The 1740-1 proportionally deadlier famine? 1780 food shortages as dealt with by Dublin Parliament versus laissez faire approach by London Parliament in 1848 onwards. Role of Catholicism and po Oh and potatoes don't make lots and lots of babies and population growth, human adults having sex do...and seeing huge levels of population growth as being a good thing...

[@joerourke8393]

Typo above by me: role of catholicism & poverty in creation of large population numbers.

[@iwasanacciident]

@@joerourke8393 "Cromwell? The 1740-1 proportionally deadlier famine? 1780 food shortages as dealt with by Dublin Parliament" If you care to read the title of the video, it says "why does Ireland have a lower population today than **200** years ago" Now, I understand that those events did have an effect on the overall population growth of Ireland, but by by the time we hit 200 years ago from today which is 1822, the population is higher than before those events so, so they do not have a lot of relevance in regard to the question posed by the title. "Oh and potatoes don't make lots and lots of babies and population growth, human adults having sex do" This is abundantly simple and if you just payed attention in first year geography you might have a basic understanding of demographics. But since you didn't, let me explain! If a woman and man have a child, they need to feed it. If they have two children they need to feed two children. If they have three children they need to feed three children, and so on. Now the thing is, humans are intelligent, and if a human mother and father notice they cannot provide enough food for more children they will attempt to not have more children. In even simpler terms: 1 potatoes can feed one person a day(not actually but just for the purposes of explaining). Man and Woman have three potatoes, so that means they can have one child. If they have two children, one of them will starve. so man and woman will try not to have more than one child.

[@texasyojimbo]

I didn't realize until visiting Scotland that there was also a potato famine in the late 1840s in Scotland also, and it coincided with the Highland Clearances. Though that only affected a few hundred thousand people (as opposed to millions in Ireland) it might make for its own video. With that said the Irish famine had/has tremendous world-historical importance.

[@damonf4340]

The potato famine affected most of northwest Europe. It hit Ireland hardest, mostly because potatoes were poor people food and most other veg was rich British absentee landlord food.

[@dex6316]

@@JoaquinElf poor people (most Irish) ate potatoes while rich people (like the British who ruled over them) ate other crops.

[@Dutcheh]

the potato famine hit the US and nearly all of Europe. the only reason Ireland was affected as hard as they were was due to the English’s policies on governing Ireland. They would not let them import other cheap foods. They wouldn’t let them own land, etc. Ireland would have been impacted the same as say belgium (which relied even heavier on the potato yet didnt starve to the same extent) if it weren’t for the English

[@gingerandbroke1402]

The British were feasting on the food being exported out of Ireland during the famine so they didn't suffer to badly.

[@maxdavis7722]

@@Dutcheh that’s just not true at all, the Irish were allowed to own land and the Belgian reliance on the potato wasn’t even close to the Irish reliance. Ireland suffered from this because they relied strongly on the potato and were poor/unindustrialised.

[@dylanmurphy9389]

I'm glad you mentioned Liverpool

[@irishemperor]

The GDP grossly misrepresents Ireland's economic standing, big-pharma have some manufacturing and r&d here, plus you've got a bunch of tech companies with European HQs or offices - but the massive profits they makes are barely taxed & flow straight back out of the country. As for population growth, rent is extortionate (and all costs of living are rising unlike pay), foreign investment funds outbid and buy up newly build homes instead of locals, and you've got people in their 20s, 30s and 40s forced to live with their parents or on a friend's couch - not the kind of place you start a family.

[@niamhl6964]

It's absolutely appalling that the government have no problem letting big tech and pharma companies in with basically no taxes and pushing the educated population to move to those companies, but they don't actually give those people any resources to like, live. And it's only getting worse. I think it's the pressure that the government felt seeing all these neighboring countries making bank and wanting to feel caught up, but not actually doing much for their own people.

[@vorynrosethorn903]

Sounds a lot like the UK, the people in charge basically don't understand economics and are wilfully sabotaging living standards for the sake of making the GDP bigger, or 'line go up' as the meme seems to be.

[@Makofueled]

We can't eat GDP or live in it unfortunately

[@irishemperor]

More than 70% of Google jobs don’t go to Irish people; so you've got people moving here from abroad, further reducing the available housing. For a short time during the pandemic, tech companies told people to go back to their own countries temporarily - as they were working remotely anyway. The tech companies should've been encouraged to build their own new city somewhere in the midlands - (do a compulsary purchase order somewhere in the midlands or west coast) give them free land with a 50-100 year lease & lets them finance the construction layout and chip in to build road & rail links to an airport eg Shannon or Knock.

[@elbinalejandrofelizgonzale1742]

@@Makofueled BUT THE FREE MARKET!! INVICIBLE HAND VUVUZUELA NO IPHONE

[@DYKTTATUOBLVD]

Ireland is insane. One of the fastest developing countries in world. There were zero highways in ireland in the 80s, now there’s dozens . My father grew up in a practically broken old serf house. Now his house is surrounded by mansions and now the house is being fixed up and we’re planning to move back to ireland soon.

[@thetwins6029]

Ifyou do, make sure to visit all the places, I live in Ireland and I love the country and never knew that a lot of people didn’t know about this, as my ancestors lived through the fammon and I do have relatives in Canada but I’m not sure if they moved there recently or from the fammon, so if you move back here, there are too much places you can visit 😂

[@beyondthesunset9659]

Partially is due to the EU. Remember that Farage when asked how the irish issue will be solved after brexit, he said that brexit will have a domino effect and then Irexit will happen (which he campaigned for) and then both countries could have their own little union. Reality is that Ireland is one of the most europhiles countries in the union and partially is because of the British mistreatment.

[@josephshields2922]

What will you do for medical coverage? You are not asenior I hope.

[@arcie3716]

"There's only one direction left to go, up" Why does this go hard?

[@quitpayload]

I'm Irish and basically none of the information in this video is new to me. Despite this, it blew my mind when you put the populations into perspective like that. I'd never thought of Ireland's population in that way

[@jamezmcc]

As an Irishman thank you for making this video ♥️🇮🇪

[@salmaelmalah3180]

As an Egyptian I have always loved the Irish they are strong respectful people who went through hardship and came out only by the hand of their people despite the challenges. they understand suffering and help against it today with the majority supporting Palestinians against the occupation. All my love and support to Ireland 🇮🇪 🇪🇬

[@kt9021]

MuIIah 😂

[@agasxt]

@@kt9021 Racist kid

[@erbykaoskilpatrick]

I also support the Palestinian people... .. Many things to consider though.. One is the "good fight" , another is whom is more powerful... I would gladly continue in the footsteps of those that had a hand in Lord Mountbatten.. fuck the crown IRA FOREVER!

[@dhanvi-shah]

Go raibh míle maith agat! Grá ó Éirinn

[@elite4370]

The pan Arab flag is a British invention which the Palestinian and Jordanian flags come from. Never was there an arab country called Palestine. 🤣

[@sagepearce-higgins4751]

Thanks for the excellent video! However, the statistics regarding Ireland's recent GDP growth are extremely misleading. Since introducing very low corporate taxes in the 1990s, many multinationals have, on paper, relocated activities to Ireland, giving the impression that Ireland's economy is much bigger than it actually is. It's worth noting that this policy is extremely bad for other European nations, as it allows companies to avoid paying tax that would otherwise to European public budgets. Perhaps this is Ireland's revenge for the near-genocide of the nineteenth century?

[@French20cent]

That would be a bad revenge though, because of Brexit

[@jasonbegg3539]

Great video, with a few important critiques: 1. As Irish commenter stated, Britain’s role in inducing such over-reliance on potatoes 2. Due to role in tax-havenry and international thru-traffic, Irish GDP is not generally as representative of living standards as with other countries (link still tenuous elsewhere) 3. 2021 GDP growth numbers represent a recovery and adaptation from the height of the Pandemic and are not indicative of wider trends. 2019 would’ve been a better pick 4. It isn’t clear that Ireland will continue to grow at substantive pace even though it has the carrying capacity. Many developed countries have seen a slump in fertility despite having lots of theoretical ability to provide

[@Pompomeranian7]

My grandpa told me his great grandpa came to Canada from Ireland in the late 1840's. Lines up with the famine. He worked as a carpenter in Ontario, got married and saved up enough to buy some land in the prairies. Built a farmhouse and home quarter and multiple generations were raised there. House is still standing but no longer in the family sadly. Best memories of my childhood are in that house and running around that farm with my cousins like a pack of wild dogs. I would like to go to Ireland one day. I bet there are a million other "Ryans"😃

[@michaelryan9347]

Plenty of Ryan's still in ireland as well. Very hard to track down long lost family, considering most of that information was destroyed during the civil war. I remember hearing of family that went to Ontario, I'm sure plenty of Ryan's went there.

[@parkerbohnn]

My great grandfather's story is the same but he was wealthy before leaving Ireland for Canada.

[@franzherflek4116]

Ryan is a very popular name in Ireland

[@dannyboy5517]

@@michaelryan9347 Michael O Riain

[@BillMcHale]

Your great grandfather was probably carried by a cargo ship. During the famine, cargo ships would ship raw materials from the United States or Canada; cotton from the United States and wood from Canada, and not having anything to export back to those countries, would fill their holds with Irish looking for passage.

[@Deafbo1]

As an Irishman, it’s really refreshing to see someone outside of Ireland seeing the seriousness of the famine and how much of an impact it has on our lives over constant destructive and ill-thought British interference here even to this day. I was very surprised about the estimated population growth, shame we might never see 10s of millions of Irish on our land in our lifetime but it’s finally a positive turn for our country. Thank you for the video again mate 🇮🇪

[@krushnaji4940]

I am Indian when I read first time of Irish famine I cried because it made my memory fresh of Bengal famine.

[@markbollinger1343]

start having big familes

[@ihateregistrationbul]

31.5 million residents Residents With Irish Ancestry Are in All 3,142 U.S. Counties and Make Up 20% of the Population in Some. Irish heritage is strong in America: More than 31.5 million residents claim Irish ancestry. We can all come back if ya want??

[@RenegadeRanga]

Wasn't a famine, it was genocide

[@gradualdecay1040]

@@RenegadeRanga shut up.

[@SirHolton1]

Also out of those who migrated 95% spoke Irish and 99% of those who died due to starvation were Irish speakers aswell

[@WaterTastesGood123]

As an Irish person, this makes me feel very patriotic, I know the story but I'm still gonna watch this video because yes.

[@TrekkieBrie]

Thank you for making this video. Its a tragic history that I wish more people were aware of. Both my mom and dad's side were from families that fled Ireland during the famine. There's so many layers to this tragedy beyond just the initial loss of life and lands. My fathers side never recovered financially from leaving. They still live in pretty serious poverty generations later after coming to America.

[@bigbo1764]

Everyone loves to talk about imperialism’s effects on Africa and such, but nearly everyone forgets that one of the British’s worst imperial atrocities occurred in Europe. The Irish famine was one of the most devastating food shortages in world history, and the fact that it’s treated more as a natural disaster rather than something directly caused by British administration is historical tragedy that has little to be compared to.

[@worldorthoorthopaedicsurge6147]

I am an Irishman living in Australia. The Irish migrated to US, Canada and Australia and made huge contributions, and dominating these countries. Now free Ireland is a major economy.

[@Simerali]

I'm from south west rural Ireland (kerry specifically) and a few years back some distant relatives came to visit from Ohio. Some ancestor of ours had fled to Ohio during the famine so they wanted to see their roots

[@thewrongguy1]

I love your videos, can't wait to watch it. I don't ever put in request or anything but your recent video on Vegas's water usage has me super interested about the impact of a Mississippi canal leading to the west coast like some folks have proposed in recent years.

[@cormacsmithy3975]

I work in an electrical shop in West Cork. One day, a 70+ year old bloke pulled up in his Ducati superbike, he was wearing a red kevlar jacket. It was a quiet day, we were the only two in the shop and a terrible shower had just come down, so I invited him to take shelter in the shop for a few minutes. Intrigued by the elderly gent, I asked him what he did for a living. He told me he was a retired flight simulator engineer and pilot. In order to follow his dreams, he moved to the UK and later Belgium and worked there nearly all his life so he could do what he loves and I could tell from talking to him that he had a passion for aviation. He explained to me that in order to pursue his ambitions, he had to leave Ireland for new horizons. He said "The factories on the banks of the River Liffey [in Dublin, where he was from] were a great source of work for young lads, but I dreamt of bigger things so I emigrated. There's just not enough opportunities here". He could tell I looked puzzled. "The banks of the Liffey?", I asked him. "Yes", he replied, "it's all just factories. Mine was an office job." Apparently, he hadn't been to Dublin City Centre since moving back to Ireland. Ever since, the smokestacks of factories have been replaced with glass-facade, state-of-the-art office buildings that act as European headquarters for massive multinational corporations such as Google, Apple, Dell, HP (the list goes on and on). When I told him this, it was like trying to convince someone that the sky wasn't blue. He simply wouldn't believe it, however, I insisted it was true. He paused briefly and reflected. I told him that the reason I knew this was because I had just started studying electrical and electronic engineering in university and all of these companies are based along the banks of the Liffey in Dublin (0:41) as well as in Cork (3:06). I struggled to explain to him using words the immense wealth of opportunity I have in Ireland as an aspiring engineer. It was like we were time travellers sharing details about the different worlds we live in, even though we're both Irish and he was doing the same thing I am doing now just 50 years ago. It was an incredible, eye-opening experience for me to talk to this man. Our conversation ended when the rain dissipated. He zipped up his jacket, wished me well in my studies and headed for the door. His bike was parked just outside the shop. I asked him where he was headed. He turned to me and said with the utmost determination "I'm going to Dublin to see it for myself." Though I haven't seen him since, I hope he got a chance to see the Grand Canal in all its contemporary beauty. I also hope to be there the next time he comes into the shop so I can ask him about it.

[@thelatearthurmorgan6158]

I'd take the smokestacks and factories over the multinational corporations. Michael Collins is rolling in his grave.

[@piyushvaidya5086]

Very beautiful and intriguing story sir. Thanx for sharing

[@texasflood1295]

The Irish are the best story tellers in the world.

[@drewt1717]

What a great story, and well written to boot. Who knew that KZbin comments are home to actual literature? 👍👍

[@shanecullinane7299]

Thanks for the story

[@terrynicoll5443]

Ireland is on my bucket list of places to visit.

[@Davidcj2023]

It didn’t make sense before. But thanks Lore for the righteous explanation

[@WolfetoneRebel1916]

Heartbreaking. I believe this event will forever define us as a people.

[@randymoyan7871]

Never let victimhood define yourselves. All cultures have been victimized throughout history and have persephered and prospered to become strong confident nations. There is no pride in being a victim.

[@WolfetoneRebel1916]

@@randymoyan7871 Shared trauma is what builds and defines relationships. Generational trauma is a real thing. When I say it defines us as a people, I mean a sense of community, shared deprecating humour, integrity, pride, willpower and determination. Victimhood is not what I was insinuating.

[@fergusmurphy8310]

Great summary, and I appreciate you taking on this subject. Thanks and subscribed!

[@user-wm5bv6hb2x]

As an Egyptian, hearing that there was once more Irish than Egyptians is probably the most mind-blowing thing I've heard in a while.

[@g6kid1]

Do you know that there's an Egyptian queen buried in Ireland ?

[@user-wm5bv6hb2x]

@@g6kid1 and how's that

[@berniesandals5219]

Fun fact: the Republic of Ireland isn’t the name of the country. It’s the name of specifically our football team. It’s simply called Ireland.

[@rewdwarf123]

You get people who call it 'Southern Ireland' but that's outdated.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

In NY where many Irish folks fled to (including my dad's family), there is a special memorial for the famine called the Irish Hunger Memorial right by the WTC. The Irish Hunger Memorial's construction began in March 2001, and despite 9/11, it was completed and dedicated the next year in July. The memorial was designed at a slant to replicate a typical Irish hill. It features not only labeled stones from every Irish county as well as native Irish plants but also an actual 19th century cottage from Attymass in County Mayo that was abandoned in the 1960s as the family who lived there all left for the US and let the memorial have it. So it's a little piece of Ireland right in the middle of a very Irish part of the country, dedicated to both the famine and its legacy through the diaspora.

[@karenmccaffrey344]

There is 😮😊 💖🇮🇪🇮🇪

[@disapearingboi]

I stumbled on that memorial when visiting New York. It was a pleasant surprise - especially since my father is from Attymass.

[@clairebatt4030]

i live in ireland, this is very romantized x sorry our hills aren't all at a slant lol

[@philipthomey7884]

@@clairebatt4030 what does that mean?

[@Beofware]

@@clairebatt4030 ...... Isn't a hill inherently slanted?

[@douglassmithe9799]

I'm glad you didn't leave out the impact that the British had on the potato famine in Ireland. Belgium had the same potato blight disease around the same time, but they only lost about 40,000 people or so. The deaths in Ireland were greatly exacerbated by the policies of the British.

[@here_we_go_again2571]

All of Scandinavia and the German states also suffered from the Potato blight (fungus). The governments of those countries imported grain from USA *for years* to sustain their farmers on marginal land. (There was several waves of potato blight from 1840's to 1920's) These governments also offered incentives to relocate to the US, Canada, South America. After the American Civil War (1860 - 1865) European governments also made contracts with land developers in the Midwest of US/Canda to purchase land for their poor of the poorest subjects (Europe's population was too large to be sustained on the available Europeanfarmland.) The above is why huge swaths of the Midwest (US/Canada) have people descended from Germans and Scandinavians. At the time of WW1, fully one quarter (25%) of the population of USA had at least one "German" (Scandinavians were grouped with Germans) grandparent.

[@gurrrn1102]

How could he leave it out when British policy was the major cause?

[@anna-gt2mu]

Eareaeraea

[@cillian303]

@@gurrrn1102 If anything, he downplays the British impact, no mentions of the landlords, famine roads and sick workhouses for one thing. Also kind of makes it seem like the Irish farmers only grew potatoes when that wasn't the case, it was just the rest of the crop had to be sold to pay rent and taxes

[@OnwardsUpwards]

​@@cillian303Yes, details like this shouldn't be left out. Hope he sees this.

[@flybynight7984]

Ask the English Crown. Before Charles apologises to anyone, it should be to the Scots, Irish and Welsh. Then his own people.

[@TomislavBarac-zd4js]

I'm from Croatia🇭🇷(small countri in south Europe) I love RLL's videos and I hope you will made a video with title "Why Croatia have less people than in 1991?"

[@ciaran5067]

Been subscribed to this page for about 6 years now I am so happy we see a video about Ireland, thank you

[@nathanwhite2565]

I love this because its so rare that we get coverage as great as this

[@Dionysos640]

Irish economic mega growth is a a mirage and this fact is well documented

[@u2k302]

Interesting video

[@caezar55]

Irish guy here - have to say this was very well put together. The numbers and statistics are all accurate and well presented. I would argue we would have had massive emigration anyway, even without the famine, as we never industrialized and didn't have the capital or resources to do so. That is now to our advantage as we don't have "old" industries to keep us down and can focus on services and high technology.

[@wainber1]

I see how Ireland has weaned itself off old industries as a huge contrast to far too much of the rest of the world. Sure Ireland's public transit system may not be the best in the world, but when I visited there, I didn't see the amount of urban blight as I'd seen in Philadelphia or NYC in the past (with my 1st trip to the Republic having taken place the year after my 1 and only visit to Philly, for the wedding of an adopted cousin).

[@stale2665]

I would think that without the famine, you'd see emigration closer to the levels of other relatively poor European nations at the time, such as for example Norway. That probably wouldn't be enough to set the nation on a downward trend for a century.

[@sjohara]

Fantastic video. I'm Irish and while I knew a lot of what you mentioned there was still a lot of things I didn't know and a lot of nuance to the things I was thought in school.

[@ajaysabarish9645]

As an Indian, I can relate.

[@harveyjenko6666]

To what exactly? India has a fucking huge population lmao

[@ajaysabarish9645]

@@harveyjenko6666 i can relate to this since India had huge famines under british rule, in which 50 million people died. And famines were rare in Indian history before the british.

[@seanrommel7535]

@@ajaysabarish9645 Yet here you are speaking in English and so many of you immigrate To the UK

[@ajaysabarish9645]

@@seanrommel7535 Yes to get our artifacts back from British

[@Luke_Sandy_High_Ground]

@@ajaysabarish9645 you would have to get past an undefeated military

[@orthodoxguy]

@RealLifeLore where are you getting these datas and quotes/history??

[@mz6367]

Mad respect to Ireland from Saudi Arabia ! I've always wanted to visit it , I've always seen it as one of the most interesting places on earth !

[@occhoppers]

Me too!

[@barneythethug]

Why

[@dhanvi-shah]

if you do visit I'll say there's greenery everywhere

[@Tdr-jv2nc]

I hated living there. Is depressing, boring and grey. England is a better place to go on vacation

[@dhanvi-shah]

@@Tdr-jv2nc other people's opinions matter if he/she wants to go then let them go

[@tpobrienjr]

This is a good, well-balanced story of Ireland's recent history. My family has roots in Kerry on the west, but moved - as many did - to work in the mines of Wales. In the late 19th century, they moved to America, finding work in the steel mills and coal mines. My parents' generation and subsequent ones are doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists, authors and artists. We won't forget our Irish heritage.

[@ardri31]

@@isaiahc8390Boring 💤

[@Karl_with_a_K]

Maith síbh a Tomás, tá Éirinn I do croí.

[@margiemcmahon9639]

Very same family history, except my grandfather worked in Wales in coal mines, and came over to Indiana, and worked at US Steel Company in Gary. He had a large Catholic family, all of whom have done well! Last name was Stack.

[@wintersnowowen2254]

I think one thing people are forgetting is immigration. A lot of the growth in England has come from immigration. Most of the immigration has come to England. It isn’t guaranteed that people would’ve immigrated to Ireland in the same numbers.

[@INFIDEL96]

True especially since Irish didn't colonise the world so we'd have less immigrants than the British.

[@Daniel-OConnell]

We weren't that wealthy until the late 1990's hence not very attractive to genuine refugees and economic migrants. The influx has spiralled since about the turn of the Millenium with many negative impacts e.g. a severe housing crisis and an overwhelmed healthcare system.

[@Panacea9]

"Elves" Good one nick. This was his comment to this title.

[@hagerty1952]

My triple-great grandfather, Daniel Hagerty, emigrated at the tail end of the famine in 1858. Like about half of the Irish immigrants he entered through Boston where I was born (well, technically Quincy) and still have a strong family presence. Only three years after arriving in the new world, Daniel enlisted in the Third Massachusetts Regulars as a farrier (horse caretaker) for the Union Army in the Civil War. My dad moved our family west in the late 50's almost exactly a century after Daniel arrived to, ironically, pursue job opportunities.

[@occamraiser]

a farrier is a blacksmith who puts shoes on horses. A horse caretaker would be a stable boy.

[@hagerty1952]

@@occamraiser - maybe by today's standards, but not150 years ago. "Farrier" back then was responsible for the complete health and well-being of the horses, not just their feet.

[@naxmax5634]

Finally !! Ireland is going towards their well deserved golden age! Wish all luck to ireland and irish people from Québec!

[@chriswhamilton]

We had a golden age before the English arrived. We were one of the most enlightened countries in the world during the dark ages 500-1000 AD, and led the world in mathematics, astronomy and sciences at that time. We had Christian scholars who saved Europe from the Huns after the fall of the Roman Empire by preserving Christianity and reintroducing it to France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. These scholars invented written Latin and wrote European history down for the record. This written language then permeated Europe for the next 1000 years. If there are ancient Latin documents ....the rule is they were probably written by Irish scholars. We wouldnt know European history if it wasnt for the Irish.

[@naxmax5634]

@@chriswhamilton Interesting, i thought Ireland before the english invaded was divided into multiple clans. I should learn more of Ireland history.

[@pianoman-1359]

@@chriswhamilton wtf are you talking about

[@OnlyGrafting]

@@chriswhamilton you were split between tribal clan lords tf are you saying enlightened? The island was never unified until the British did it.

[@chriswhamilton]

@@OnlyGrafting there's a reason Ireland is known as the Land Of Saints And Scholars.

[@keelinbarron7221]

It's funny, i'm Irish and thought everyone knew about this, because we have been learning about the famine practically since we were born

[@jamestoh2519]

It's time to end British rule

[@thedestiny326]

@@jamestoh2519just wait…

[@King-Ghidora]

Let's be honest here, the "potato famine" was an unnecessary famine. This was not because the Irish became overly dependant on one crop, it was because of their subjugation to England. The fact was, that the potato was not the only crop grown in Ireland. There were several other crops grown at the time, which could have dissipated the effects of the potato disease. Whatever was affecting the potatos, affected only potatos and not whatever else was grown. But, the Irish did not own tbe land in their own country, most of the land in Ireland was owned by the English. Essentially, the potato was the designated crop for the Irish and anything else was shipped to England; famine or no famine.

[@twintalks8774]

I am Irish and the famine still affects us to this day. My family has this hammered in idea of eating everything on your plate. And I feel like a piece of crap whenever I throw away food, even if it’s rotten.

[@parkerbohnn]

I always ate well until I got Crohn's disease.

[@Dead_Again1313]

The thing about finishing your plate is definitely a left over habit from poverty of the past. My grandparents grew up during the great depression here in the US as countless others did. They showed their kids how to conserve and it keeps getting passed down the generations. Im the same about feeling bad for throwing away food. So now I order smaller meals and make my own plate smaller. Our ancestors were primarily concerned with survival and mouths to feed but they didnt realize those habits would be part of the perfect storm to cause weight problems throughout that society. With those big challenges gone, everyones just been enjoying the craic and stuffing their faces on both sides of the Atlantic, it seems. PS Always throw away rotten food, but you could make a compost pile and start a garden there if you're into that. Best wishes to you

[@pancake_ghosty]

I reckon it has something to do with our obesity level too. Ireland was the most obese country in the world in 2015, North America second. I always had a hunch it was connected to the relatively recent famine.

[@maxisussex]

Are you Irish or "Irish"-American out of curiosity?

[@JimOne-pz5hj]

Oh give it a rest and stop whinging