SERIES OVERVIEW:
In the year 1845, Europe was struck by a devastating famine. The crisis was triggered when a deadly fungus, having originated in South America and escaped in the holds of cargo ships, destroyed potato crops throughout northern Europe. As food grew scarce and prices soared, 100,000 poor people died of starvation and disease in France, Belgium, Holland, Scotland and the Kingdom of Prussia.
In Ireland, where half the population relied on the potato as their primary source of food, the famine caused the deaths of over a million people and, between 1845 and 1855, the flight of a further two million to north America, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Today Ireland is the only country in the western world with a population lower than it had in the 1840s. The crisis had far reaching repercussions: it triggered the downfall of the British government led by Robert Peel in 1846, was a catalyst for the revolutions that rocked Europe in 1848, became the root for the exponential rise of the Irish Diaspora that today numbers 70,000,000 and was among the causes that would ultimately lead many in Ireland towards the cultural revival and the quest for independence.
Now, to mark the 175th anniversary of the Great Irish Famine, Tyrone Productions and Create One with RTÉ and ARTE, in association with University College Cork and the Atlas of the Great Irish Famine, are proud to present this challenging, in-depth and comprehensive assessment of the worst humanitarian disaster of the 1800s. Featuring interviews with leading historians, the first-hand accounts of witnesses and survivors, vivid original maps based on Atlas, and stunning cinematography through Ireland and in northern Europe,this major documentary explores the epic story of the last major food crisis to impact Europe, Britain and Ireland.
Over two episodes, The Hunger reveals and develops a challenging analysis of the crisis: a peasant underclass pushed to the margins by an uncaring neo-liberal elite in Ireland and Britain who will go to any lengths to protect their own; selfless individuals who give their all to help the poor on the frontlines; an extreme social divide in terms of access to resources – Ireland had sufficient food but it was mostly exported; a government and ruling class condemned for the callousness of its response; the middling classes in Ireland who profit at the expense of the poor; a desperate people driven to murder, looting and in rare cases cannibalism in the face of near annihilation; mass emigration reminiscent of today’s from Africa and the Middle east to Europe.
Today the epic story of the Irish Famine remains as relevant as it ever was in terms of our attitudes, behaviours towards and responsibilities towards our fellow man.
An RTÉ and ARTE Co-Production in association with University College Cork.
EPISODE 1: 1845 to 1847
Outlines the social, political and economic conditions that allowed the famine to occur and charts the first 3 years of the crisis in Ireland and Europe. In Ireland we see how the British government’s initial response was successful in staving off the worst impact of the famine. With the coming of a new government under John Russell in 1846 the response hardens as they struggle to deal with the fall out of an economic crash. The death rate rises exponentially as resources run out for the Irish poor. By contrast, in Europe authorities act fast to ensure the impact is lower.