What actually happened and why were so many faced with starvation?

What was day-to-day life like?

How did the British authorities (who ruled Ireland) react?

Why did landlords, with the power of life and death evict tens of thousands of starving families?

How did those faced with starvation react?

Who emigrated, how and to where?

A patrons guide to each episode

to each episode A monthly patrons-only podcast

An exclusive monthly online discussion about the series where you can ask me questions face to face.

History haunts the present casting a long shadow over life but there are few events like The Great Irish Famine of the 19th century.While it took place 170 years ago on a small island at the edge of Europe, it has impacted life across the world ever since. Tens of millions of people from North America to Australia are descended from survivors, their identity shaped by it.The history of the Great Famine is often reduced to the failure of the potato crop, mass starvation and mass emigration. However this does not do justice to the story of our ancestors. With your support, I want to tell the story of their lives – a far more complex and interesting history. While many perished this podcast series will also recall the lives of those who managed to survive.Becuase of your the series brings you back to the world of 19th century Ireland each week. This journey starts by looking at life prior to the Great Famine and the growing unrest in Ireland as poverty increased.Then we will begin our descent into the dark years between 1845–1852. The story of the Great Famine is far more complex than simply one of a failed potato crop. The series will bring you from the halls of power in Westminster, London to the grinding poverty in cabins in the West of Ireland explaining the Great Famine as it unfolded.The series answers all the key questionsThrough the series you follow the journeys of the millions who left Ireland. While most passed through the port of Liverpool many continued their journeys across the Atlantic - by the 1860s one in four New Yorkers were Irish born. Their story is an integral part of the history of the Great Famine.This is just one of the many stories I from our fascinating past funded by your support. Research is costly and time consuming but with your support, bringing our story to new audiences.The amount you contribute to the series is up to you - every donation counts and patrons get lots of exclusive content depending on the Patrons Pass they choose.Patrons rewards include.You can get involved for as little as $3 per month you can get early access to the seriesI have a wealth of experience in historical research and podcasting. My show - the Irish History Podcast is one of the most popular independent podcasts in Ireland with an archive of over 170 podcasts These have covered stories from the Norman Invasion through to the mysterious Maamtrasna Murders of 1882 to the stories of Irish People who fought in the Spanish Civil War. Key to the success of these podcasts has been the high quality and accessible narratives of each show.Over the past three years I have also published two books on Irish history 'Witches, Spies and Stockholm Syndrome, Life in Medieval Ireland' (2013) and '1348: A Medieval Apocalypse - The Black Death in Ireland' (2016).As a historian I have also worked on history projects for RTE (Ireland’s State Broadcaster), The BBC and The Irish Times.