The enormous tragedy of the Great Famine was commemorated in RTÉ documentary The Hunger
A fascinating two-part documentary, The Hunger, aired on RTÉ in recent weeks to mark the 175th anniversary of the Great Irish Famine. Many valuable insights were given into this enormous tragedy, but examination of the political response to events was wanting: there was virtually no mention of the Irish political reaction at the time.
Ultimate responsibility for dealing with the Famine lay with the Westminster parliament and the British government. Nonetheless, we should remember that Ireland returned 105 MPs to Westminster at the time. In fact, a general election occurred in August 1847, during ‘Black 47’, right in the middle of the Famine. The evidence from this event, which was not addressed in the programme, is that at this critical point, when important changes could have been made, Irish politicians and electors failed to respond to their ongoing crisis in a meaningful way.