The Great Irish Potato Famine: Did the British “Famine Relief” Constitute Genocide?

By Christina C. Jefferson

Christina Jefferson, a 3L at Albany Law School, graduated from Niagara University, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology and then earned a Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Niagara as well.

At Albany Law, Christina was the winner of the 2022 Donna Jo Morse Client Counseling Competition, and she has served as both a Research Assistant for Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum and a Criminal Law Teaching Assistant for Professor Vincent Bonventre. She is currently a Law Clerk at Shaw, Perelson, May & Lambert, and she is also currently working toward her Private Investigator license in New York State.

Christina enjoys hiking and has a lifetime goal of visiting every National Park in the United States.

The Great Famine in Ireland obliterated the potato crop and starved a large portion of the Irish population from 1845 to 1849.  A fungal disease named phytophthora infestans infected the entire crop and rendered the potatoes useless.  At the time, the Irish relied heavily on their potato crop due to its heartiness and ability to grow well without additional resources.  Potatoes were the staple crop of the Irish farmers, and roughly half the population relied on the crop for survival, especially the poor, rural communities.

By 1846, entire crops succumbed to the blight and were unusable. All told, it is estimated that between five hundred thousand and three million Irish people died as a result of The Great Famine.  Some people question whether the British government did enough to help their colony of Ireland during the worst blight they had experienced.

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To read the paper, open HERE.

The Irish Potato Famine: Indifferent Colonial Rule as Genocide

By Daniel W. Richer

Daniel Richer is a second-year student at Albany Law School. He grew up in Clarence, NY, and he graduated from the State University of New York at Fredonia where he majored in History and Political Science.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Dan worked as a litigation paralegal at a personal injury firm in Buffalo. Since attending law school, he has continued to pursue personal injury law while enjoying the numerous fields of study offered at Albany Law.  

Since the conclusion of World War II, the term “genocide” has been used to describe acts taken by governments with the intent of eliminating a particular class of people. These acts are typically rooted out of prejudice against another group’s race, national origin, or religion.

However, the extent to which the term “genocide” has been used in reference to deliberate inactions of governments is generally limited. Such inactions may be indifference to a group living within a ruling state’s political boundaries as evidenced by certain policy initiatives. Consequently, certain inactions of governments—particularly in the wake of humanitarian crises—have often resulted in the severe exacerbation of disease, mass starvation, and death. Thus, in comparison to systemic acts taken by governments complicit in genocide, inactions may similarly be rooted out of prejudice against another group’s religion, national origin, or social character.

Historically, the nation of Ireland remained the victim of severe poverty, colonialism, and political subjugation for centuries. This repression can ultimately be traced back to its function as a British colony and later through its incorporation by Parliament into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In turn, its role as a population was almost entirely based upon the social and economic aspirations of the British Empire, resulting in little political and economic opportunism. Though the island persisted as an ill-equipped nation of people, Ireland was left with minimal institutional structures in place capable of responding to a potential humanitarian crisis. This became particularly evident in the wake of the Irish Potato Famine--a period of scarcity and mass starvation left beyond the control of the people whom it most severely impacted.

This paper seeks to address whether the inactions of the British government at the time of the Potato Famine constituted genocide against the people of Ireland.

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To read the full paper, click HERE. 

The Irish Potato Famine: Naturally Occurring Tragedy or Genocide

By Patricia Cassidy

Patricia Cassidy is an alum of Albany Law School, Class of 2020. She is from Westchester, New York and received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from SUNY Geneseo. After beginning her professional career in politics, she now works in financial compliance.

There is a long-standing debate amongst historians and politicians on whether or not the Irish Potato Famine should be classified as a genocide. The Potato Famine began as a natural occurrence brought about by a disease that wiped out most of Ireland’s potato crop. However, the criticism of the British Government stems from the events that occurred after the famine potato began.

Did the Government do enough to aid the colonized island? And does the lack of action by the British government constitute genocide? Historians look to crucial moments during the Famine to see if there was the requisite intent required for an event to be classified as genocide.

It is clear that both the Government and the British people were anti-Catholic. But whether or not Britain intended to destroy the Irish Catholics during the Potato Famine is less clear.

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To read the paper, open HERE.