The First Irish Famine: The Forgotten Crisis of 1740-41

Before the Great Famine of the 1840s, there was another catastrophe that killed a similar proportion of Ireland's population but is barely remembered today: the famine of 1740-41. Unlike the potato blight that struck a century later, this one was triggered by extreme weather—a sustained deep freeze that destroyed crops across Europe. In Ireland, the cold snap lasted months, followed by drought, failed harvests, and a typhus epidemic. Lucas and Luna explore why this famine has been called 'the forgotten famine' and how it shaped the Irish landscape and society. They discuss the role of the Irish Parliament in relief efforts, the controversial figure of Primate Hugh Boulter, and the long-term effects on land use and emigration. This episode sheds light on a crisis that might have killed 300,000 people—over a tenth of the population—yet remains overshadowed by later events. #IrishHistory #Famine1740 #ForgottenFamine #GreatFrost #IrishFamine #HughBoulter #Typhus #Clonfert #DublinParliament #Smallpox #Emigration #IrelandWeather #18thCentury #CropFailure #IrishPopulation #HistoricalMemory #History #FexingoHistory #CliffsOfMoher #CelticKnot Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo