Harrington the Hungry Hare: A Children's Book on the Irish Potato Famine

The Irish Potato Famine, sometimes known as the Great Famine, is arguably one of the most infamous famines to occur in documented history. Between the years of 1845-1849, more than 1 million Irish people either died of starvation or were forced to flee the country because of this catastrophe. To truly understand how such a devastating event occurred, it is important to understand the political climate of the time period – particularly in regard to Ireland’s relationship with England. Although the famine was caused, in part, by the failure of Ireland’s potato crop due to a disease dubbed the “blight,” the death rate was exacerbated by the lack of English aid – as Ireland was, at the time, an English colony. The mass death and immigration from Ireland within such a short time period were largely caused by negligence and mismanagement of the crisis by the English rulers.