150th Anniversary Of The Great Famine In Ireland

EDM number 172 in 1995-96, proposed by Robert Parry on 06/12/1995.

That this House recalls that 1995 marks the 150th anniversary of the great famine that followed the failure of the potato harvest which devastated Ireland, and is one of the most tragic events in Irish history with an estimated loss of life due to fever and starvation at one and a half million, although the full numbers will never be known as it was not compulsory to record births or deaths before 1864; notes that at least another million fled to other countries for fear of starvation, and notes the population went down from eight million in 1841 to four million in 1871, as a direct result of the famine which had a catastrophic effect on the population; further notes the geographical position of Liverpool as a major seaport led to hundred of thousands of Irish people flooding into the city, creating huge problems of overcrowding and diseases which inevitably led to the typhus epidemic of 1847 and the cholera epidemic of 1849 which claimed 6,394 deaths in Liverpool; and, realising the great cultural and historical connections between Ireland and Liverpool, hopes that the year will not pass without some action by both governments or government agencies to record this historic event.

This motion has been signed by a total of 142 MPs, 2 of these signatures have been withdrawn.