Site Overview

The MacGilligan Family and the Great Hunger is divided into four basic sections, each of which can be accessed through its appropriate hyperlink. The first section is a brief historical essay. The purpose of the essay is to provide the necessary historical background on both Ireland and the Potato Famine itself. The historical essay starts with William III's conquest of Ireland in 1690 and concludes with the status of Ireland after the Famine in the mid 19th century.

The second section of this project contains the biographical sketches of the MacGilligan family. The MacGilligans and their descendents are, of course, totally fictitious. However, the events that they experience are historically based, thus making the biographies a useful tool in understanding the Famine. The biographical sketches are organized on the basis of a family tree, which has been included. The first sketch is the story of Liam MacGilligan and the next is that of his first child, Mary. Biographical sketches are provided for all of Mary's descendents up to the fourth generation. Once Mary's line is complete, the biographical sketches of Liam's second child and his children begin, and so on through the family tree.

The final section of this project consists of an appendix. This appendix includes a number of items relating to the Famine. There is a series of transparencies of drawings or photographs related to the Famine and a bibliography of Internet sources on the Famine. There is also a sampling of Irish literature relating to the Famine. This literature includes poems, short stories, songs, and recipes. We will be inviting contributions of additional items.

Often history can be dehumanizing, with its impartial analysis and statistics. Applying the events of the Irish Potato Famine to a fictitious family allows the reader to see the devastating events of the Famine through the eyes of the people who lived and died in Ireland in the 1840s.

Continue to the Historical Essay