Dan Snow’s History Hit – "The Great Famine"

Date: February 9, 2026
Host: Dan Snow
Guest: Professor Christine Kinealy, Quinnipiac University, Founding Director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute

Episode Overview

In this episode, Dan Snow explores the causes, context, and consequences of the Great Irish Famine of the mid-19th century. With guest expert Professor Christine Kinealy, the conversation delves into how such a catastrophe unfolded at the heart of the world’s largest empire, examining the unique vulnerability of Ireland, political failures, societal impacts, international responses, and the enduring legacy of the famine on Irish identity and British-Irish relations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background: Colonial Context and Vulnerability

Timestamps: 01:18–06:27

• Ireland as a Colonized Nation:

  • Ireland’s colonization stretches back to the 12th century, intensifying under Elizabeth I by 1603.
  • Its relationship with England shaped land ownership, governance, and repeated weaponization of food during conflict.
  • The 1800 Acts of Union dissolved Ireland’s parliament, placing all decisions in London’s hands.

• Dan Snow:

  • “Ireland was a largely unwilling participant in that United Kingdom project. It was a colonial possession. More than an equal partner.” (01:18)

• Christine Kinealy:

  • “Ireland’s relationship with England really begins in the 12th century... The political context is important... Ireland is governed directly from London. And at the time of famine, all major political decisions come from a government that is hundreds of miles away from what is happening.” (05:20–06:27)

2. Agricultural Economy and Reliance on Potatoes

Timestamps: 08:07–10:49

• Ireland was not a backward, subsistence economy—it exported vast food quantities (grain, eggs, alcohol) to Britain, producing a surplus for export even while the poor starved.

• Massive dependency—nearly half the population relied on potatoes, not from ignorance or laziness but necessity, after centuries of dispossession.

• Potatoes, highly nutritious and prolific, supported the health and height of the Irish populace.

• Christine Kinealy:

  • “Ireland is exporting enough grain, wheat, barley, oats to Britain to feed 2 million people... and yet, within Ireland, there are many, many people who are dependent on one crop, the potato.” (08:07–09:41)
  • “...this is not a people who are emaciated. This is a people who... actually thought to be the tallest people in Europe, really.” (10:49)

3. Potato Blight, Government Response, and Catastrophic Failure

Timestamps: 11:10–14:55

• The potato blight (Phytophthora infestans) arrived from America, fatally affecting the crops for seven consecutive years.

• 1845 saw limited impact and an active government response under Prime Minister Peel, including importation of food and relief works—averting mass death at first.

• British government’s attitude changed with a credit crisis in 1846, followed by Peel’s ouster and Whig ascendancy under Russell—whose government cut relief, favored laissez-faire principles, and restricted intervention.

• Christine Kinealy:

  • “By the second year... people really need external intervention, whether it's from landlords, local merchants, or the government in London. So public works were made the main form of relief after 1846... the cruelest form of making people who are hungry and exhausted do hard physical labor 12 hours a day, six days a week for minimal wage. And... the winter of 1846–47 was the coldest for 100 years.” (18:56–20:28)

4. Laissez-Faire Policy and Selective Intervention

Timestamps: 16:47–18:42

• The Whig government’s commitment to laissez-faire economics was cited to justify non-intervention—even as the government selectively intervened elsewhere, for instance, in the Opium Wars and Navigation Laws.

• Relief caprices: strict limits on wages for public works, refusal to close ports to food export, and loans rather than direct aid.

• Christine Kinealy:

  • “The British government in the 1840s was the most interventionist government in the world... They intervened selectively. So laissez-faire, they intervened a lot... But as you say, the wider picture was, let's not interfere in the marketplace. Ireland doesn't need our intervention because the food will pour in. It didn't pour in. And what food did come back into Ireland was really expensive.” (17:32–18:42)

5. On-the-Ground Impacts: Death, Public Works, and Emigration

Timestamps: 18:56–21:01, 37:22–38:41

• Mortality: No deaths in 1845; from 1846, mass starvation and disease as public works failed to suffice and the blight endured.

• Public works described as “roads that lead nowhere and walls that surround nothing” (20:36), grueling, pointless labor designed more as a “test of destitution” than genuine help.

• Emigration: Not the very poorest but those who could scrape resources together fled; many died en route or in port cities.

• By 1851, Ireland had lost around two million people (a quarter of its population), either through starvation, disease, or emigration.

• Christine Kinealy:

  • “You know, people would often walk to the Port of Dublin... then in Liverpool, they might have to wait... people get on what were called coffin ships… people died, they were thrown overboard... we know in Liverpool there are at least 7,000 Irish people buried there from 1847, 1848 period, and the same in Grosse and the same in Montreal. So there were massive Irish graveyards outside of Ireland as well as inside Ireland.” (37:45–38:41)

6. Charity and International Relief

Timestamps: 25:09–28:16

• Philanthropy filled gaps as official help faltered. Quakers (Society of Friends) were especially noted for early, non-proselytizing aid. Soup kitchens, partially established by Quakers, were eventually adopted on a large scale by authorities.

• Internationally, remarkable donations flowed in:

  • Queen Victoria gave £2,000 (relatively modest for her wealth), while the Sultan of Turkey was persuaded to reduce his donation to avoid outshining the Queen.
  • Indigenous communities in Canada and the Choctaw Nation in the US also sent funds, despite their own poverty and trauma.

• Christine Kinealy:

  • “The famous one is the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma... they both sent money to Ireland... Many tribes in Canada sent money to Ireland in 1847, even though they themselves were subject to broken treaties... So they're pretty remarkable stories.” (25:20–28:16)

7. Media, Communication, and (Lack of) British Shame

Timestamps: 28:16–29:56

• The crisis gained unprecedented international visibility thanks to rising media, steamships, newspapers, and the telegraph—but British authorities largely resisted the shaming or intervention pressure.

• The British government invoked arguments of providence (divine punishment) and reform (Malthusianism) to justify non-intervention, seeking—often cynically—a drastic reduction of the Irish population.

• Christine Kinealy:

  • “Trevelyan says it very bluntly. We must not criticize what we really want to achieve in the end, which is this regeneration of Ireland. And the argument was, Ireland, as it is, is this potato grown country, is an embarrassment to the United Kingdom.” (29:56)

8. Aftermath, Memory, and Political Legacy

Timestamps: 38:41–43:36

• The famine irreparably damaged the legitimacy of British rule in Ireland and became central to nationalist memory and subsequent agitation for independence.
• For decades, there was relative silence and little commemoration, influenced by trauma, poverty, and political sensitivities—until a revival of interest in the late 20th century.
• Population loss and emigration had long-lasting demographic and political repercussions; today, Ireland’s population has never returned to pre-famine levels.

9. Is It Genocide?

Timestamps: 42:42–43:36

• Christine Kinealy:
  • “As irresponsible as the British government may have been, it's very hard to prove intent. I think it's fine to have a debate, but I personally would not use the word genocide. I think it's a term that needs to be very carefully applied and needs to be applied in its full legal context.” (42:55)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dan Snow (on colonial inequality):

  “All parts of that United Kingdom were not entirely considered equal. Ireland was a largely unwilling participant in that United Kingdom project... More than an equal partner.” (01:18)

• Christine Kinealy (on blame and laissez-faire):

  “When I think of laissez-faire, I have to see it in a wider context. The British government in the 1840s was the most interventionist government in the world at that stage... They intervened selectively... But Ireland doesn't need our intervention because the food will pour in. It didn't pour in.” (17:32–18:42)

• Christine Kinealy (on the pointlessness of relief work):

  “In Ireland, we say roads that lead nowhere and walls that surround nothing... It was a public [work].” (20:36)

• Christine Kinealy (on communications and awareness):

  “Ignorance is absolutely no excuse... Charles Trevelyan... was very well aware of what was going on in the ground.” (24:13)

• Christine Kinealy (on genocide):

  “As irresponsible as the British government may have been, it's very hard to prove intent... I personally would not use the word genocide.” (42:55)

Key Segment Timestamps

• 01:18–04:43 – Introduction; the famine’s scale and initial context.
• 05:06–10:49 – Ireland’s political status, economic structure, and dependence on potatoes.
• 11:10–14:55 – Outbreak and effects of the blight; government response; the public works system.
• 16:47–18:42 – Laissez-faire economics, government rationalization, and selective interventions.
• 18:56–21:01 – Human impact: death, public works, and the bitter experience of aid.
• 25:09–28:16 – Global philanthropic response and international awareness.
• 38:41–43:36 – Legacy, memory, population impacts, and the genocide debate.

Conclusion

This rich discussion, both scholarly and empathetic, underscores the tragedy’s roots in colonial history, the catastrophic consequences of political and societal indifference, and the lasting scars on Ireland’s people and diaspora. The episode is especially powerful in centering contemporary voices—like Christine Kinealy’s—on the importance of historical nuance and responsibility.

For further reading and resources:
Check out Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute and Professor Kinealy’s published works on the famine.
For feedback or questions, contact the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.