a fascinating lecture
This diverse group of fifty three individuals are gathered around a kiva of the Mesa Verde Cliff palace on a July afternoon.
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Copyright 2021All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
The Great Famine had profound social, cultural, and political impacts on Ireland and its relationship with Britain. It led to a significant decline in the Irish population due to death and mass emigration and is remembered as one of the darkest periods in Irish history. The event also left deep scars on the collective memory of the Irish people and played a role in the growth of Irish nationalism and the push for Irish independence in the following decades
“Partial failures, due to disease or the weather, had occurred on numerous occasions prior to 1845. Even in good years, there was always a time of shortage when the previous year’s supply had run out and before the new crop was ready.”
“No particular concern was felt in 1845 when the crop again failed in some areas through the ravages of a new fungus. In 1846 the potato crop failed completely, leaving thousands without food to sustain them, or seed potatoes to plant the following year. 1847 – 1849 saw either total or partial failures of whatever potato crop could be planted.”
“Hunger and desperation forced thousands into the overcrowded workhouses and put enormous pressure on relief schemes which attempted to alleviate the distress. Over three quarters of a million people died during the Famine, mainly from diseases such as cholera. Escape was seen by many as the only change for survival: between 1845 and 1851 over 1.5 million people emigrated from Ireland. This was more than had left the country in the previous half century.”
The Great Famine of Ireland, often referred to as the “Irish Potato Famine,” occurred between 1845 and 1852, with the most acute suffering taking place between 1847 and 1849. The causes of this devastating period in Irish history are multifaceted and debated among historians, but the following are generally acknowledged as the primary factors:
Potato Blight (Phytophthora infestans): The immediate cause of the famine was a potato disease known as late blight. The potato was a staple crop in Ireland, and for many poor Irish, it was the primary source of nutrition. The blight destroyed the potato crop year after year, leading to widespread hunger.
Over-reliance on a Single Variety of Potato: The Irish mainly grew a type of potato called the “Lumper,” which was particularly susceptible to the blight. This lack of genetic diversity made the entire crop more vulnerable to disease.
Land Ownership and Tenancy: Most of the land in Ireland was owned by a small number of landlords, many of whom were absentee, living in England. The Irish Catholic majority often worked as tenant farmers, living on small plots of land and paying rent to these landlords. The land was subdivided among heirs, leading to plots becoming increasingly smaller and less productive over generations.
British Colonial Policies: The relationship between Ireland and Britain played a significant role in exacerbating the famine’s effects. Some British policies and economic theories at the time discouraged intervention. For instance:
Corn Laws: These tariffs protected British grain producers from cheaper foreign competition, making grain more expensive and less accessible for the starving Irish.
Economic Beliefs: The prevailing laissez-faire economic philosophy of the time held that markets should be allowed to self-regulate without government intervention.
Exports: Even as the famine raged, Ireland continued to export food (like grain, meat, and dairy) to Britain, which was a source of controversy. Many felt these exports should have been halted or reduced to feed the starving Irish population.
Inadequate Relief Efforts: While the British government did undertake some relief measures, such as opening public works projects and distributing maize (known as “peel’s brimstone”), these efforts were often insufficient, mismanaged, or too late. The public works projects sometimes did not lead to meaningful infrastructure improvements and instead focused on tasks like building roads that led nowhere.
Social and Cultural Factors: Discrimination against the Irish Catholics by the Protestant English elite, language barriers (many Irish spoke only Gaelic), and distrust between the local population and English officials further complicated relief efforts.
The Great Famine had profound social, cultural, and political impacts on Ireland and its relationship with Britain. It led to a significant decline in the Irish population due to death and mass emigration and is remembered as one of the darkest periods in Irish history. The event also left deep scars on the collective memory of the Irish people and played a role in the growth of Irish nationalism and the push for Irish independence in the following decades.
Reference: text in quotes is from “The Famine” poster. Cobh Heritage Center, May 2014.
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Cobh Heritage Center
Continuing from the “Queenstown Glamor” of the SS Servia these are exhibits of what it was like to emigrate from Ireland in the 19th century.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
finding a suppressed location
Wiki Loves Monuments was a contest that closed September, 2017.
Click for Wiki Loves Monuments 2017 contest
The National Register of Historic Places, online, lists the Ithaca Pottery Site(# 79001635) as “address restricted”. There is no photograph published for the site either on the register or Wikipedia. Here is an opportunity and a mystery. Where is the suppressed location of this historic place? There is the opportunity of completing the record by capturing a photograph.
There is another online reference listing the site as 423 E. Lincoln Street. The site is “I Love the Finger Lakes”,
I researched the physical location of the site and found it to be in a historically industrial area of Ithaca, close to Ithaca Falls. The correspondence I found online named Ezra Cornell as the owner when the pottery concern was active. He donated the land for Cornell University and the location is consistent with his ownership. There is a large wooded lot behind the building.
Last week I visited the address and guess the best light was the morning, returned yesterday to acquire the photograph. There was a knoll across Lake Street that gave this view. There are conflicting elements in this photograph: the far hills are beautiful, the pole with wires very difficult to remove. Also, the address is not visible.
The street passing left to right is Lake Street. Crossing lake street I took several shots, negotiating the light traffic to eventually stand in Lake Street for this shot.
In preparation for shooting, I mounted the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens on the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II body. This shot was at 70mm, 1/200 second, ISO 1,000, f/7.1. I hated the power lines and could not avoid them from any acceptable angle.
The only solution was to spend hours in Photoshop to achieve the result in the header.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Deserted Cottages above the Irish Sea
We pulled off the side of Torr Road for this fine view on the way to Torr Head to take in this view of the Irish Sea. The steeply rising distant headland is the Mull of Kintyre. Loughan an Lochan, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
We parked on a turnout above the Loughan Cottages, near this farmer’s sheep pen. He drove up in a huge tractor and conversed with Pam while I was below shooting the cottages. He made a good impression.
Roofless walls of a cottage more substantial than the other deserted ruins above Loughan Bay, with two fireplaces a walled porch with a view. A number of outbuilding foundations lay around. The integrity of the walls, chimneys and gables speaks to the quality of construction. A freighter in the North Channel of the Irish Sea is visible in the distance above the upper ridge. Beyond is the island of Islay, Scotland, about 30 miles distant. Loughan an Lochan, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
I am happy to report a series of thirteen (13) photographs of these ruins were accepted for publication by Getty. You can click any of the photographs in this posting for my Getty portfolio.
The land slopes steeply to a rocky beach.
A thick growth of ferns, grass on the gable was once a home with a view of Scotland’s Mull of Kintyre 13 miles across the North Channel of the Irish Sea. The Isle of Sanda just visible on the right of the far gable. A landform named Alisa Crag is just visible in the distance, to the left of the nearest gable.
Please browse my reasonably priced stock photography. License a photograph, download and use it for your website or blog. Click this link to browse all my Getty IStock Photography offerings.
Or click this link or any photograph or this link to select a print with custom framing from my “Ireland” Fine Art Gallery.
Interested in learning more about this site? I have a series of postings on Loughan Bay. Click for the first posting in this series.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills, All Rights Reserved.
The SS Servia, a notable transatlantic ocean liner, features in the movie “Far and Away.”
Nothing so grand as the SS (or HMS) Servia carried my ancestors from Ireland to America. This ship model, created for the 1992 film “Far and Away” is on display within Cobh Heritage Center. Said by some to be the first true transatlantic ocean liner. Launched in 1881 as luxury transportation by the Cunard Line of today’s Queen Mary. Last year, we enjoyed the arrival of Cunard’s Queen Victoria to Cape Canaveral. (Click the link for my blog of the event, one of the last cruise ships to sale during the pandemic of 2020).
It is notable the model played a small role in the film, yet is an incredible accomplishment. By the way, from 1849 to 1920 Cobh was known as “Queenstown” in honor of a visit by Queen Victoria. The Irish Free State returned the name to the original.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
In 1835, the convict ship Neva, carrying 241 people, wrecked near Australia resulting in massive fatalities, excluding 15 survivors.
January 1, 1835 the “convict” ship “Neva” departed from Cobh harbor for Sydney, Australia. The 241 people on board included 150 female “convicts”, their 33 children, 9 “free” women (probably the wives of convicts) and their 22 children, 27 crew. During the passage three persons died, one child was born. About 5 a.m. on May 13, 1835 the Neva hit a reef northwest of King Island in Bass Strait and broke apart rapidly. Twenty two survivors drifted ashore on two rafts formed by the fore and aft decks of the wrecked ship. Seven women died of exposure the first night ashore. Fifteen, six women and nine crew, were later rescued. No children survived.
Between 1791 and 1853 approximately 26,500 Irish people were forcefully transported to New South Wales. The 25,566 bonnets crafted for this project represent lives of female “convicts”. The slide show are photographs of the exhibit, Cobh Heritage Center, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Cobh Heritage Center
The Irish Free State was four months old when my then 35 year old Grandfather and Grandmother boarded the S.S. Montnairn out of Belfast. My mother, two months short of three years of age, accompanied them on this voyage to a new life as Canadian citizens. This slideshow is a mix of images from the Cobh Heritage center and my personal genealogy materials.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Cobh Heritage Center
The Cobh Heritage Center documents the experiences of Irish emigration. Here I share information about the Titanic’s maiden voyage through the photographic work of Father Frank Brown. Cobh, pronounced “cove”, as in “The Cove of Cork.”
Here is an informative and entertaining 5 minute documentary of Father Brown, his trip on the Titanic and subsequent achievements as a photographer.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Can You Find the Eye of the Needle?
Peter’s mesa is at the center of Superstition Wilderness treasure legends. I was a member of an expedition to the top of the Mesa March 2008. This is a sunset view, looking south, southwest. Light raking across the desolation and an approaching storm behind Miner’s Needle create a fascinating spectacle. Ancient volcanism, apparent throughout the Superstition Wilderness, is here seen in the texture, form and type of rock as well as the mineral deposits. Miner’s Needle, like Weaver’s Needle (no seen in this view), are eroded volcanic summits. Look closely for the “eye” of Miner’s Needle, backlit by the storm cloud itself lit by the setting sun. To this day, hopeful prospectors search for gold nuggets around the Needle. There is one form of volcanism present today as an eerie rumble or hiss, similar to an enormous distant jet engine. We heard now and then during our two days on the mesa, louder and closer than a overhead plane could produce. The view includes many notable Sonoran desert plants. Many young Saguaro cactus are in the form of green poles and, on the rim of the ravine running left to right below the closer ridge, an excellent specimen with multiple arms. Catching the dramatic light, on the ridge is a tall single flower of an Agave, known as the “Century Plant” it flowers once in a long life and dies.
Peters Mesa is named after “Old Pete” Gottfried Petrasch, father of Hermann and Rhiney Petrasch. Old Pete worked for Jim Bark for awhile in the 1890s doing odd jobs. Irregular employment gave Pete and Sons time to s searched for the Lost Dutchman Mine in the years following the death of the source of the legend, the “Dutchman” Jacob Waltz. The Petrasches were one of the first groups to search for the mine, and gold in general. They covered almost the entire Superstition range in their combined searches.
On our first day on the Mesa we came across the remains of one of these camp, on the top of Squaw Canyon. This was only deplorable junk a presumably disappointed bunch of searchers were too lazy to cart out. That March, we were lucky to find the remants of winter rains in the form of a meager trickle at the bottom of a shallow draw off Peter’s Mesa trail up from La Barge canyon. We had a good time of it until the trip was cut short by a storm front and torrential rains. We were back in Apache Junction before they hit.
This panorama is from our last evening on the Mesa. As the sun set I put the Kodak DSLR with a 50 MM lens on a Manfrotto tripod and hiked a mile higher onto the mesa for a view of Miner’s Needle. I quit only after the last light was extinguished by the approaching front. My reward for persistence was this dramatic light ennobling a craggy desolation. This is a composite of several images, combined using Photoshop. I have since invested in a Canon 24 mm wide angle lens.
