How many died during the Potato Famine?
Great Famine (Ireland)
In 1846, three-quarters of the harvest was lost to blight.[68] By December, a third of a million destitute people were employed in public works.[69] According to Cormac Ó Gráda, the first attack of potato blight caused considerable hardship in rural Ireland, from the autumn of 1846, when the first deaths from starvation were recorded.[70] Seed potatoes were scarce in 1847. Few had been sown, so, despite average yields, hunger continued. 1848 yields were only two-thirds of normal. Since over three million Irish people were totally dependent on potatoes for food, hunger and famine were inevitable.[68]