May I have your attention please you can now book your train tickets on Uber and get

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Trains, now on Uber. T's and C's apply. Check the Uber app. Hello and

I'm Fyn deWire, and this is the Great Famine Part 15.

My name is Finn dewire and this is the Great Famine part 15 a doomed land piracy

elections and the 1847 harvest this episode is a bit later I had minor

surgery last week so that through the schedule off-kilter.

Anyway, I'm beginning to get back on track, and this episode will take you through the summer of 1847 in an Ireland experiencing extreme emotions as day-to-day life

swung from times of great hope to the depths of despair.

In August 1847 Ireland went went to the polls in the only ballot held during

the great famine in a contest that was more like a blood sport than modern elections. Then when that was over the people faced into what was the ultimate

trial, the harvest of that year. But to set the scene we need to look at how the situation in Ireland was actually improving through

the summer of 1847 through a somewhat strange lens.

That is the story of Mayo Pirates.

Before we begin though, I just want to say that this series is only possible through the support of listeners like you who have become patrons.

Today I want to thank two patrons in particular

that's Michael Gumbert and Christine Todd. I'm extremely grateful for your

support. In August 1847, a grand jury was convened in Castlebar County Mayo to hear the evidence in

137 cases. While the fate of scores of people hung in the balance, aspects

of the proceedings must have had the feeling of being in a time warp. Of the 137 cases, over half were, unsurprisingly,

of theft and sheep stealing. Given the two previous years of starvation, this was hardly surprising.

People did what they had to to survive in famines.

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