During the Great Irish Famine (1845-1852), Ireland experienced one of the greatest exoduses in its history. Over a million people fled famine, misery and death by embarking for the New World. Many of them traveled aboard ships that were soon nicknamed “coffin ships”, because the crossing was so often a voyage of no return. These makeshift boats, often overcrowded and unsanitary, became a poignant symbol of the suffering and despair of the Irish people… A look back at those who fled, preferring to brave the waves, the cold and disease to escape the Irish famine.
The Great Irish Famine – Domaine Public
The Great Irish Famine began in 1845, when a fungus called Phytophthora infestansalso known as mildew, decimated the potato crop, a staple food for millions of Irish people, especially the poorest. Famine soon set in, exacerbated by the indifference of the British authorities, the unequal land structure and the continued export of foodstuffs to England.
Millions of Irish people were living in extreme poverty. People were hungry, their poverty was growing, and the weakest were dying of malnutrition and disease. The great British landowners dislodged the poorest of the poor, destroying the thatched roofs of their homes to prevent illegal occupation.
The Irish are dying, in a state of general indifference.
Faced with imminent death, hundreds of thousands of Irish people decided to leave. North America – particularly the United States and Canada – represented the hope of a better future. Many hoped to find work and be able to support their families back home, while sending money back to those who had stayed behind.
Between 1846 and 1851, some 1.5 million Irish left their homeland. This massive departure was to profoundly transform not only the demography of Ireland, but also that of the North American continent.
Depiction of Irish migrants’ travel conditions in the holds of coffin ships – Go to Ireland.com
To leave for less hostile lands, the Irish have only one solution: take the boat.
Then they pile onto “coffin ships”. Alas, these terms are no exaggeration. Most of these ships were not originally designed to carry passengers. Many are commercial vessels, hastily refitted to accommodate hundreds of people in precarious conditions.
The massive demand for emigration created a lucrative market for some unscrupulous shipowners. With health checks and safety standards virtually non-existent, the ships were overloaded, poorly ventilated and lacking sufficient provisions.
The Atlantic crossing can take between 6 and 12 weeks, depending on weather conditions, and very few of them arrive safely.
Inside the holds, passengers are crammed together with no real separation. Hygiene was catastrophic, with no or only shared toilets, and drinking water was rationed. In this closed, unhealthy environment, diseases spread at lightning speed.
The main causes of death on board were typhus, cholera, dysentery and malnutrition. Typhus, transmitted by lice, was particularly dreaded. Passengers, already weakened by famine, had little chance of resisting epidemics.
According to contemporary records, mortality on some ships was as high as 30%. Ships sometimes threw dozens of bodies overboard before reaching their destination. Some ports even refused to let infected ships dock, further aggravating the plight of passengers.
A report by Canadian physician Dr. Douglas, stationed on Grosse Île (Quebec’s quarantine island), indicated in 1847 that nearly 5,000 people had died on or shortly after arrival. The island became a gigantic makeshift cemetery for Irish exiles, forever marking Canada’s migratory history.
Grosse Île, in the St. Lawrence River, was designated as a quarantine station by Canadian authorities as early as 1832. In 1847, at the height of the famine, nearly 100,000 Irish passed through, often in dramatic conditions. Makeshift hospitals were built, but they were insufficient to cope with the massive influx of sick people.
In the United States, the ports of New York, Boston and Philadelphia also received thousands of Irish migrants. Here too, the fear of contagion is omnipresent. The authorities proceed with quarantines, sometimes brutal, while charitable associations – often religiously inspired – try to provide a little help.
Like Grosse Île in Canada, the quarantine island of Staten Island in New York Bay played a central role in welcoming Irish migrants.
From the end of the 18th century, the island was used as a mandatory quarantine station for ships arriving in New York. In the 1840s, with the massive influx of Irish people fleeing the famine, the island quickly became overwhelmed by the number of sick or suspicious passengers.
Sanitary conditions were precarious, and makeshift hospitals struggled to cope with epidemics of typhus and cholera. Many Irish migrants never reached Manhattan: several hundred died on Staten Island, without even setting foot on the mainland.
Tensions with local residents, worried about contagion, finally came to a head in 1858, when a group of residents set fire to the quarantine buildings. This tragic episode marked the end of the island as a medical reception center.
Numerous contemporary accounts testify to the hellish nature of the crossing. Letters, logbooks and administrative reports describe scenes of chaos: children dying, families separated, bodies left unburied.
An anonymous passenger on the Virginius, which arrived at Grosse Île in June 1847, describes a “floating hell”, where the living slept crammed in between the dying. A mother, watching over her two dead children, begged that they not be thrown overboard before she could pray for them.
These stories, though appalling, are essential to understanding the scale of the human tragedy of emigration during the Great Famine.
The “coffin ships” left a deep imprint on Ireland’s collective memory. This forced exodus gave rise to a massive diaspora, particularly in the USA, Canada, Australia and England. In New York alone, the Irish will soon represent over 20% of the population.
The memory of famine and the dramatic crossing has nourished a culture of exile and resistance. Numerous songs, poems and literary works refer to it.
Great Famine Memorial, Dublin – PROSPER MBEMBA KOUTIHOU -Pexels
Memorials have been erected around the world to honor the memory of those who perished during the crossing. In Dublin, the Famine Memorial, located near Custom House Quay, depicts famished figures walking to board the ship.
At Grosse Île, a national historic site was created. Today, it’s a major place of remembrance in Canada, with an Irish cemetery, exhibitions and re-enactments. In Ireland, several museums, including the Dooagh Famine Village and the Famine Ship Dunbrody in New Ross, give visitors a better understanding of the harsh realities of emigration at the time.
These places of memory, often poignant, remind us that behind every number lies a human story, and that the exile of the 1840-1850s was above all an act of survival for thousands of Irish people.
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