Minute's silence to be held for Famine victims

Fratton Fred · 15-05-2009 11:38AM

it is 160 years ago. Teaching about it in schools and ensuring it doesn't happen again anywhere in the world is the best legacy TBH, not a bunch of people trying to get their photo in the paper.

Acacia · 15-05-2009 11:39AM

dlofnep wrote: »

What a bunch of childish, attention-whores. "Oh, look at me.. I'm not going to pay my respects to the greatest loss of life in the history of the Island because I'm just brilliant!"

Just pay your respects, shut your mouth and then when the minute is up, you can go back to searching for porn and the telescene copy of Star Trek.

Now, now, dlofnep, if you remember any of Ireland's history in a way that doesn't involve apologizing for the IRA, you're just an armchair Republican who hates Britain....;):p

Nodin · 15-05-2009 11:41AM

Fratton Fred wrote: »

it is 160 years ago. Teaching about it in schools and ensuring it doesn't happen again anywhere in the world is the best legacy TBH, not a bunch of people trying to get their photo in the paper.

The vast majority who observe the silence won't be featuring in any paper.

ScumLord · 15-05-2009 11:43AM

Elliemental wrote: »

I realise a minutes silence is a bit tacky, and hardly original. However, it feels wrong to not mark the Famine. I mean, on an Island as small as this one, the deaths of almost 2 million people would've been utter devastation. And on top of that, there was the lacklustre (to say the least), response from the British. The death toll should never have been to high, especially after all the warning signs.
Surely something must be done to remember the victims.

Wouldn't it be much more fitting to feed the starving on this day? Get the Irish community to put on a big slap up meal for the Homeless around the country, a minutes silence is very lame and dismissive imo.

Snickers Man · 15-05-2009 11:43AM

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Yet is the missing word I believe

Anyway, what are you doin here? you're far too intellectual for AH

Didn't realise it was AH.

But I can do knob gags too, you know.

mike65 · 15-05-2009 11:45AM

Originally Posted by Elliemental
I realise a minutes silence is a bit tacky, and hardly original. However, it feels wrong to not mark the Famine. I mean, on an Island as small as this one, the deaths of almost 2 million people would've been utter devastation.

Btw 1 million estimated to have died (1847-1853), and another million left in the aftermath.

dlofnep · 15-05-2009 11:45AM

Nodin wrote: »

The vast majority who observe the silence won't be featuring in any paper.

Correct. What does it say if people can't wise up for 1 minute out of the 525600 minutes a year to show respect for a tragic loss of life? Not much.

Fratton Fred · 15-05-2009 11:46AM

ScumLord wrote: »

Wouldn't it be much more fitting to feed the starving on this day? Get the Irish community to put on a big slap up meal for the Homeless around the country, a minutes silence is very lame and dismissive imo.

Much better idea than sending a minister on a jolly to Quebec.

badgerbadger · 15-05-2009 04:43PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iKjkPgVQcE

Venom · 15-05-2009 04:49PM

Mr.Lizard wrote: »

They've only themselves to blame. "I mean, if it was just the potatoes that were affected, at the end of the day, you're will pay the price if you're a fussy eater."

If only the Atkins diet had of been invented earlier

ScumLord · 15-05-2009 04:52PM

dlofnep wrote: »

Correct. What does it say if people can't wise up for 1 minute out of the 525600 minutes a year to show respect for a tragic loss of life? Not much.

I don't have a minutes silence for most tragic losses of human life that happened before me or even my parents time. Fine it's happening but it's not all that important really. It's just one of those things where people can look all sympathetic in front of the cameras when really they don't care.

Daelus · 15-05-2009 04:52PM

This is stupid. It was so long ago. Everyone who knew anyone involved is dead now. Why not have a minute's silence for the invasion by the vikings while we're at it?

Venom · 15-05-2009 04:54PM

Daelus wrote: »

This is stupid. It was so long ago. Everyone who knew anyone involved is dead now. Why not have a minute's silence for the invasion by the vikings while we're at it?

That's next wednesday week.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 15-05-2009 04:56PM

dlofnep wrote: »

What a bunch of childish, attention-whores. "Oh, look at me.. I'm not going to pay my respects to the greatest loss of life in the history of the Island because I'm just brilliant!"

Just pay your respects, shut your mouth and then when the minute is up, you can go back to searching for porn and the telescene copy of Star Trek.

Well said.

.

vorbis · 15-05-2009 05:00PM

I see empathy is alive and well.

speedboatchase · 15-05-2009 05:03PM

I wanna have my mouth wide open and be slowly lowering a gigantic roll into my face for 60 seconds

Overheal · 15-05-2009 05:06PM

Better make that a potato in your mouth for 60 seconds.Or chips.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 15-05-2009 05:16PM

dlofnep wrote: »

What a bunch of childish, attention-whores. "Oh, look at me.. I'm not going to pay my respects to the greatest loss of life in the history of the Island because I'm just brilliant!"

Just pay your respects, shut your mouth and then when the minute is up, you can go back to searching for porn and the telescene copy of Star Trek.

Christy Moore a recites a lovely lament, I'm not sure who originally wrote it.

Its called 'On a single day'.

Its lists the food exported from Cork harbour on a single day in 1847 (14th Sept. 1847) while the country was in a state of utter and dire starvation.

Its worth looking for.

.

norwegianwood · 15-05-2009 05:19PM

vorbis wrote: »

I see empathy is alive and well.

Well, if you're looking for empathy in after hours, you'll be waiting a long time tbh.

markopantelic · 15-05-2009 05:19PM

interesting stat, if the famine never happened and irish population growth stayed the same, our level of population now would be around 34 million.

people think ireland is small but its actually big enough, like netherlands is far smaller than ireland.

dlofnep · 15-05-2009 06:28PM

Belle Massive Registry wrote: »

Christy Moore a recites a lovely lament, I'm not sure who originally wrote it.

Its called 'On a single day'.

Its lists the food exported from Cork harbour on a single day in 1847 (14th Sept. 1847) while the country was in a state of utter and dire starvation.

Its worth looking for.

.

I'll look into it buddy. I'm all too familiar with the numerous accounts of wealthy land-owners who exported food to Britain during the famine. It was a disgusting time in Ireland when Irish and British turned their backs on those who needed help the most.

While potatoes were in a bad state, there was an abundance of meat to go around; with which was sold for the price of a life per lb.

O'Coonassa · 15-05-2009 07:12PM

dlofnep wrote: »

It was a disgusting time in Ireland when Irish and British turned their backs on those who needed help the most.

That's what they'll say alright. Scrap the CAP.

ScumLord · 15-05-2009 07:22PM

dlofnep wrote: »

I'll look into it buddy. I'm all too familiar with the numerous accounts of wealthy land-owners who exported food to Britain during the famine. It was a disgusting time in Ireland when Irish and British turned their backs on those who needed help the most.

While potatoes were in a bad state, there was an abundance of meat to go around; with which was sold for the price of a life per lb.

You've got to wonder about the Irish of the time though. Nationwide just interviewed someone that said the rivers where full of fish but the Irish didn't know how to fish them out. I'm wondering were the Irish just thick or push overs to have all this food around them and still starve to death. I like potatoes as well but I wouldn't turn my nose up at fish if I was starving.

Acacia · 15-05-2009 07:30PM

ScumLord wrote: »

You've got to wonder about the Irish of the time though. Nationwide just interviewed someone that said the rivers where full of fish but the Irish didn't know how to fish them out. I'm wondering were the Irish just thick or push overs to have all this food around them and still starve to death. I like potatoes as well but I wouldn't turn my nose up at fish if I was starving.

They ate nettles and grass, iirc my Junior Cert history. Interesting point about the fish ,though.

brummytom · 15-05-2009 07:33PM

Belle Massive Registry wrote: »

Christy Moore a recites a lovely lament, I'm not sure who originally wrote it.

Its called 'On a single day'.

Its lists the food exported from Cork harbour on a single day in 1847 (14th Sept. 1847) while the country was in a state of utter and dire starvation.

Its worth looking for.

.

"A list of exports from Cork Harbour
on a single day
the 14th of September 1847
ran as follows
147 barrels of pork
986 casks of ham
27 sacks of bacon
528 boxes of eggs
1397 firkins of butter
477 sacks of oats
720 sacks of flour
380 sacks of barley
187 head of cattle
296 head of sheep
and 4338 barrels of miscellaneous provisions

On a single day,
the ships sailed out of Cork Harbour with their bellies in the water.

On a single day, in Portumna, County Galway,
the great majority of the poor located there
were in a state of starvation
many of them hourly expecting death to relieve their suffering.

On a single day,
The Lady Mayoress held a ball at the Mansionhouse Dublin
in the presence of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
dancing continued until the early hours
and refreshments of the most varied and sumptious nature
were supplied with inexhaustible profusion.

On A Single Day, On A Single Day, On A Single Day

It's about time this little country of ours had a little bit of peace. "

dlofnep · 15-05-2009 07:38PM

ScumLord wrote: »

You've got to wonder about the Irish of the time though. Nationwide just interviewed someone that said the rivers where full of fish but the Irish didn't know how to fish them out. I'm wondering were the Irish just thick or push overs to have all this food around them and still starve to death. I like potatoes as well but I wouldn't turn my nose up at fish if I was starving.

Interesting point; I never even considered the fish. But it would be very dependant on living near a river/large lake. Perhaps some availed, but I doubt fish was readily available across the country.

But IMO - there was certainly enough beef/pork/lamb to go around, along with bread, eggs and fish as you have mentioned. The poor were surely left to starve instead of the country acting as a cohesive unit.

ScumLord · 15-05-2009 07:38PM

Acacia wrote: »

They ate nettles and grass, iirc my Junior Cert history. Interesting point about the fish ,though.

I heard that too, nettle soup is fairly good food as well. But you'd have to wonder how a country with 11 million people could willfully sit back and watch all their food disappear and it only took a small minority to eventually win freedom for Ireland in the end.

If I was watching my family starve I'd have nothing to lose, so the threat of death on being caught would mean nothing.

Nodin · 15-05-2009 07:43PM

ScumLord wrote: »

I heard that too, nettle soup is fairly good food as well. But you'd have to wonder how a country with 11 million people could willfully sit back and watch all their food disappear and it only took a small minority to eventually win freedom for Ireland in the end.

If I was watching my family starve I'd have nothing to lose, so the threat of death on being caught would mean nothing.

Unfortunately organising a rural, largely illiterate group of subsistence farmers, who are at the bottom of a system designed to keep them down is a difficult thing to do. The last major rebellion was about fifty years previous, and one might say that slaughtered out substantive rebellion for the next few generations.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 15-05-2009 07:47PM

ScumLord wrote: »

You've got to wonder about the Irish of the time though. Nationwide just interviewed someone that said the rivers where full of fish but the Irish didn't know how to fish them out. I'm wondering were the Irish just thick or push overs to have all this food around them and still starve to death. I like potatoes as well but I wouldn't turn my nose up at fish if I was starving.

Starved to death indeed.

But some did take from the land, and where hunted down for it. Their homes destroyed by bailiffs sent from the lords of the land, other's sent on prison ships to the colonies.

Our ancesters at the time fought both the famine & the British crown.

To finish, of course we knew how to fish - our river's ran free with fish, we're surrounded by sea's - but we were an Island nation held in bondage & pushed on to our knee's with our faces in the dirt by a shower of bastards.

.

admiralofthefleet · 15-05-2009 07:47PM

ill be observing it, when are the brits going to apologise for it (the famine) though?

Minute's silence to be held for Famine victims

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