Ireland lost significant population primarily due to the devastating Great Famine (1845-1849), caused by potato blight, leading to mass starvation, disease, and huge emigration, mainly to North America and Britain, with long-term effects including a century of continued decline and lower birth rates, making it the only country whose population hasn't fully recovered to pre-famine levels.
Ireland's depopulation reflects a demographic regime that combined three elements, each of which was unusual but not unique in western Europe at the time: the decline of marriage, continued very large families for those who did marry, and heavy emigration.
In fact, the most glaring cause of the famine was not a plant disease, but England's long-running political hegemony over Ireland. The English conquered Ireland, several times, and took ownership of vast agricultural territory. Large chunks of land were given to Englishmen.
The population decline began with the Great Famine in the mid-1800s, leading to mass emigration and long-term demographic changes. While most countries have seen population booms over the past two centuries, Ireland's numbers never fully recovered. A fascinating reminder of how history can shape a nation's future.
Poverty is a direct outcome of inequality and the unequal distribution of and access to resources, power and opportunities, including the opportunities to participate in and influence the decisions that impact on your life.
According to economic historian Kevin O'Rourke, the Irish economy remained underdeveloped for extended periods of time after partition due to its continuing excessive dependence on an underperforming British economy.
South Sudan has the highest poverty rate, with approximately 82.3% of its population living in extreme poverty, largely due to ongoing civil conflict and economic collapse. 2. What are some of the poorest countries in terms of poverty rate as of 2026?
Many Irish families re- lied on potatoes as their main source of food. Irish farmers grew other crops too, but everything else was sent to England to pay the farmers' rent. The Irish farmers did not have anything to eat when the crops were bad.
Housing was seen as the most important issue facing the Republic of Ireland as of 2025, with 64 percent of respondents placing it as one of the top two issues facing the country.
They were also found to have most similarity to two main ancestral sources: a 'Northwestern France' component which reached highest levels in the Irish and other Celtic populations (Welsh, Highland Scots and Cornish); and a 'West Norway' component related to the Viking era.
Hostility increased towards the Irish over the centuries, as they steadfastly remained Roman Catholic despite the fact that Edward VI and subsequent rulers used coercion to convert them to Protestantism. The religious majority of the Irish nation was ruled by a religious minority, leading to perennial social conflict.
Although Queen Victoria privately contributed to charities for Ireland and Scotland, and finally visited Ireland in 1849, her response has been characterized as indifferent and lackluster. She expressed concern over the people's suffering, but also on occasion echoed commonly held prejudices about them.
Pope Pius IX asked every diocese and district to proclaim three days of public prayer in churches and other holy sites. The specific purpose of this prayer was to request that God end the Great Irish Famine and prevent it from happening elsewhere in Europe.
The Eastern Orthodox Church was Ireland's second largest Christian denomination, with 2.1% of the population identifying as Orthodox Christians. It has been Ireland's fastest-growing religion since 1991.
The donors included the rich and the famous—President Polk, of the United States, Queen Victoria, Pope Pius IX—while people in Italy, Antigua, France, Venezuela, Hong Kong and Barbados were among those who sent contributions.
The late 19th century saw many mobile sawmills travelling around Ireland cutting down the last few remaining forests. This meant that by the end of the 19th century, Ireland's forest cover had been reduced from 80% 6,000 years ago to about 1%.
Con: High cost of living
Ireland is notorious for its high cost of living. The country ranks as the second highest in price levels for consumer goods and services in the EU at 34% above the average. If you're emigrating from the UK, you may be used to high prices already.
The causes of Ireland's growth are the subject of some debate, but credit has been primarily given to state-driven economic development; social partnership among employers, government and trade unions; increased participation by women in the labour force; decades of investment in domestic higher education; targeting of ...
The IRA (Irish Republican Army) fought for an independent, united Ireland, free from British rule, by using armed force to end British control in Northern Ireland and reunite it with the rest of the island, viewing itself as the army of a sovereign Irish Republic. Their goals evolved, but central aims included establishing an all-island Irish Republic, often through guerrilla warfare, and protecting the Catholic/nationalist community facing discrimination during the Troubles, as noted in sources from Britannica and Wikipedia.
Author of The Irish Cookbook, an encyclopedic look at Irish cuisine, McMahon has his own theories about the long-standing Irish aversion to seafood. In more churchgoing days, he explains, meat was forbidden during Lent and on Fridays, making the eating of fish a penance rather than a pleasure.
Initial limited but constructive government actions to alleviate famine distress were ended by a new Whig administration in London, which pursued a laissez-faire economic doctrine, but also because some in power believed in divine providence or that the Irish lacked moral character, with aid only resuming to some ...
Photographs of the Great Famine in Ireland (1845 – 1852) and famine victims are scarce because photography was a relatively new invention at the time. The equipment needed to produce photographs was expensive and thus only the wealthy classes had access to it.
South Sudan is widely considered the poorest country in the world in 2025-2026, consistently ranking first due to extremely low GDP per capita and a high percentage (over 80%) of its population living in extreme poverty, driven by prolonged civil conflict, displacement, and disruption of its agricultural economy. Other nations frequently cited as among the poorest include Burundi, the Central African Republic, and Yemen, also suffering from conflict and instability.