O.T.-'Potato Famine gene' Discovery.

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 11:24 am

I read in today's 'Guardian' newspaper,that "A protective gene that could have prevented the Irish Potato famine, in which more than 1 million people died in the 1840's,has been discovered by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the U.S."
The effect of the famine upon the Irish people is incalculable-apart from the deaths,it speeded the emigration of hundreds of thousands to America,Australia,Canada,New Zealand and beyond,and left it's mark on Irish culture in words,song and music.

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 11:44 am

"A day late and a dollar short" as they say, huh?

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 12:32 pm

'Tis just as well it wasn't known back then. Imagine if the Famine had never happened and the US had not had the great waves of irish immigration. The economic damage caused to US beer sales in the month of March would be catastrophic.

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 2:45 pm

it was a hard life to live on potatoes, while the english harvested their corn in ireland, and shipped it to england. (i mean no offence to the english government today)

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 3:08 pm

lixnaw wrote:it was a hard life to live on potatoes, while the english harvested their corn in ireland, and shipped it to england. (i mean no offence to the english people today)

No offence taken by this Englishman.

madguy · Post by **madguy** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 7:15 pm

Something I've always wondered about the whole famine thing - in a country surrounded by water, why didn't they all just eat fish?

~Larry

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 7:44 pm

Not everybody in Ireland lived near the coast, Madguy. The roads back then weren't so hot either. The fish would have probably spoiled before they got to the inner portions of the island, nevermind there are only *so* many fish that can be caught at one point in time...

madguy · Post by **madguy** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 8:05 pm

Believe it or not, I realize not everyone lived near the coast!

And actually, my post was meant to be a bit "tongue-in-cheek"!

~Larry

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 11:29 pm

madguy wrote:Believe it or not, I realize not everyone lived near the coast! And actually, my post was meant to be a bit "tongue-in-cheek"!

~Larry

would you still call it famine, if the mexicans came over and took all the wheat, rye, corn,barley,... to their own country? i don't think this is funny

madguy · Post by **madguy** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 2:51 am

lixnaw, I sure didn't mean to offend anyone. Lighten up!

~Larry

Baen · Post by **Baen** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 3:59 am

I've read Irish history, and was very saddened by the long suffering by the countless numbers of the population. Many exports were going out of the country during the potato famine, cattle and other livestock in addtiion to grain crops.

And of those who emigrated, thousands died on the "coffin ships", or soon after arriving in the new country. Imagine how many sons and daughters wept as they saw the land they called home recede in the distance, as family members were left behind. For many of these, the positive aspects of life in a new land never offset having lost everything they knew and loved. The immigrant experience is not always the wonderful experience that we hear so much about. For many immigrants from around the world, it is always life in an alien world. This is true not just for the Irish, but for peoples of any nationality--and continues to this day.

For anyone interested, read Ireland: A Terrible Beauty, by Jill and Leon Uris (he just passed on. RIP). Somewhat dated (1975), but gives you a sense of what Ireland has gone through--a very human book. Also, a book called Lost Ireland, full of photos of life during the late 1800's and early 1900's. A wonderful sense of the Ireland of the past-

Ireland has had more than its share of tragedy. While we have the popular stereotype of the jovial Irishman, the truth of the Irish is far more complex. The beauty of their music contains both joy and sorrow, but as with all music is linked to real people and real events, and those should not be forgotten as we play their music.

best to all,
Baen

nickt · Post by **nickt** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 4:05 am

lixnaw wrote:it was a hard life to live on potatoes, while the english harvested their corn in ireland, and shipped it to england. (i mean no offence to the english people today)

No offence taken by this Englishman either. Unfortunately it points to a parasitic pillaging which has been going on for centuries and continues to this day. The Romans used England as its bread basket and made life tough for native Britons, the Soviets used Eastern Bloc countries for food (which is what started the whole Lech Walesa protest in the early 80s), and right now first world countries including the USA and the UK exploit third world countries in the same way. Will we ever learn?

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 10:56 am

i agree with you nick and just add this:

70% of the world population is still illiterate
50% don't have enough to eat
1% has done university or college
30% are white
30% are christian
1% has got a computer
59% of the property is owned by rich americans. together they represent 6% of the worlds population.

if we have money on the bank, some in our wallet, then we belong the 10% of the whealtyest people in the world

one day the scale will be in ballance

Baen · Post by **Baen** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 4:02 pm

Yes, the day when more of the world's people are equal in terms of quality of life and opportunity--that will be a great day. And, actually, the wealth of the world is being spread out a bit more-unfortunately, this usually means that the masses of people are still desperately poor, while the rich in that particular country grow richer (look at China for a great example). The middle class in the US is shrinking, but most of them are becoming poor, rather than richer. The multinational companies that go overseas have much to do with this, and their aim is not about spreading the wealth around--but to grow ever more wealthy through paying their workers ever less money, having no environmental protection laws to have to follow, etc. Then they'll move to the next country where the workers will work for even lower wages. It's a criminal act, pure and simple.

At the same time, during the boom times a few years back, I noticed that all the money people had did not make them nicer people. Instead, the majority seemed even more apt to buy huge SUV's and other ridiculous toys, and overall to become more self-centered and greedy. Of course, this was based on a "boom and bust" economy, which never produces the best in people.

It's unfortunate that the overly-materialistic model of life is the prevailing one. As other countries become wealthier, they want to become more like the US. Many of the positive traditions that they had are then washed away by the tide of material goods and "me-ism". Even places like Ireland went through this during the recent economic boom, and so many people could afford to buy cars that many streets were clogged with traffic. Is this progress???

As the saying goes, "Live simply, so that others may live". And I would add to that "If we all lived simply, everyone else could live".

Baen

Ted · Post by **Ted** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 4:09 pm

There were potato varieties in England at the time of the famine, which were resistant to blight. They were not allowed into Ireland for seed potatoes.