The Irish Potato Famine, also known as the ‘Great Hunger’, started in 1845 when a fungus-like organism affected crops and spread rapidly throughout Ireland. The infestation had a catastrophic impact on Ireland and its population. Before it ended in 1852, the Potato Famine resulted in the death of approximately one million people from starvation and related causes, with at least another million forced to leave their homeland as refugees.
