S. M. Hussey - Some superstition … prevented even the children from

Some superstition … prevented even the children from eating the myriads of blackberries which ripened on the bushes .

Context

during the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-1850 See also the cultural inhibition on eating fish during the Famine: {617415}

Topics

Citations

S. M. Hussey, 1824-1913, (Samuel Murray Hussey), Irish Land Agent & Contemporary Historian, Reminiscences of an Irish Land Agent, 1904

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

Linked Quotes

Wallop Brabazon

The very great poverty of the Fishermen arises from the want of markets or other demand for fish. The Fishermen often see the creeks along the West Coast crammed with fine fish, when they could take tons of them at a haul, or shot, with a deep seine or drift net, but when caught they would be useless to them, as they could not either salt or sell them …. From the loss of the potatoes as a certain means of subsistence, the fishermen would give their undivided time to the Fisheries, instead of losing the best seasons by wasting their labor on a high-rented potato garden. They would thus throw an immense quantity of cured food such as Hake, Cod

This treatise was written in the midst of the terrible Irish potato famine. Ireland is an island with then a huge variety of fish and shellfish all about, especially on the West Coast. However, a terrible combination of lack of economic capital and structure, tradition, eating habits, resistance to change, neglect of the authorities, insularity of the people, and lack of leadership allowed the famine to exist in the potential midst of plenty. See {617694} for a similar situations with berries.

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