Free Trade or Famine 1845-46 (The Great Famine Part VI)

This show in the Great Famine podcast series takes you through the winter of 1845 as the situation in Ireland deteriorates. Despite the fact Ireland faces starvation the British government and Irish merchants are intent that food will continue to be exported.

Food riots and protests become common, while the crisis facing Ireland is consumed in bitter political disputes around ‘Free Trade’ in London.

While the show follows the fate of millions through increasingly uncertain times, it begins (as is often the case now) in a quite secluded spot in the west of Ireland in Co Leitrim.