More Precious than Gold!

The Irish potato was discovered by Spanish Conquistadors in 1536 A.D. who had traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World looking for gold. What they found was more precious than gold.

The Indians in the area of Peru and Bolivia had raised the firm, round potato for centuries. The sailors on Spanish ships found that they kept well on shipboard trips, were tasty, and not hard to nurture. It was not until 1589 that the English started to get in to the act. Sir Walter Raleigh began cultivating the potatoes in Ireland on the 40,000 acres of land near Cork.

Potatoes took four decades to spread across other European countries and were introduced into Europe promising hearty white pulp on the table which became a basic food.

Conversely, the people of Prussia were even more stubborn and refused to experiment with the new plant. So the King of Prussia had to threaten to cut off the noses and ears of anyone who refused to eat potatoes. Yes, he truly did!

Before long the potato became the basic diet of Europe and literally saved the Irish from starvation for years under the British rule. Other produce, such as corn, were absconded and shipped for sale to Britain and other European countries by the ascendancy. Even though the Catholic Irish were poor, if they had a donkey, a small parcel of land, and a potato field, the Irish children were fed, round and smiling.

Unfortunately, during the mid-19th century, the blight, a fungus diseases that destroys the leaves and roots of the plant, hit Ireland severely! The blight destroyed the plants from leaves to roots/meat of the potato, and without the treasured spuds, nearly 4 million of the Irish population suffered the tortures of starvation. The Great Immigration to the New World increased. The children’s smiles were no longer.

However, one thing was never doubted in the minds of all Irish or other countries who ended up needing the potato. Potatoes have proved more precious! You can’t eat gold. You can eat potatoes!

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The Quirky Irish Character

Once there were two smart looking city fellows walking down Main Street when they saw one of those Dumb Irishman coming. They decided to get some fun out of him so they stopped and asked him, “Have you heard that the Devil is dead”

"Indeed now?”

He took two quarters out of his pocket and gave one to each of the men, then he walked away.

For a couple of minutes the smart fellows were dumbfounded. Then they called out and asked, ”What are these quarters for?”

The “dumb” Irishman turned and answered, “In Ireland when the head of a family dies we think its proper to give a donation to the descendants.”

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To read more of the story of the story of Irish Blight and Famine, read "Ah, Those Irish Colleens!" (non-fiction) and "Kells! The Risin' of the Rebellion" (fiction) by Helen Walsh Folsom.

With the aid of my daughter, Bettse Folsom, we are responding to a series of answer & questions & snippets about Ireland that many people have asked me during events where I have attended. If you have a question, please contact me by email and I will be happy to address it.

Thank you for reading my blog!