the landlord and feed their families. However, when the harvest was bad it was very difficult to survive.
C. Farm Labourers
The third group was made up of the farm labourers or cottiers. They accounted for 56% of all workers. These people rented a plot of land on which they could grow potatoes. This plot was known as a conacre. They paid for the use of this land by working a number of days on the farmer’s land. One acre of potatoes was able to provide enough food for a whole family for an entire year. Potatoes were an easy food source that had helped support the increase in population in Ireland over the previous 100 years. About three million small farmers and farm labourers depended on the potato as their main food.
Housing
The quality and type of housing in Ireland varied a lot. The landlords lived in mansions and some wealthy farmers had farmhouses. However, the majority of the population lived in small, one- roomed mud huts with a thatched roof. These huts had a fireplace but the chimney was frequently just a hole in the roof. These types of homes were very common in the west of Ireland.
Source B
Fig 12.2 A woman and her children with their livestock outside a peasant dwelling in Leinster, 1843. Look at the image and decide if you consider this a poor or a rich dwelling. Give reasons for your answer.
Looking at the evidence This map shows the percentage of the Irish population living in one-roomed huts in the 1840s. Working in pairs, answer the following questions: 1. List three counties where 61% or more people lived in one-roomed houses.
2. Why do you think that the counties with the highest percentage of people living in such houses are on the west coast of Ireland?