The practice of subdividing the land ended. Instead, the eldest son got the land, and other sons and daughters were forced to emigrate. The eldest son only got the farm when his father died, so he married late. This reduced the birth rate in Ireland. There was also clearance of estates during the famine and this, combined with the ending of subdivision, resulted in larger farms.
Decline in the Irish language The Irish-speaking areas in the West and South-West of Ireland were the worst hit by death and emigration. This contributed to the decline of the Irish language.
1. Which areas had the highest percentage of Irish speakers in 1851?
2. Identify three differences between the percentage of Irish speakers in 1851 and 1961.
3. Why, do you think, the numbers of Irish speakers continued to decline after the famine?
. Politics
The English government was blamed for the famine. Emigrants took their hatred of England with them to America. They later supported the Fenians, the Land League, Home Rule, the rebels in the 1916 Rising and the IRA when these groups opposed the British government.
