Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Visiting the Museum:
Thoughtful exhibits explain how three million Irish peasants
survived onasurprisingly nutritious pre-famine diet ofbuttermilk andpotatoes (12pounds
perdayperaveragemalelaborer...potatoesare80percentwater).Whenafungusdestroyed
the potato crop, it sparked the Great Potato Famine, and as many as a million Irish people
died of starvation.
MajorMahon,theill-fatedlandlordhereduringthefamine,founditcheapertofillthree
“coffin ships” bound for America with his evicted, starving tenants than pay the taxes for
their upkeep in the local workhouse. When almost half died at sea of “famine fever,” he
was assassinated.
After visiting the museum, take a tour of the musty “Big House.” The tours provide
insights into the gulf that divided the Protestant ascendancy and their Catholic house staff.
Afterward, find the servants' tunnel—connecting the kitchen to the stable—built to avoid
cluttering the Mahon family's views with unsightly common laborers.
