I may or may not spend a little time each March brushing up on my Irish history. I'm a busy girl, so I don't have time for complicated words and tons of information. So yes, I get my information from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Irish History and Culture. It's like the perfect Cliff's Notes for facts on Ireland.
Every year I'm surprised at the little tidbits of information found within these hallowed pages. Here is this year's "ah ha" moment for your enjoyment.
I'm sure you're familiar with the thousands of photos showing these beautiful stone walls. Miles and miles of walls that seemingly lead to nowhere! These were, in fact, a public works project developed by the English government to put the famine and eviction victims to work. In March of 1847, during the height of the Potato Famine, as many as 728,000 were put to work, building stone fences with no purpose and roads that led to nowhere. Putting starving men to work with hard labor in the bitter cold was inhumane, not to mention impractical. Yet they scrambled to do the work in exchange for one meal a day for a family of six! In the end, it only delayed the inevitable and millions of Irish died or were forced to leave on the famine ships within the following years.
Interestingly enough, it has the landmarks of our own New Deal, implemented by Roosevelt following our Great Depression. Thankfully, ours turned out a bit better.
When I do travel to Ireland, I'm going to look upon those walls much like I do our own National Monuments and highways. Touch a stone and shed a tear for the men who labored in troubled times.
