Mapping The Irish Famine

Here's the evolution of Irish Population density 1841->2002 on a DED level. You can see the devastating impact of the Famine, the gradual thinning of the rural population and the late-20th c. suburban sprawl #history #ireland #rstats pic.twitter.com/SOwSyHvPIN

— Alan Fernihough (@DiffusePrioR) March 9, 2018

On Friday Alan Fernihough Tweeted a truly shocking animated map which shows how the population of Ireland was devastated by the Irish Famine. The map shows population density in Ireland for every year from 1841 to 2012. It reveals the devastating effect of the famine on the population of Ireland -an effect so devastating that the population of Ireland was larger in the first half of the 19th Century than it even is today.

Alan's website The Irish Famine Project provides an interactive map which allows you to explore in more detail the effect of the Irish Famine on individual parishes. If you select a parish on the map you can view details on the parish's pre-famine and post-famine population and the overall percentage fall in the population.


The map uses data from a wide number of sources, including the 1841 and 1851 census. If you click on the 'more information' link in a Parish's information window you can view a more detailed breakdown of the pre- and post-famine population. This includes details on the drop in the male and female populations.