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THE FAMINE CEMETERY






THE FAMINE CEMETERY





At the back of Tipperary Town
Lies a story of great renown,
It is such a sad tale of woe
A tale that everyone should know.



It started in 1845
A lot of people did not survive
Ireland was struck by the potato blight
Which left it`s people in terrible plight.



This disease caused the potato to rot
So there was no food for their pot,
Their staple diet was this failed crop
With no food they soon started to drop.



Starvation was not their only foe
The spread of Cholera began to grow,
Emigration was a solution for some
For those left behind the situation was glum.



Oats, beef, mutton, pork, poultry and wheat
Were in good supply and ready to eat,
But the Irish/English landlords shipped it out
While the Irish people had to do without.



It was shipped to the European Continent
To gain a good profit was their intent,
This makes it a hard thing to forgive
As the Irish were eating grass to live.



It is said that from starvation and disease
A million people died including babies,
This piece of history is so very sad
All because the potatoes went bad.



For those who died there was no inquest
Nor was there a coffin in which they could rest,
Sometimes the dead went unburied
A very sad affair indeed.



So I saw the sign and I came to see
Just what was this Famine Cemetery,
And I was saddened by what greeted me
So sparse and stark so very eerie.



The wind blew across this open field
But their dead will never be revealed
Some graves are marked with just a stone
But who lies below remains unknown.





copyright©2008 Elsie


Elsie`s Poetry ~*~ Poet5170
http://poetrypoem.com/poet5170








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