Life on a Famine Ship

Nine-year-old Michael O'Connor's story is typical of the two million Irish people who fled the Great Famine of Ireland between 1845 and 1850. We accompany Michael and his family through repeated failures of the potato crop that force them to leave Ireland. They seek passage on the sailing ship Dunbrody, bound for North America, where the family strives to rebuild a life in the New World. This beautifully illustrated book is packed with facts and real-life details of that journey. It includes two fascinating pop-ups of the Dunbrody famine ship which carried hundreds of emigrants from Ireland to America and Canada. It offers an unusual and innovative introduction for children to this extraordinary period of Irish history, and will impress on them the bravery and fortitude of their ancestors.