Davis and the Potato Rot
The potato was not Ireland’s only crop, nor was every Irish person dependent on it in the same way. Grain, livestock and dairy produce formed major commercial sectors, while townspeople, stronger farmers and many artisans had more varied diets. Yet for a vast rural population of labourers, cottiers and very small occupiers, potatoes supplied the essential daily food. A small plot, cultivated intensively, could sustain a family when wages were low, land access insecure and cash scarce. The same system left households exceptionally exposed when the crop failed. Potatoes also fed pigs and helped to support the small, interlocking economies of cabins, petty trade, rent payments and seasonal labour.