England’s disinterested response to the disastrous potato famine of 1845-1849, which caused a mass exodus and claimed the lives of a great proportion of the population, reducing Ireland’s population from eight million to just four and a half million, enraged the country. While natives died from starvation, exports to England did not only continue, but even increased by 30% in what became known as ‘Black ‘47’. Rations, when they finally did arrive in the form of cheap Indian cornmeal (Irish corn was still being exported), were not handed out to those who needed them the most, with the excuse that such an action may encourage laziness and thus have a negative impact on the Irish economy. After all, according to British Prime Minister Robert Peel, the Irish had ‘a tendency to exaggerate.’ This only served to strengthen opposition against the powerful neighbour, as well as forever imbedding a deep scar on English-Irish relations.

While Dublin escaped the worst of it, it found itself swamped with desperate migrants, so that by the early 20th century, slum dwellings had taken over the city and death rates were at an all-time high. An estimated 20,000 families found themselves living in one-room dwellings, with no adequate water supply and making them vulnerable to diseases. Against this background rose the Fenians, with factions in both Dublin and the US. They were a pro-Irish group who, in the aftermath of the Great Famine, aimed to restore national pride by reminding the people what being Irish entailed. Celebrating national history, language and culture, Dublin saw the establishment of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the Gaelic League and later the Celtic Revival Movement (under WB Yeats and Lady Gregory) among others.