The Irish Dresser
A Story of Hope during The Great Hunger (An Gorta Mor 1845-1850)
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"An exciting, entertaining, and highly recommended story of taking risks and facing new challenges for the sake of hope." — Midwest Book Review |
"Ever since the potato fog came to Ireland, I am always frightened and hungry. I am as hungry as a caterpillar devouring the leaves on a branch of a tree. My hands shake while I pick berries from the wet fields and eat them. It had been October when the potato fog came and destroyed our crops. Now it is November and it has been raining every day since, a soft drizzle that makes us feel like creatures of the sea. Our skin is always moist, just like seals, just like fish."
— From The Irish Dresser: A Story of Hope during The Great Hunger (an Gorta Mor, 1845-1850)
When thirteen-year-old Nora McCabe crawls into the old dresser that sits next to the hearth holding a few pieces of her mother's china, she dreams of luscious cakes and fairies as hunger pains grip her. It is in the dresser that Nora finds hope when her father declares they must leave their beloved Ireland for America. Hidden in the magical dresser aboard the ship traveling to a new land, Nora lives an adventure that transforms her life and turns hope into reality.
— From The Irish Dresser: A Story of Hope during The Great Hunger (an Gorta Mor, 1845-1850)
When thirteen-year-old Nora McCabe crawls into the old dresser that sits next to the hearth holding a few pieces of her mother's china, she dreams of luscious cakes and fairies as hunger pains grip her. It is in the dresser that Nora finds hope when her father declares they must leave their beloved Ireland for America. Hidden in the magical dresser aboard the ship traveling to a new land, Nora lives an adventure that transforms her life and turns hope into reality.
"Besides eating green frosted cupcakes, families might celebrate St. Patrick's Day by reading a book about Ireland. More than two million Irish people emmigrated, largely to the United States, during the potato famine of 1845 to 1850 and another one million died of starvation. Author Cynthia Neale limns these terrible times in The Irish Dresser. To forget the hunger, 13-year-old Nora McCabe hides in her family's big dresser and daydreams about food and a richer life. Her father manages to scrape together passage on a ship to America, but there is no ticket for Nora. The piece of furniture is her only hope; and she stows away in it for the long journey filled with sickness, hunger and unfair treatment of the poor. In addition to a gripping plot, the story is beautifully told in the cadences of Irish speech." — Mary Quattlebaum, Children's Literature Critic
"The Irish Dresser is an exciting, entertaining, and highly recommended story of taking risks and facing new challenges for the sake of hope." — Midwest Book Review
"Ms. Neale has drawn a vivid picture of the physical and emotional challenges facing Irish immigrants to America in the nineteenth century." — The Irish Emigrant
"The Irish Dresser is an exciting, entertaining, and highly recommended story of taking risks and facing new challenges for the sake of hope." — Midwest Book Review
"Ms. Neale has drawn a vivid picture of the physical and emotional challenges facing Irish immigrants to America in the nineteenth century." — The Irish Emigrant
Irish Famine Facts
Over one million people perished during what came to be known as The Great Hunger, An Gorta Mor, 1845 – 1850 or the Irish Famine. Over two million in a ten year period immigrated to North America and Britain. Ireland was altered tragically. America was altered (for the best). Most hunger victims were Irish Catholic who comprised 80% of the population of Ireland and lived on small plots of land, growing potatoes for their sustenance. They raised livestock and grew other grains, but mostly to sell to pay their rent, not to eat. They had been colonized by Britain and lived without political and economic rights for over eight hundred years.
5,000 ships carried the Famine Irish to North America during this time. There are over 40 million people in America who claim Irish blood. A newspaper journalist recently asked me what contributions the Irish specifically made to this country. I didn’t know how to answer because their contributions are pervasive in every field and profession throughout the history of America. And my favorite is the music and dancing.
We can’t sanitize and remake history, nor should we get stuck in the rage of the past, but remembrance is healing and can bring understanding and peace. And understanding the Famine can bring about a response to the overwhelming crisis of starvation in our world today.
Our ancestors cheer us on, for the Celtic mind believes there is a thin line between life and death. Isn’t it about time we cheer our ancestors on? We are the sum of them. We carry about unmarked Famine graves, as Thomas Hayden has written. We can heal and become empowered when we tell our stories and we also become compassionate to help heal others who are suffering, especially from hunger and injustice.
Over one million people perished during what came to be known as The Great Hunger, An Gorta Mor, 1845 – 1850 or the Irish Famine. Over two million in a ten year period immigrated to North America and Britain. Ireland was altered tragically. America was altered (for the best). Most hunger victims were Irish Catholic who comprised 80% of the population of Ireland and lived on small plots of land, growing potatoes for their sustenance. They raised livestock and grew other grains, but mostly to sell to pay their rent, not to eat. They had been colonized by Britain and lived without political and economic rights for over eight hundred years.
5,000 ships carried the Famine Irish to North America during this time. There are over 40 million people in America who claim Irish blood. A newspaper journalist recently asked me what contributions the Irish specifically made to this country. I didn’t know how to answer because their contributions are pervasive in every field and profession throughout the history of America. And my favorite is the music and dancing.
We can’t sanitize and remake history, nor should we get stuck in the rage of the past, but remembrance is healing and can bring understanding and peace. And understanding the Famine can bring about a response to the overwhelming crisis of starvation in our world today.
Our ancestors cheer us on, for the Celtic mind believes there is a thin line between life and death. Isn’t it about time we cheer our ancestors on? We are the sum of them. We carry about unmarked Famine graves, as Thomas Hayden has written. We can heal and become empowered when we tell our stories and we also become compassionate to help heal others who are suffering, especially from hunger and injustice.