The Féar Gortach

Memorialization of the Great Hunger in Irish Folklore

Abstract

Folklore, as an ever-changing set of stories and traditions, provides valuable insight into the emotional and cultural impact of historical events. In Ireland, one can find an excellent case study in the evolving stories of the Féar Gortach. Also known as Hungry Grass, this particular Irish legend centers around patches of earth that instill intense feelings of hunger in those who cross it. Traditionally characterized as the doing of fairies, the legend began to see a cultural shift in the latter half of the nineteenth century following the tragedy of the Great Hunger. Beginning in 1845, the Great Hunger, otherwise known as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of mass starvation and emigration in Ireland, brought about by the repeated failure of the potato crop due to agricultural disease. In the wake of this national tragedy, the legend of the Féar Gortach began to change. This paper examines how stories of the Féar Gortach were used to memorialize and process the Great Hunger in Ireland, drawing upon the imagery of funerary rites and nineteenth century famine walls in order to produce a uniquely Irish means of grappling with the tragedy.