Sometimes we hear doubts about whether there was food in Ireland during "The Great Hunger." Please look at the whiskey production published in the Athlone Sentinel on April 25th in the report brief report below:

"The quantity distilled in Ireland for the year ending Jan. 5th, 1849 was of malt: 34,897 gals; malt with unmalted grain: 7,957,000 gals; sugar or molasses with unmalted grain: 126,282 gals. Total: 8,126.307 gals

Think of all the barley, all the wheat, all of the hops, all the land which had to be cleared (evictions) of all of the tenants to make production like this possible. Then remember that at this stage in brewing as distinct from distillation there were over 30 Brewers in Dublin, plus more throughout the rest of the country. Some of them were huge. Little wonder why today we Irish say, "slainte," or "health."