The Irish Famine of 1845-52, although a pivotal event in the development of modern Ireland, was for decades marginalised or ignored by Irish historians. In examining the reasons for this silence, Famine expert Christine Kinealy demonstrates how many current attitudes and arguments about the Famine were evident during the event itself. The influences that shaped the responses to the Famine represent a core theme of this book. Dr Kinealy focuses on the key factors which nurtured both policy formulations and the unfolding of events in mid-nineteenth-century Ireland. These include political ideologies, such as the influential doctrine of political economy; providentialist ideas which ordained that the potato blight was a 'judgement of God'; and an opportunistic interpretation of the crisis that viewed the Famine and the consequent social dislocation as an opportunity to reconstruct Irish society. Kinealy also examines the roles of the Irish landlords and merchants, political factions in Westminster and the pivotal role played by civil servants within the British government.