Editing Irish Famine (1740–1741) (section)

==Spring drought, 1740==
In spring 1740, the expected rains did not arrive. Although the Frost dissipated, the temperatures remained low and the northerly winds fierce. The drought killed off animals in the field, particularly sheep in [[Connacht]] and black cattle in the south.

By the end of April, it destroyed much of the [[tillage]] crops (wheat and barley) sown the previous autumn, and grains were more important in the diet than were potatoes. The important corn crop also failed, which resulted in greater mortality in Ireland than in Britain or the Continent.<ref name="crawford">Clarkson and Crawford (2001), p. 126</ref>

Grains were so scarce that the Irish hierarchy of the Catholic Church allowed Catholics to eat meat four days each week during [[Lent]], but not everyone could afford meat. The potato crisis caused an increase in grain prices, resulting in smaller and smaller loaves of bread for the old price. Dickson explains that the "wholesale rise in the price of wheat, oats and barley reflected not just the current supply position, but the dealers' assessment as to the state of things later in the year."<ref>Dickson (1997), p. 25</ref>

By summer 1740, the Frost had decimated the potatoes, and the drought had decimated the grain harvest and herds of cattle and sheep. Starving rural dwellers started a "mass vagrancy" towards the better-supplied towns, such as Cork in southern Ireland. By mid-June 1740, beggars lined the streets.