author

Canon John O'Rourke

An Irish priest and historian, he is best remembered for a vivid account of the Great Irish Famine drawn in part from eyewitness testimony. His writing combined pastoral concern with sharp criticism of the social failures that deepened suffering in nineteenth-century Ireland.

1 Audiobook

The History of the Great Irish Famine of 1847 (3rd ed.) (1902)

The History of the Great Irish Famine of 1847 (3rd ed.) (1902)

by Canon John O'Rourke

About the author

Born in Ireland in 1809, John O'Rourke became a Roman Catholic priest and later served in the Diocese of Dublin. He entered Maynooth College in 1845 and was ordained in 1849.

Alongside his priestly work, he wrote fiction and history. His first book, Holly and ivy for the Christmas holidays, appeared in 1853 under the pseudonym Anthony Evergreen.

He is best known for The history of the great Irish famine of 1847, with notices of earlier Irish famines (1875), a work noted for drawing on eyewitness evidence and for its strong views on the responsibilities of government and landlords during the famine. He died on July 17, 1887, at the presbytery in Maynooth.