"Irish Emigrants Leaving Home - The Priest's Blessing" Illustrated London News.
A total failure of the Irish potato crop in 1846 and 1847 set in motion a frenzied emigration on a scale never before known in British history. The movement reached its peak in 1851 when 254,000 Irishmen sailed from British and Irish ports. This sketch from the Illustrated London News, May 10, 1851 shows a party of emigrants from Southern Ireland about to begin the first leg of their journey. If they were going to Upper Canada, they faced two months or more of travel depending upon the caprice of men and weather. The night before their departure was celebrated like a wake, and for the first mile they would be followed by a procession of weeping relatives and friends.
