The proximate cause of the Great Irish Famine of 1846-50 was a potato blight that affected most of Western Europe. Why was the blight’s impact so severe in Ireland, but not elsewhere? Join Dr. Alan Fernihough, lecturer in economics at Queen’s University, Belfast, to hear about his ongoing research on The Causes and Consequences of the Great Irish Famine. Using Geographical Information System (GIS) data and statistical analyses, this lecture will touch on age-old questions such as what made Ireland so vulnerable to blight, and could more have been done to alleviate famine hunger and disease.