> Didn't the Irish survive only on the potato, for centuries, and a tiny bit
> of eggs or buttermilk, when times were good?
>

No!  Potatoes were introduced to Ireland from South America during
the modern era.  Even during the Famine (1847-1850 approx) lots of
other food was being produced in Ireland and exported.  Why this
happened is a political/historical debate. There is not any doubt,
however, that many disenfranchised Irish were forced to subsist on a
diet of primarily potatoes, buttermilk, and whatever they could
scavenge in the way of intertidal sea creatures and plants.  They
died in great numbers from this insufficient diet.

Molly Ni/Da/na
San Francisco, California
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http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/4715/