What kinds of British relief were offered during the Great Famine?

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Rowan Gillespie: Famine — Great Famine *Famine* (1997), sculpture by Rowan Gillespie commemorating the Great Famine; in Dublin.

British relief efforts during the Great Famine were widely considered inadequate and were characterized by a shift toward a laissez-faire policy.1

Initial measures under Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel included authorizing the import of maize from the United States to help prevent starvation. However, the government continued to allow the export of grain from Ireland to Great Britain throughout the crisis.1

When the Whig cabinet took power in 1846, they shifted the financial burden of relief onto Irish landowners and absentee landowners, which led to mass evictions as funds were exhausted. Under the Poor Law, the "able-bodied" were forced into workhouses rather than receiving direct aid. Other limited British assistance included:1

Providing loans.1
Funding soup kitchens, which served up to three million people by August 1847.1
Creating employment through public works, such as road building.1

These measures were largely ineffective and intensified Irish resentment toward British rule.1