There are more Irish in New England than in Ireland. But the Irish did not once appear in the United States. Most of them emigrated from Ireland over 55 years ago. Four out of five people you meet in New England are at least one-eighth Irish. It is easy to see that when the Irish came here, they did not come in small groups. Ireland is a beautiful country in Europe, the size of Maine. Today, Ireland is predominantly populated by middle-class families. Ireland is famous for its potatoes, but in 1845 a disease attacked the potato crops. Most Irish families lived on potatoes. They ate and sold potatoes for a living, so when the potatoes stopped growing, people ran out of money. This is what we call “the great potato famine”. It was so bad; people were starving. Two million people died. There was virtually no help from the British government. People often rebelled against the government, angered by its recklessness. Many people did not want to leave their beloved country, fearing change. With no food to eat, emigration seemed to be the only solution for most of the population. People often spoke of “streets paved with gold” in a country called America. It was said that there were many job opportunities in this new country. America seemed like the best choice to settle down and finally start a new life. The decision to leave Ireland was a difficult one, but to avoid starvation, many Irish families boarded ships and traveled to America. No Irish family could afford to travel first or second class on ships, so they were forced to travel direct. Steerage was the lowest and cheapest class. All the steering passengers were packed tightly together, with almost no space, wallowing in filth. Many passengers experienced seasickness, but there was no fresh air to at least slightly ease the ailment. The stench was horrible. Both people who hadn't bathed in weeks and diseases spreading. In the worst ships, no bathrooms were available. So many people died on these voyages that they were often called "coffin ships." A ship called Elizabeth took on 276 Irish passengers. By the end of the journey, 44 of those passengers had died. When Irish immigrants finally arrived in America, they sang songs and celebrated the end of the journey..