The Famine Statistics of modern times show how necessary those precautions were. If the Round Towers of Ireland had still been used in the Christian Era as granaries, and well stored with corn, instead of being turned into towers for hanging church bells in, how many precious lives would have been saved during all those famines which devastated that beautiful island! The following is a Chronological Table of Famines[84] that visited Ireland within the Christian Era. A.D. 10-15 | A general fruitlessness, giving rise to famine and great | mortality. | 76 | Great scarcity. | 192 | General scarcity; bad harvest; mortality and emigration, | “so that lands and houses, territories and tribes, were | emptied.”—First notice of emigration. | 535 | Destruction of food and scarcity, lasted four years. | 664 | Great famine. | 669 | Great scarcity; and in following year. | 695-700 | Famine and pestilence during three years, “so that men ate | each other.” | 759 | Great famine throughout the kingdom; | and more or less for several years. | 768 | Famine and an earthquake. | 772 | Famine from drought. | 824-25 | Great dearth. | 895-97 | Famine from invasion of locusts. | 963-64 | An intolerable famine, “so that parents sold their children | for food.” | 1047 | Great famine and snow. | 1116 | Great famine, “during which the people even ate each | other.” | 1153 | Great famine in Munster, and spread all over Ireland. | 1188 | Great scarcity of food in north of Ireland. | 1200 | “A cold, foodless year.” | 1203 | A great famine, “so that priests ate flesh in Lent.” | 1227 | A great famine throughout the country. | 1262 | Great destruction of people from plague and hunger. | 1271 | Pestilence and famine in the whole of Ireland. | 1295 | Great dearth during this and the previous and following | years. | 1302 | Famine. | 1314 | Famine and various distempers. | 1316 | Great dearth. Eight captured Scots eaten at siege of | Carrickfergus. | 1317 | A great famine throughout the country in consequence of | Bruce’s invasion. | 1332 | A peck of wheat sold for 22 shillings. | 1339 | A general famine. | 1410 | “A great famine.” | 1433 | Famine of great severity. | 1447 | Great famine in the Spring. | 1491 | Such a famine that it was called, “The Dismal Year.” |