In a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration, a recent survey has revealed that a rural area near Newtownbutler was one of the worst affected in terms of de-population during the Great Irish Famine during the mid 19th century.

New findings by the National Centre for Geocomputation (NCG) have revealed that the population in parts of counties Fermanagh and Tyrone declined by almost 50 per cent during the Famine which robbed Ireland of one third of its population as a whole in the 1840s. Professor Stewart Fotheringham, based at NUI Maynooth explained further that the research revealed the impact of emigration at a local level and that in several Ulster counties the population was affected severely.

This research challenges the theory that Northern Ireland counties suffered less during the Famine when in actual fact the analysis has discovered there was a 45.7 per cent loss in population in the area of Kilturk close to Newtownbutler in Fermanagh. Kilturk was the worst affected place in Northern Ireland as its population halved, falling from 1,097 in 1841 to 595 around 10 years later. Fermanagh was the worse affected of the six counties of Northern Ireland and it was the 10th worst affected in the 32 counties of Ireland.

Online the researchers have mapped out their results in two digitised maps which examine 3,452 electoral districts across Ireland with the essential data that reveals the impact of the Famine and how it differed from area to area. They have mapped the changes in population from 1841 to 2002 - the last year in which it is possible to compare figures on an all-Ireland basis because in Northern Ireland there is only a census every 10 years.

Within the Fermanagh region the census results reveal the following: Location Pop 1851 Pop 2002 Belleek 1264 928 Enniskillen 8793 13283 Florencecourt 2040 791 Lisnaskea 3702 3527 Lisnarick 959 307 M'bridge 1912 1225 N'butler 1582 1235 Rosslea 3516 1329 Tempo 2133 1064 Since the Famine in Ireland in 1840s, the population until 2002 has shockingly decreased in most places within Fermanagh as a result of the blight (With the exception of Enniskillen which contained a workhouse). These results prove a decline in population in many rural places until recent times. But what were the reasons for the decline in the aftermath of the Famine? Was it due to emigration, famine deaths or simply the reallocation of people from one area to another.

Mary Kelly who worked along with Professor Fotheringham on the research said, "We hope also that the atlas will be used in primary and secondary schools and will encourage young people to become interested in the history of their areas as well as in maps and mapping" The famine that gripped Ireland caused the general Irish population to fall by between 20-25 per cent and more precisely, Co. Fermanagh suffered a 26 per cent decline in population ,as the Famine ruined crops and claimed about one million lives overall. One third of the Irish people were entirely dependant on the potato crop for food due to the fact the potato crop could produce more food per acre than wheat or any other crop in Ireland.

The potato could also be sold as a source of income however as the workers were paid at the end of the week, often some men had died of starvation before they received their wages.

Again there was plenty of wheat, meat and dairy produce although the major problem amongst the Irish people was not actually a lack of food but no money to buy the food.

As a method of survival most people were unwillingly to enter workhouses, although as desperation developed there was no other option. There were workhouses in Enniskillen, Lisnaskea and Irvinestown and in some cases people from Enniskillen would have also used Clogher and Ballyshannon workhouses.

Mary Kelly further explained, "Having this information in an on-line atlas form allows members of the public to explore the geography of population change in their county."