There are more Irish in New England than in Ireland. But the Irish didn't just appear in the United States one day. Most of them emigrated here from Ireland more than 55 years ago. Four out of five people you meet in New England are at least one-eighth Irish. It's easy to say that when the Irish came here, they didn't come in small groups. Ireland is a beautiful country in Europe, about the size of Maine. Today, Ireland is populated mainly by middle-class families. Ireland is famous for its potatoes, but in 1845 a disease attacked the potato crops. Potatoes were what most Irish families lived on. They ate and sold potatoes to make a living, so when the potatoes stopped growing, people ran out of money. This is known as "The Great Potato Famine". It was so bad; people were actually starving. Two million people died. There was almost no help from the British government. People often rebelled against the government, angered by its inattention. Many people did not want to leave their beloved country, scared of change. Without food to eat, emigration seemed to be the only solution for the majority of the population. People often talked about "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 difficult to make, but to avoid starvation many Irish families boarded ships and traveled to America. No Irish family could afford first or second class on ships, so they were forced to travel third class. Third class was the lowest and least expensive class. All the passengers in the third class were crowded together, with almost no space, wallowing in the dirt. Many passengers became seasick, but there was no fresh air to at least slightly calm the seasickness. The smell was horrible. Both from people who hadn't bathed in weeks, and from disease and illness spreading. In the worst ships there were no bathrooms available. So many people died on these voyages that they were often called "coffin ships." A ship called Elizabeth took on board 276 Irish passengers. By the end of the journey, 44 of these passengers were dead. When the Irish immigrants finally arrived in America, they sang songs and celebrated that the journey was finally over.