Life expectancy in Ireland has doubled over the past 200 years, but why was it so low for so long? In this podcast, I delve into the factors that kept life expectancy down in Ireland's history and what those numbers truly mean. Did people really only live to 40 in the past? During the Great Hunger, life expectancy plummeted to just 20 years—what does this reveal about society at the time? Join me as I explore these questions and discuss what I believe to be one of humanity's greatest achievements: the remarkable doubling of life expectancy in recent times. Support the show at https://patreon.com/irishpodcast Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/irishhistory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.