English: The Coolmountain Famine Soup Pot , Ballingeary , County Cork. This large, cast iron, vessel was used to make soup for starving families during the Great Irish Famine, 1847-51. It was provided by the resident of Coolmountain House, a few miles away in this parish. It was discovered this century, by the local historical society, in use as an outdoor hot-tub. It was kindly donated to the Society and a plinth and shelter erected for its display in Ballingeary, where it stands near the bridge on the approach to the town. During the time of The Great Famine, broilers or famine pots like this one were set up on estates within the parish. The provision of a thin porridge to 3 million people in soup kitchens in the summer of 1847 reduced the death rate from starvation and related diseases. 1.1 million people in Ireland (one eighth of the population) died from famine related causes and a further 1 million emigrated in what was the greatest social catastrophe in modern Irish history