yes why quibble but if you must..... whilst the worst famine was 1845-48, there were further outbreaks of blight - as mentioned in the song, and deaths from hunger continued over the proceeding years. People were living at such a low level of subsistence it was a continuing danger. So the dates cited for the famine in Ireland are a moot point.

Leadfingers, your point is a good one. Kathryn Williams version of Leonard Cohen's Hallejullah is so beautiful but in the wrong hands it would probably induce suicide!