"I do not believe famines are caused by anything other than abnormal conditions"
Agree entirely, nobody suggested for one moment they were.
It's the question of how they are dealt with that surrounds the Irish Famine
When there was enough food available to feed the population four times over and it was not distributed among the starving can be described as remissable
When food gathered to feed the starving was sold to a starving people at market prices so as not to upset the markets (lassaire faire) can be described at horrifically predatory "the wealthy feeding off the dying, vulture-like".
When the sole charge of handling the famine and advising on its strategy (Sir Charles Trevelyan - a religious fanatic) described the Famine as "God's punishment for their evil ways"... well.... that's something far more sinister
Charles E. Trevelyan, who served under both Peel and Russell at the Treasury, and had prime responsibility for famine relief in Ireland, was clear about God's role: "The judgement of God sent the calamity to teach the Irish a lesson, that calamity must not be too much mitigated".
HERE
MORE DETAILED ACCOUNT HERE
Jim Carroll