One thing to know is that she thought she could defend herself without an attorney. If she had one, she probably would have win the case... For those speaking french : http://www.lexpress.fr/styles/...

Try to read your source, The Great Famine cause was structurals and economics. Agriculture had nothing to do with it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)#Causes_and_contributing_factors