The Famine was a "public health emergency in its own right", during which 1 million people died, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan said at the National Famine Commemoration in Dublin on Sunday.
Ms Madigan said that those who died during the Famine did so not primarily from hunger, but from the epidemics brought on by hunger.
She was speaking at a ceremony held in St Stephen’s Green that was closed to the public.
The ceremony was to have been held in Buncrana, Co Donegal, but the arrangement was changed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ms Madigan said that most people who died in the wake of the failure of the potato crop died from dysentry, smallpox and “famine fever”.
Those who came to the aid of those suffering in Ireland came from different classes and religions, and included groups abroad such as the Choctaw Nation in the US.
The heroes of the Famine sought to lift and carry those who fell or could not keep up, she said.
“That same spirit of caring and self-sacrifice that is embedded in the caring professions is being seen again today as our health workers embrace the challenge of caring for those affected by Covid-19. We honour and respect these modern-day heroes and value their courage.
“Perhaps we can best show our appreciation for their work, and the efforts of their forebears during the Great Famine, by adhering to those small acts of heroism we are called upon to perform in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and to come through these testing times, just as our ancestors once did.”
The 2021 Famine commemoration is to be held in Buncrana.
