During the Middle Ages, streams of rainwater, waste and sewage flowed down the streets of the city in open, timber-lined drains.
These drains carried the waste into the river. The waste, sewage and lack of hygiene and medical care led to outbreaks of fevers and diseases called plagues.
The Black Death was one of these plagues. The disease was spread by fleas on black rats.
It first appeared in Italy in 1347 and spread quickly throughout Europe, killing millions.
Historians believe it arrived in Cork in the summer of 1349.
The people in the city were worse affected than the people in the countryside.
The Black Death
This is a picture from this terrible period.
Can you see:
- How are the dead being carried away?
- Why do you think the man on the right has a shovel?
- How does the artist show how the people are feeling?