Cook Street was located in the historic Liberties area of Dublin, which was a densely populated area of the city that was home to many working-class residents.

During the mid-19th century, tenement housing was prevalent in many areas of Dublin, including the Liberties. These tenements were often overcrowded, poorly maintained, and lacking in basic amenities such as running water and sanitation facilities. They were typically divided into multiple small apartments, each of which housed a family or several individuals.

The poor living conditions in tenement housing in Dublin and other cities in Ireland led to widespread public health problems, including the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera and tuberculosis. [source: chat gpt]

The first reports of the potato blight in Ireland came from County Fermanagh in the autumn of 1845. The disease then spread rapidly throughout the country, affecting potato crops in every county and causing a complete failure of the crop in many areas. [source: chat gpt]

In Dublin, as in other parts of Ireland, the effects of the famine were widespread and catastrophic. The city was home to a large population of poor and working-class people who were already struggling to make ends meet before the famine began. With the failure of the potato crop, many families in Dublin and throughout Ireland were left without enough food to survive, leading to widespread hunger, malnutrition, and disease.

As the famine worsened, large numbers of people in Dublin and other cities and towns across Ireland became dependent on charitable organizations and relief efforts to survive. [source: chat gpt]