The story of Under the Hawthorn Tree is about three brave young children, Eily who is twelve, Michael who is ten and Peggy who is seven, who try to survive during the time of the famine in the 1840's. The book tells of their courage while making their journey to Castletaggart to find their great aunts, Nano and Lena, where they would be safe and have food.
The story begins with the oldest girl, Eily, feeling cold and hunger and remembering how it used to be when they had enough food and they were happy. It was just about a year ago when it all began, now the food was getting scarce and people were getting ill with the fever. This was an extremely difficult time for them because their sister Bridget had died of illness. Before this, their father had gone to work on the roadworks. Their food was decreasing rapidly day by day. A few days later their mother decided to sell some of her valuables for food. She left and went to search for food leaving the three children by themselves. Life had been very lonely and dreary since Bridget had died. After a few days of their mother's absence, even though Eily was taking extreemly good care of them, they were all feeling hungry and lonely. One day a man called Jer Simmonds arrived with his assistant, Tom Daly. They said if their parents weren't back by the following day, they would have no choice but to go to the workhouse with the rest of the ill and the poor people. A worried look came upon their faces instantly. They thought about the idea for a while and then a plan came into their heads. The following day, Tom Daly arrived and told them they would have to go to the workhouse. They didn't create a fuss however. They decided to try their best and travel to their great-aunts in Castletaggart whom they had heard so much about. Before they left, they went to the Hawthorn tree where their sister Bridget lay. Suddenly a feeling of peace swept over them and they set about their journey. Everyone seemed so weak as they walked silently with a crowd. When their attention was drawn to Statia Kennedy because her foot was sore and she couldn't go on with the journey. The children realised instantly that this was their chance to get away. They had to hide for a few hours as people came searching for them. They were all crouched between nettles and thorns that scratched their skin. Eventually they heard a woman's voice that belonged to Mary Kate. She had sent them looking in a different place where they would never find the three children. She told them to come back to her cottage and she would look after them. Eily knew how serious Mary Kate was but not to sound ungrateful, she said that they would stay the night. Eily didn't want to get Mary Kate in trouble for their sake. However, they did stay the night with her. Early next morning they were up and ready to go but before they left Mary Kate gave them some medicine for cramps, fever and another one for wounds. She gave them some goat's milk and food also and once again, they were off on their journey.
As it was a warm day they were heading for the river. When they reached it they let their feet dangle in the water. Michael urged them to cross the river. This is one of the first places where Michael shows his bravery by helping his sisters across the river. After this they took a rest and ate some of the little amount of food they had. The next three days were the same. Eily couldn't but notice that the food bag was just getting lighter and lighter. During the few days the weather was very warm and they were feeling hungry and thirsty. Soon after this they found a fire where they could cook some of their food. Michael had previously been injured when they were crossing the river and Eily was relieved to see the swelling had gone down. That night it rained heavily so the next day they decided to pack up and move on. For the next few days it rained every so often. Their clothes were damp and dirty and their bones ached. A boy named John T. Lucy fell into step with them and brought them to the soup kitchen to get a meal. Everyone there had sunken cheeks and wide, staring eyes with deep circles underneath. Their skin had a yellow tinge and their lips were narrow and tight. They slept in Kineen that night. The next morning they received another portion of food from the soup kitchen. Here they had to depart from Joseph T. Lucy as he was leaving for Liverpool in a few days. They were all upset as they had to say yet another goodbye.
They continued travelling for the next few days, feeling depressed, fearing the future. Peggy believed that everything around them was going to die. A man who had died that morning had a field full of vegetables, so the children were able to refill their food bag once again. The days were extremely hot when they travelled, so they were delighted when they found some water to cool them down and quench their thirst. In the lake they also caught some fish and they cooked them on a fire that they lit themsel