Were Britain and Ireland close before the potato famine?

Answer 1

Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the 19th century, when the famine (1845-1852) led many Irish to emigrate to the US.

Ireland had been repeatedly conquered by England, beginning with Norman incursions and culminating in the Tudor and Cromwellian campaigns. Despite much continuing dissent over Protestant control over the predominantly Catholic island, the Acts of Union were voted in 1800 by the parliaments in Great Britain and Ireland. This resulted in British control until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922.