What was a 'grazier' during the irish famine?

Answer 1

"Graziers" were / are farmers who use their land for raising sheep or cattle, instead of growing crops.

Graziers have always been present in Irish agriculture. Much of the land in Ireland is not well suited to growing crops (such as potatoes), but is good enough to for grazing livestock, particularly sheep (or goats).

During the late 18th century and through the 19th century, big landlords converted a lot of the land they owned in Ireland to grazing, instead of using it to grow crops. Obviously, this reduced the amount of land that was available to grow vegetables or grain. So when the potato crop failures came, there were not enough alternative foods available to feed the population.

Answer 2

Well, I'm not absolutely certain, but I know that, during the Potato Famine, many Irish were so bad off that they were driven to eating grass--could they have been referred to as "graziers" because they were "grazing?"

Answer 3

I don't know unless it's the usual definition of a grazier, which is a person who puts sheep out to pasture (Grass) for them to graze on.
The Irish potato famine was actually a European potato famine, not just in Ireland.