The Ballinlass incident (Irish: Eachtra Bhaile an Leasa) was the eviction of 300 tenants on 13 March 1846 in Ireland, in the context of the Great Famine in Ireland (1845–1849). At this time, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, governed directly by its parliament in London. Many working class Irish farmers were tenants under landlords, producing cereals, potatoes and livestock. But only the potatoes remained as food for the farmers themselves; the other products were used for paying the rent and exported from Ireland to Great Britain. These exports continued when the potato crop failed in 1845.