The drive to commemorate the Great Famine and the global legacy of Irish immigration is swelling to massive proportions. Along with the new Irish Immigration postage stamp launched both in Ireland and the U.S. this year, and the increasing number of Irish Famine Curriculum Bills appearing before state legislatures, monuments commemorating the Famine and theRead more..
After building a $1 million memorial park last year to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Irish Famine, Boston’s Irish community is turning its attention toward people suffering from contemporary famines throughout the world. A proposed Irish Famine Institute that blends social activism and academic research is currently in the planning stages in Boston. OrganizersRead more..
The 2019 International Commemoration of the Great Irish Famine will take place in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, November 3. Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, Josepha Madigan T.D., made the announcement in July. “This year’s commemoration represents an opportunity to not only recognize the work ofRead more..
Walking in the footsteps of 1,490 Irish exiled in 1847. ℘℘℘ In 2017, and again in 2019, I was honored to be part of a small group of five historians who were invited by Caroilin Callery of the Irish Heritage Trust to follow in the footsteps of 1,490 refugees from the Great Hunger. As aRead more..
Bones of Irish children were found 170 years after they died on a “coffin ship” en route to Canada in 1847. Vertebra and jaw bones were identified among the remains, believed to be of Irish children fleeing the Great Hunger, that were discovered in 2011 on Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula, about 500 miles from Montreal, inRead more..
Imagine Ireland. What do you see? Patchwork green fields, stone walls, crystal streams, ancient ruins, horses…and lace. From manor house to country cottage, windows are draped with the delicate webwork. Sofas, tabletops, dressers, beds, and tea trays hold lacy runners, scarves, and antimacassars. Brides seem like angels haloed in billowing veils. Casual observers see onlyRead more..
Just 16 years after their own “Trail of Tears,” the Choctaw Indians raised money for Irish Famine relief. Visiting New York in 1989, Don Mullan, Director of Action From Ireland (AFrI), a Dublin-based human rights organization, was addressing members of the American Irish Political Education Committee about AFrI’s “Great Famine Project.” The Project had begunRead more..
Roscommon was one of the hardest hit counties during the Famine, losing 31 percent of its population. ℘℘℘ In 1845, County Roscommon was one of the first counties to record the appearance of the blight in the locality. The return of the disease the following year – earlier in the season and more lethal – resultedRead more..
Montreal’s memorial to Irish Famine victims. ℘℘℘ In 1997, Irish people around the world will remember the 150th anniversary of the Famine that resulted in one million deaths and forced one million and a half to emigrate to Canada and the United States. The deplorable conditions these immigrants endured aboard ship resulted in a typhusRead more..
A variety of potato engineered to be resistant to the pathogen that caused the Great Irish Potato Famine has been approved for deregulation by the USDA. The J.R. Simplot Company’s so-called Innate potato is more resistant to bruising and black spots than most varieties. When cooked at high temperatures, this potato also produces less acrylamide,Read more..