IRELAND’S National Famine Commemoration will take place in May 2026 it was confirmed this week.
Earlier this month it was announced that the annual event commemorating the lives lost and those forced to emigrate from Ireland due to the Famine will take place in Portumna, Co. Galway next year.
It is now confirmed that the commemorations will take place on May 16.
The state ceremony, which will include military honours and a wreath-laying, will be broadcast live on TV, with newly elected President of Ireland, Catherine Connolly expected to deliver the keynote address from the site of the former Portumna Workhouse.
Alongside the formal commemorations, Portumna will host a conference on the Irish Famine, bringing together leading scholars and researchers, it was confirmed this week.
The Irish Workhouse Centre museum is located at the sire of the former workhouse in Portumna, County Galway. (Pics: Galway County Council)A bilingual workbook for children is also being developed to support schools, offering accessible material on the Famine and the workhouse system.
The Portumna Workhouse was first opened in 1852 and is widely regarded as one of the most complete surviving complexes of its kind.
It is now in use as a venue for lectures, exhibitions and cultural events.
Next year’s event will mark the first time the National Famine Commemoration has been held in county Galway since the annual initiative was established in 2008.
“Hosting the Commemoration in Portumna is a deeply significant moment for Galway,” Councillor David Collins, Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, said.
“The Irish Workhouse Centre, the only dedicated workhouse museum in the country, stands as a powerful reminder of the hardship endured by our ancestors,’ he added.
“The Commemoration will honour the victims of the Famine while also helping to raise the Centre’s profile as both a visitor attraction and a place of reflection and remembrance.”
Liam Conneally, Chief Executive of Galway County Council, pictured at the recently reopened Portumna Courthouse. (Pic: Galway County Council)Liam Conneally, Chief Executive of Galway County Council, said the local authority will work closely with the National Famine Commemoration Committee and key local stakeholders to “produce a commemoration programme that appropriately marks the historic occasion”.
“With its facilities, capacity, and strong local connections, the Centre is an ideal venue to host a respectful and meaningful national event,” he said.
“The regeneration of Portumna Courthouse earlier this year, along with ongoing work at Portumna Castle, the harbour, and forest trails, creates a real opportunity for the whole town to be involved in a way that complements the solemn and reflective nature of the Commemoration.”