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 a historian, I have researched and written extensively about the Famine since completing my Ph.D. … [Read more...] about In the Shoes of Refugees
Famine
The Un-Quiet Ghosts of the Carricks
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, in Canada. Canadian scientists have concluded that the bones that … [Read more...] about The Un-Quiet Ghosts of the Carricks
Sláinte!: The Lace Place
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 only … [Read more...] about Sláinte!: The Lace Place
The Choctaw Tribe and the Irish Famine
The Choctaw "Trail of Tears," tribe raised money for Irish Hunger relief. Visiting New York in 1989, Don Mullan, the then-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 begun in 1988 as AFrI leadership reflected on … [Read more...] about The Choctaw Tribe and the Irish Famine
Roscommon, Part III:
The Hungry Years
Roscommon was one of the hardest hit counties during the Famine, losing 31 percent of its population.
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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 – resulted in an immediate increase in distress. On 12 October 1846, the … [Read more...] about Roscommon, Part III:
The Hungry Years