At the end of May 2000 the Jeanie Johnston, a full size sailing replica of the famous Irish emigrant ship, sets sail from Fenit, County Kerry. It took two and a half years to build at a specially constructed shipyard in Blennerville, Tralee, at a cost of £5.5 million and will visit over twenty cities … Read more
To commemorate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Irish Famine last year, Norma Smurfit commissioned Rowan Gillespie to create a work of art in honour of all those who died and suffered during the Famine. The bronze group sculpture (entitled ‘Famine’) deals with the subject of emigration and vividly portrays the extreme suffering … Read more
When the potato crop failed due to blight in 1846 it was obvious, in Ireland at any rate, that a major catastrophe was about to occur. The first failure in 1845 had been partial but it left the country debilitated with reserves run down, while individuals had few possessions left to sell or pawn. Few … Read more
In 1845, the Irish Constabulary, which was organized in its permanent form in 1836, was deployed countrywide to control agrarian crime. Even though fears of violence were high in provincial landlord and merchant circles during the Great Famine, the police mostly found themselves witnesses to human tragedy. The desperation of the famine produced some violent … Read more
So ran an ad for The O’Donohoe Shell Fish Tavern in Abbey Street in the Freeman’s Journal, 9 January 1847. The Dublin Heritage Group have used it as the title for its ongoing exhibition on Aspects of the Great Famine (June, Rathmines Library; July, Ballyfermot Library; August, Wheatfield Detention Centre). The exhibition endeavours to explore … Read more