A Day of Remembrance and Commemoration- Sunday, May 13th

. THE ENDURANCE of the Famine by one generation of Irish people had provided vital knowledge and experience for another, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said yesterday.

Over 1,500 people took part in the National Famine Commemoration in Drogheda, Co Louth on Sunday May 13th.  The memorial included prayers for those who died as well as readings, music and military honours.  

Hundreds attended along with the Taoiseach and various ministers.

Members of the Little Duke Theatre in Drogheda performed a special dance and 

music was provided by harpist Michael O'Neill and the St Peter's Male Voice choir.

Emblems of the famine were on display including a potato, a soup kitchen ration card, a boat ticket to Liverpool and a small section of a thatched roof. 

Prayers were led by clerics from seven religions followed by a humanist reflection.

The Taoiseach said that part of the legacy of the famine is that Ireland has become a leading global advocate in the fight against hunger. In his speech, Mr Kenny said that for Irish people nowadays food security and humanitarian aid are not just political matters. He said we make them our personal business because they run so deep in the Irish heart. He said it is that generational memory that supports Irish Aid and all aid agencies to bring not just food, but hope, self-reliance and dignity across the developing world.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0513/taoiseach-to-attend-famine-memorial-in-drogheda.html

Programme- Dé Domhnaigh 13ú Bealtaine / Sunday 13th May

GORTA Famine Walk ‘The Arrival’: 

Drogheda Remembers.

The Arrival – continuing the re-enactment of the story of one local family who in 1847 symbolised the exodus from Mayo as a result of An Gorta Mor and their journey to Drogheda.

The walk starts from Oldbridge House at midday and will last 90 minutes. 

The walk will make its way to the National Commemeration on North Quay and include a free bus back to Oldbridge House.

Walkers, Ramblers and Families with Children are most Welcome.

01 6615522 OR EMAIL WALK@GORTA.ORG

Walk leaves from: Oldbridge House, Oldbridge Drogheda at 12 Midday.

Commemorative Mass

A commemorative Mass will be held in the Augustinian Church,  Shop St. Drogheda at 1.15pm .

National Commemoration Ceremony

Beidh Comóradh Náisiúnta an Ghorta Mhóir 2012 ar siúl sa calafort Droichead Atha Contae Lu  Dé Domhnaigh 13 Bealtaine, 2012 ag 3 i.n. Tá An Taoiseach Éanna Ó Coinnigh tar éis glacadh le cuireadh bheith ina ceann feadhnai mbliana ar an toscaireacht oifigiúil ag an searmanas cuimhneacháin. Cuirfear tús leis an gclár cuimhneacháin le searmanas ina mbeidh páirt mhór ag an bpobal áitiúil sula dtionólfar ócáid searmanais oifigiúil an Stáit a áireoidh gradaim mhíleata agus searmanas

fhleascleagain. Mar chuid de ghné pobail an chuimhneacháin beidh ceol; sleachta léitheoireachta agus paidreacha; bronnadh comharthaí mar chuimhne ar iad

siúd a dʼfhulaing agus a cailleadh le linn an ghorta; agus nóiméad machnaimh chiúin.Tá fáilte roimh gach éinne a bheith i láthair

The 2012 National Famine Commemoration will take place at North Quay  at  the port of Drogheda, County Louth on Sunday, 13th May at 3 p.m. An Taoiseach Enda Kenny has accepted an invitation to lead the official representation at the commemoration ceremony. The commemoration programme will open with a ceremony in which the local community will be greatly involved and it will culminate in the formal State ceremonial event, which will include the National flag and military honours, and wreath laying ceremonies. The community element of the ceremony will include

music; readings and prayers; a presentation of tokens in remembrance of those who suffered and perished during the famine; and a minute of silent reflection. All are very welcome to attend.

Programme for Dé Sathairn 12 Bealtaine-Saturday 12th May

The Irish Diaspora

John Boyle O’Reilly  Society of Ireland in association with DKIT  presents a seminar focusing on historical influences of the Irish Diaspora particularly in USA and the UK but will also look at contemporary issues regarding emigration.

Irish America and their influence on USA Politics

Talk by: Niall O’Dowd Editor Irish Voice New York and Irishcentral.com

The role of the Irish in Britain– Agents for Change

Talk by: Dr. Kevin Bean Liverpool University

Boston Irish Connections from Famine Days.

Talk by: Prof Catherine Shannon University of Massachusetts

Settlement Patterns of the Irish in North America

Talk by: Michael O’Connell UCC

Venue: Westcourt Hotel, West St. Drogheda

Times: 10am -2pm

Bookings: modowd@mail.com

Imeacht... an afternoon of poetry, music 

and song.

For the many people who left during and after the famine it was common to have what was called Tórramh Meiriceánach , an American Wake. This was conducted just as a wake would be for the dead, because it was felt that the person leaving would never be seen again and was effectively dead as far as the people left behind were concerned. The quays from  which emigrant ships left for the England and the New World were often called áit na ndeór , the place of tears..

They took the stories, haunting melodies and poetry of Ireland with them.

Featuring a variety of unusual instruments, musicians and singers. With intricate melodies, harmony and driving rhythms of uilleann pipes, whistles and flute that make Irish music so loved throughout the world.

Join us to commemorate  An Gorta Mor and the Irish Diaspora .

 Venue: Outside St Peters Church, West St. Drogheda

 Times: 2.30pm -5.30pm

Forgotten Voices: the Great Irish Famine revealed through the Strokestown Estate Archive.

Lecture by. Roisin Berry and Dr. Ciaran Reilly

Róisín Berry will provide a broad overview of the work of the OPW-NUI Maynooth Archive and Research Centre at Castletown, the Strokestown Estate and its fascinating Famine archive, and the ‘Forgotten Voices’ exhibition and its main objectives.

Dr. Ciaran Reilly  will examine the nature and content on the voluminous petitions which form part of the Strokestown Park Archive. These petitions, from a variety of sources, highlight the daily suffering of the people of county Roscommon during the Great Famine, while also examining some heretofore unexplored aspects of the calamity.

Venue: Highlanes  Gallery, Laurences  St. Drogheda

Times: 2pm ( free but booking essential)

Bookings 041 9803311 info@highlanes.ie

Exhibition on the ‘Forgotten Voices’‘of the great Irish Famine/ OPW-NUI Maynooth Archive & research Centre at Castletown.

 

The exhibition is a rich and varied selection of documents belonging to the Strokestown Estate Archive from the period of the Great Irish Famine (1845-51). Census records, emigration lists, and pleas from starving tenants are but a few of the documents on display, capturing in raw detail the devastation endured by local people in Roscommon during Ireland’s greatest humanitarian disaster on record. The archive brings to life once more many of the voices that were extinguished through starvation, disease and emigration during this period.

Venue: Highlanes  Gallery, Laurence’s  St. Drogheda

Times: 12^th to 30^th May 2012

Mayor To Present Potato Leaf Woodcarving To An Taoiseach

To mark the occasion of his visit to Drogheda to lead the National Famine Commemoration Ceremony, Drogheda Borough Council commissioned Terry O'Brien to produce a unique carving which the Mayor, Councillor Kevin Callan, will present to An Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny. 

The piece, produced from local fallen wood, depicts a potato leaf, in recognition of the key role played by potato blight during the Great Famine.

The piece was produced by Terry O'Brien, a local wood carver who runs his own business “Falling Leaves from Fallen Trees”. Below is a biography on Terry O'Brien and his work, set out in his own words.

I served my time as a carver with Hicks Cabinet Makers of Dublin.  After the closure of Hicks I opened my own studio in 1983 at Millmount Craft Centre in Drogheda.

I work from my own workshop beside my home overlooking the River Boyne where I now design and make a range of leaf-shaped cutting boards, cheese boards and bowls.  I design a contemporary range of lamps, tables and occasional furniture.  I source fallen trees locally, then plank, kiln dry, plane, cut, sand and mould the timber into my various products, using my skills as a carver to finish them to a high standard.  The products are then finished with natural oils making them waterproof and heat resistant and making them suitable for food preparation and presentation.  All these items are unique and both functional and highly decorative.

This year I took part in Art in Action, Farmeigh House in the Phoenix Park. I’m also going to take part in the Body & Soul Festival Ballinlough Castle, Electric Picnic Stradbally, and the National RDS Craft Fair.

 Recent commissions include a depiction of The Last Supper which is in a convent in Co. Meath and the design and framing of the Stations of The Cross for a local church in Irish ash completed within the last month. My work can be viewed and purchased from terryobrienwoodcarver.com

Programme-Dé Déardaoin 10 Bealtaine-Thursday 10th May

 Recreating the Soup Kitchen

In the summer of 1847, the government set up some soup kitchens to give the starving people hot soup.  Huge boilers were provided  by The Quakers in which to cook the soup. By August 1847, about 3 million people were being fed each day in total.

A soup kitchen will be situated in the yard of Drogheda Borough Council which was during famine times the site of one of many soup kitchens , the sole source of nourishment for many of our forbearers.

Come along and for a donation of €5 for adults and €2.50 for children  to Drogheda Homeless Aid a tasty lunch will be served.

Venue: Drogheda Borough Council Yard

12.00 noon schools only

1.15pm:- 2.30 p.m.  open to the public

Drogheda Library Famine Commemeration

The Great Famine in Drogheda in 1847

A talk by Brendan Matthews

Local Historian Brendan Matthews presents an illustrated talk on 

'The Great Famine in Drogheda 1847' 

@ Drogheda Library, Stockwell St.

Times: 3.45pm - 4.45pm

Belfast Girls.

A rehearsed reading of  prizewinning playwight Jaki McCarrick new work ‘Belfast Girls’ will be performed in the Droichead Arts Centre.

Set in 1850 against the backdrop of the famine, five young women choose to leave the leprous workhouses as part of an official scheme to transport orphan workers from Ireland to Australia.

Venue: Droichead Arts Centre, Stockwell St.

Time: 8.30pm

National Famine Commemoration Programme Tuesday 8 May, The Tholsel

Tuesday evening saw the Launch of the Famine Exhibition in the Tholsel by the Mayor, Councillor Kevin Callan. This excellent exhibition, curated by Mr. Brian Walsh of Louth County Museum, highlights the impact that the Great Famine had at both a local and national level through a series of 32 panels. The exhibition underlines the importance of the potato in the national diet and how the blight had such a devastating effect on the island of Ireland.

Those present at the exhibition launch were also treated to an outstanding performance by students of the County Louth VEC Adult Education Centre entitled  "Leaving from the Steam Packet Quay -  Drogheda 1847".  The performance provided a look back in time at our own Drogheda Docks during the worst year of  the Irish Famine in story, poetry and pictures.

The Departure- Gorta Famine Walk, Ballina, Co. Mayo - 7 May 2012

People from Ballina joined the Mayors of Ballina and Drogheda early this afternoon at Belleek Wood, Ballina to remember those who left Ballina and other locations in the West of Ireland during the Great Famine to travel on foot in many cases to Drogheda Port to leave Ireland.

The Mayor of Ballina, Councillor Peter Clarke, presented a young oak tree to Drogheda Mayor, Councillor Kevin Callan. This tree is being brought back to Drogheda where it will be planted on Sunday 13 May during the National Famine Commemoration Ceremony as a permanent reminder of a moment in history shared by the two towns.

This picture shows some of the young people who met the two Mayors and joined in the walk which included a talk on Famine History and also collected some important funds for Gorta  to help in the fight against  modern famine in Africa.