A parade of ambassadors in Kilrush

KILRUSH will host no fewer than 43 ambassadors on Sunday, May 12, when President Michael D Higgins visits the town for the 2013 National Famine Commemoration.

The commemoration on Frances Street will culminate with a formal State ceremonial event, including the raising of the national flag, a military procession and a wreath-laying ceremony.

“Kilrush will be very much to the forefront of national news that day. There are 43 ambassadors coming, which is the biggest figure ever. That will tell you how much they value it,” Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan told The Clare Champion at the launch of the Famine Commemoration programme of events in Teach Cheoil, Kilrush on Monday.

The programme will start in Carrigaholt on Friday, May 3 and will run for 10 days. The National Famine Commemoration in Kilrush is the fifth staging of the Famine remembrance.

“Kilrush and the greater Kilrush area was hit harder than most. Westport and Skibbereen are the only comparable places. For that reason it has remained very much in the psyche of people here and in the history of the place. We should have initiated this process earlier in our history but now that we’re doing it, it’s welcome,” Minister Deenihan added.

Meanwhile, it’s possible that by May 12, Kilrush Town Council may have put plans in place to name the town square after Poor Law Inspector Captain Arthur Edward Kennedy, who arrived in Kilrush in November 1847. He worked tirelessly to help the starving people of Kilrush and West Clare.

Most streets in Kilrush are called after the Vandeleur landlord family, despite the then landlord Crofton Moore Vandeleur evicting more than 20,000 people in the Kilrush Union during the Famine.

“I think the square could be called after Captain Kennedy. It’s the heart of the town and it’s where his daughter and himself handed out alms. It would be very apt, I think, especially this year,” Mayor of Kilrush Mairéad O’Brien said.

The town mayor believes changing the long-established street names would be difficult, although she did not rule it out.

“When you think of the name of a street, you don’t think of the person that it was originally named after. But if we were to go out and ask people and the feeling was strong enough, that would be a huge motivating factor. The names are so entrenched in the local community, it would be a big decision to make. They were ultimately terrible landlords during the period of time when we needed them most. It’s a very contentious issue. We’d have to really think about it before we go rushing out to change names,” Councillor O’Brien commented.

Kilrush and District Historical Society PRO, Paddy Waldron, said at least two attempts have been made to change the street names in Kilrush.

“In the late 1800s there was an attempt to name the streets after the 1798 leaders. I don’t think it got through at all but it was reported in the newspapers of the time. I think it came through the town council at the time,” Mr Waldron said.

“Also, in the 1930s, there was a concerted attempt to change the names to honour the people who had been killed in the War of Independence. That took hold for a couple of years but the new names didn’t stick. Rush’s bakery was still using Shanahan Street, rather than Frances Street, up until the 1950s, I believe. I think there could be a demand for a street to be called after Captain Kennedy. Maybe one street could be changed, rather than have wholesale name changes,” Mr Waldron concluded.