Kilrush to host Famine commemoration

Kilrush has been selected as the host location for the 2013 National Famine Commemoration, on a date yet to be announced. The National Famine Commemoration Committee informed Kilrush Town Council of the decision on Monday.

 

 

Kilrush has been selected as the host location for the 2013 National Famine Commemoration, on a date yet to be announced. The National Famine Commemoration Committee informed Kilrush Town Council of the decision on Monday.

The annual observance in Ireland commemorating the Great Famine has been organised by the Government since 2009. The main commemoration event is held in a different place each year, rotating among the four provinces of Ireland. The 2012 National Famine Commemoration took place in Drogheda, County Louth.

Events at the main venue usually include lectures, arts events and visits to places connected to the Famine. Local events also take place countrywide, while a minute’s silence is encouraged for schools and workplaces.

“It is a huge honour for the town to host this event in the year of The Gathering and I hope many visitors from near and far will visit our great town during this commemoration.

“We look forward to showcasing Kilrush both nationally and internationally for this event,” Kilrush town clerk John Corry said.

Kilrush is recognised nationally as one of the locations worst affected by starvation, disease and emigration between 1845 and 1852. The Famine years brought much hardship to Kilrush. Evictions, fever and cholera reduced the population of South-West Clare to such an extent that it has never again attained its pre-Famine numbers.

Kilrush Workhouse witnessed terrible deprivation and deaths. During and after the Famine, the Vandeleur name became synonymous with the worst of landlord evictions, with more than 20,000 evicted in the Kilrush area.

Illustrations from Kilrush at the time of the Famine featured in the Illustrated London News and these illustrations are the best-recognised images of the Famine conditions in Ireland. Images of the Famine from Moveen were depicted and the ruins of the village are visible today.

Other strong attributes from the area include the association with Captain Kennedy, Vandeleur Estate, the Famine plot and memorial garden at Old Shanakyle cemetery and the Paupers’ Quay, among many other sites and stories.

“Having spent more than 20 years ­researching, writing and teaching in ­Ireland, Britain and the United States about the Famine at local and national level, I can state without any fear of contradiction that although all of Clare suffered grievously, no part of the county endured as much as Kilrush Town and Kilrush union and for such a prolonged period.

“That being the case, I am delighted to learn Kilrush will host the next National Famine Commemoration event,” Famine author and Clare-based historian Ciarán Ó Murchadha commented.

In August 2012, Clare County Council placed advertisements in the local media inviting local and community ­organisations, historical societies, local Famine commemoration committees, schools and other interested parties to propose a location in County Clare to host the event in 2013. Kilrush was subsequently put forward as a proposed host location.

“Given that Kilrush has such strong links with the Famine, I was very happy to support the local community with their application,” Clare Fine Gael TD Pat Breen said.

“This is the sixth consecutive year in which the national commemoration of the Famine is taking place and it is very fitting that it is being held in Kilrush. Sadly, the Great Famine had a huge impact on Kilrush and the entire West Clare Peninsula. Records from 1849 tell the tale of those harrowing events,” he added.

“In 1841, the population of Kilrush was 5,071 and the impact of the Famine has been that the population has since never exceeded 2,800. The workhouse served the entire Loop Head Peninsula so the commemoration will not just mark events, which happened in the town of Kilrush but events that took place in the entire West Clare area,” Deputy Breen stated.

“Given that this is the year of The Gathering, holding the commemoration in Kilrush should help to bolster the number of visitors into the area and I would hope a number of other events can be held around the commemoration, which would provide even greater encouragement to people to come visit West Clare this year,” he concluded.

At the March 2012 meeting of Kilrush Town Council, Councillor Ian Lynch proposed that Kilrush would apply to host the 2013 National Famine Commemoration. It is envisaged that the week-long event will be held in May.