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National Famine Commemoration Day facts for kids

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The National Famine Commemoration Day (Irish: Lá Cuimhneacháin Náisiúnta an Ghorta Mhóir) is an annual observance in Ireland commemorating the Great Famine. A week-long programme of events leads up to the day, usually a Sunday in May. It has been organised officially by the government of Ireland since May 6th 2008. The main event is held in a different place each year, rotating among the four provinces of Ireland. There is also an international event, held in a place important for the Irish diaspora.

Events at the main venue include lectures, arts events, and visits to places connected to the Famine. The government encourages local events, and a minute's silence on the day, or the preceding Friday for schools and workplaces.

History

Famine memorial dublin
Famine memorial in Dublin, endpoint of the CCIFV walk

The Great Famine lasted from 1845 to about 1850, with "Black '47" the worst year. In 1994 the government established a committee to fund events and works commemorating the Famine's 150th anniversary, which operated until 2000.

In County Mayo from 1987, an annual "Famine Walk" from Louisburgh to Doolough has commemorated the Doolough Tragedy of 30–31 March 1849. From 2004, the Committee for the Commemoration of the Irish Famine Victims (CCIFV) has organised an annual commemoration each May in Dublin, in which members dressed as starving peasants walk from the Garden of Remembrance to the famine memorial sculptures in front of the Custom House. The CCIFV lobbied for official recognition and received various messages of support from politicians. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern answered several Dáil questions on the CCIFV and Famine commemoration generally. In 2005, he was reluctant to countenance a designated annual national day to commemorate the Famine; he favoured a single memorial to all major historical events, mentioning the 1798 Rebellion and the Land War. In 2006, he said the Department of the Taoiseach was examining submissions on Famine commemoration. In 2007, he was "positively disposed towards the establishment of a memorial day". That year, the day of the CCIFV walk received a modicum of official recognition, with one reception hosted by Conor Lenihan, Minister of State responsible for food aid, and another by Bertie Ahern at Iveagh House. The Friday before the 2008 CCIFV walk, the government issued a press release announcing that the state would in future organise an annual commemoration. That Sunday there was a reception hosted by Minister of State John Curran at the Custom House, Dublin before the CCIFV walk. A July press release of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs described this as "the first National Famine Commemoration Day".

In July 2008 Éamon Ó Cuív, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, established the National Famine Commemoration Committee, whose stated main objective was:

to consider the most appropriate arrangement for future national commemorations of the Great Famine. The general legacy of emigration, cultural loss and the decline of the Irish language, together with the specific issues of food security and the strong commitment of the Irish people to humanitarian aid and relief, are particular themes that will be explored by the Committee during its work.

This committee has recommended the venue for subsequent commemorations, and liaised with each local organising committee. The event is staged in each province in rotation. The 2011 event was scheduled for Ulster, and in October 2010 two Sinn Féin ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive discussed the possibility of a Northern Ireland host venue with Pat Carey, Ó Cuív's successor as the Republic's Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. In the event, Clones, County Monaghan, in the Republic, was chosen. Northern Ireland was the location of the next Ulster host: Newry, County Armagh in 2015.

In December 2016, Sinn Féin introduced a private member's bill seeking to have the commemoration held on the second Sunday of every May every year. Peadar Tóibín said, "we do not know at this late stage when the national Famine day will take place next year. This annual uncertainty over the commemoration date is shocking". Colm Brophy of Fine Gael introduced a similar bill in January 2017.

Venues

Year Irish Venue Date International Venue Notes
2008 Dublin, County Dublin 25 May official event, with minister officiating at the ceremony in the Custom house ancillary official reception.
2009 Skibbereen, County Cork 17 May Canada (Toronto and Grosse Isle) The first official commemoration. Skibbereen was particularly hard hit by the Famine.
2010 Murrisk, County Mayo 16 May New York City Site of the National Famine Monument.
2011 Clones, County Monaghan 10 September Liverpool The government denied CCIFV claims the event had been moved from May to avoid clashing with Queen Elizabeth II's state visit. Date was a Saturday, rather than Sunday, to avoid clashing with 10th anniversary of September 11 attacks.
2012 Drogheda, County Louth 13 May Boston, United States President Michael D. Higgins gave a lecture in Boston, while Taoiseach Enda Kenny attended the Drogheda event.
2013 Kilrush, County Clare 12 May Sydney
2014 Strokestown, County Roscommon 11 May New Orleans Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan officiated at the Strokestown event.
2015 Newry, County Armagh 26 September Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
2016 Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin 11 September Philadelphia, USA
2017 Famine Warhouse 1848, Ballingarry, County Tipperary 30 September
2018 University College Cork 12 May Williamstown, Melbourne
2019 Sligo 19 May Phoenix, Arizona
2020 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 17 May
2021 Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin 16 May President Michael D. Higgins and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin officiated at the Glasnevin Cemetery event.

See also

  • National Day of Commemoration
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