Observances across the country to mark National Famine Commemoration Day.
During the Irish famine of 1845 to 1850, the failure of the potato crop resulted in the death of one million people, and another one million were forced to emigrate.
The famine of 1845 to 1850 was the greatest social disaster that Ireland had ever experienced.
Over a century and a half later, commemorations took place to remember those who lost their lives. Speaking at the famine commemoration ceremony in Skibbereen, County Cork, Minister for Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs Eamon Ó Cuiv, said that for many years people simply wanted to forget about the catastrophic famine. As time has passed, it has become easier for Irish people to commemorate the famine and to remember particularly the Irish diaspora spread throughout the world. They are very valid reasons to remember the effects of hunger.
To remind ourselves that there are people today in the world who go hungry and that what we suffered in the 1840s is still going on in the world.
Skibbereen was chosen as the main venue for the commemorations as it was one of the worst areas affected by the famine. Between eight and ten thousand people are buried in a mass grave in the famine graveyard in the town.
The legacy of those dreadful years still resonates for Irish people.
Approximately one million people died from starvation or from typhus and other famine-related diseases1. Additionally, the number of Irish who emigrated during the famine may have reached two million. Between 1841 and 1850, 49 percent of the total emigrants to the United States were Irish2. The impact of the Great Famine was profound, leading to significant loss of life and mass migration.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 17 May 2009. The reporter is Geraldine Harney.
