Latest news with #IrishFamine
CBC
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
How Emma Donoghue's debut musical stands up for immigrants both past and present
For Emma Donoghue's first musical, The Wind Coming Over The Sea, the award-winning Irish Canadian novelist wanted to explore the immigrant experience in Canada, both past and present. The Wind Coming Over The Sea is based on the true story of Henry and Jane Johnson, a young married couple who left Ireland in the 1840s in search of a better life. In her research, Donoghue discovered seven letters the Johnsons had written to each other, which served as her inspiration. "The love between them just burns off the pages," Donoghue says in an interview with Q 's Tom Power. "In some cases, a single letter would take months to write. They're dirty and they're tattered. And I can tell you, there's no source of all the sources I've used in my historical writing that moves me as much as this little handful of letters." WATCH | How an Irish famine footnote inspired Emma Donoghue's new musical: Donoghue is no stranger to immigration herself — she's emigrated to two countries in her life: first England and later Canada. She decided to tell the story of the Johnsons as a musical using traditional Irish folk songs because she says one of the most important things immigrants bring with them is their culture. The Wind Coming Over The Sea sheds light on the hope, courage and hardship the Johnsons as well as many other immigrants have experienced on their journey to a new land. With immigration frequently in the headlines right now, Donoghue knew from the onset that this production would be "a very political play to do in 2025," despite it being set nearly 200 years ago. "At every point, I was trying to find a timeless quality to a story of immigration because Lord knows it's relevant to today," Donoghue says. "There are several scenes where Henry meets vicious hostility from both Americans and Canadians about immigrants as germ-spreaders, as job-stealers, as undercutters of wages, as, you know, the alien and the other. And we see this in every newspaper today, so I felt it was crucial to make this play stand up and sort of speak for immigrants then and now." You can catch The Wind Coming Over The Sea at the Blyth Festival in Blyth, Ont., where it's running until Aug. 12.
Irish Examiner
25-05-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
New memorial to orphan girls sent from Cork to Australia during the Famine
A memorial has been unveiled in West Cork to remember a poignant forgotten chapter of the Irish Famine story — 14 orphan girls shipped from famine-ravaged Ireland to Australia under a resettlement scheme almost two centuries ago. The monument was unveiled in Dunmanway thanks to the generosity of Heather Northwood, a great-great-granddaughter of Ellen Desmond, one of the 14 orphan girls relocated from the town's workhouse in 1849 to start a new life in Australia under the British government's Earl Grey scheme. They were among an estimated 4,000 young Irish girls, mostly orphans, resettled between 1848 to 1850. Ms Northwood, who has spent several years researching her Irish ancestry with the assistance of historian Michelle O'Mahony, travelled from Australia to attend ceremonies in Dunmanway over the weekend honouring the girls. She is active in the Earl Grey Famine Orphan Group in Melbourne, which commemorates the Irish girls who landed in Australia annually. She heaped praise on Ms O'Mahony and the Dunmanway Historical Association for their help tracing her Irish roots, and for working to ensure the story of the orphan girls is remembered here. HISTORY HUB If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading Moira Deasy, Australia's ambassador designate Chantelle Taylor, and historian Michelle O'Mahony at the unveiling at Dunmanway Community Hospital, Co Cork, of the memorial to the 14 orphan girls sent to Australia as part of the Earl Grey Scheme during the Famine. Picture: David Creedon Remembering the girls in Ireland is pivotal to their history and to our wider famine history and diaspora, she said. 'Our family knew we had Irish heritage but I remember my mother telling me a few years ago when she was 98, that she didn't really know the detail, so I set out to find that part of the puzzle,' she said. 'I've come over here three times in the last three years researching my Irish ancestry and planning this and from the moment I arrived, I felt I belonged, it felt like home. "Michelle and the people in the historical association showed me where Ellen Desmond walked as a little girl, where she most likely went to church. 'And I'm delighted to say I was able to tell my mum about Ellen, about her great grandmother, before she passed away in 2024 at the age of 105. She died knowing that piece of the puzzle. Australian chargé d'affaires James Hazell, memorial designers, Justin Walter and Kristie Davison, and Heather Northwood at the unveiling of the memorial at Dunmanway Community Hospital, Co Cork. Heather is a great, great grandaughter of Ellen Desmond who was one of the 14 orphan girls sent to Australia as part of the Earl Grey scheme during the Famine. Picture: David Creedon 'We commemorate the orphan girls in Australia and now the girls are remembered here. There is a shared story now between the place from where the left, and where they arrived. It has been such a wonderful journey for me. Dunmanway has embraced me and said 'this is your town now'. 'It really has been life-changing. I've found my identity.' In 1849, Ireland was only just beginning to emerge from the horrors of the Famine, which claimed the lives of millions and forced millions more to emigrate to the US and Britain. Thousands were living in workhouses, and thousands of children orphaned. The Earl Grey scheme offered assisted passage to orphaned girls aged 14 to 18 to Australia, which had for decades been a penal colony consisting mostly of men. While it offered the girls a better life on the other side of the world, Ms O'Mahony believes it was really designed to address the growth of the population of the colony and address the issue of the gender imbalance in Australia. There were about 800 people living in Dunmanway workhouse in 1849 when the authorities there took up the Earl Grey scheme offer. Ellen Desmond and 13 other young girls, including her sister, left the workhouse just before Christmas 1849 and travelled by horse and cart to Cork city, from where they took a ferry from Penrose Quay to Plymouth in England. From there, they set sail on New Year's Eve with about 300 other young girls on board the Eliza Caroline on a three-month voyage to Melbourne , arriving on March 31, 1850. Then president Mary McAleese laying a wreath in March 2003 at a memorial wall in Sydney, Australia, inscribed with the names of the girls sent from Ireland during the Famine under the Earl Grey scheme. File picture: Maxwell's They disembarked with just a trunk containing a few outfits and were largely left to fend for themselves in harrowing circumstances, with many entering domestic service while others were sent to work as cooks or cleaners in gold mining areas. Ellen Desmond later married miner, Henry Ghee, a free settler from Kildare, and they moved from goldfield to goldfield. They had six daughters, the eldest of whom was 21, when Ellen died of TB in 1879, within a month of her husband's death. Their daughters survived. Ms Northwood said: I am so proud of them all. They were Australian pioneers. She pledged financial support for the memorial monument which was unveiled in the garden of Dunmanway community hospital during a ceremony of remembrance on Saturday — the hospital campus includes the ruins and grounds of the famine workhouse. An interpretative lectern-style sign, funded by Cork County Council's Commemorations Office and Heritage Department, and which tells the famine orphan story, was also unveiled. Australian Ambassador designate to Ireland, Chantelle Taylor, and other diplomats attended. Mass was also celebrated on Sunday in Dunmanway's St Patrick's Church to remember the famine orphan girls, and the wider community's famine victims, and it was followed by a short ecumenical ceremony at the famine pits at Fanlobbus Graveyard on the Dunmanway to Bandon road, which was connected by a gravel path to the rear of the workhouse. Ms O'Mahony said the departure of the orphans from Dunmanway was a watershed moment for the town. 'It was the commencement proper of the town's diaspora to Australia and wider Australasia,' she said. 'It embodied a pivotal change during the Irish famine. 'It offered the prospect of a better life to famine orphan girls and for the guardians of the workhouse who accepted the scheme it was financially incentivising to free up the workhouses. 'These institutions were largely full — in the latter years of the famine with orphans whose families were decimated from starvation and disease. 'Not only did the Earl Grey scheme become part of the narrative of Irish famine history, but it also pointed to a new element of the gender history of the Irish famine and wider diaspora studies.'
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Andrew Griffith: Tory MP denies making famine remark in Commons
A senior Conservative MP has denied mocking the Irish famine during a debate in the House of Business Secretary Andrew Griffith was accused of making an "offensive" remark about the famine when he addressed the chamber on than one million people died during the famine in Ireland between 1845 and 1852 after the potato crop to a question in the Commons, the shadow secretary said he was not sure if a person could "subsist entirely on a seed potato", before adding: "It may have been tried historically and not with enormous success". 'No reference to Ireland' Labour MP Adam Jogee challenged the remark in a point of order in the Commons today which he said appeared to reference the Irish potato in a statement to BBC News NI, Andrew Griffith said he made "no reference to Ireland whatsoever" and "if you read the debate, you would see that is clearly the case".He added: "At no point was Mr Jogee in the chamber to represent his own constituents or to hear my remarks in context."The shadow secretary was responding to a question from a Liberal Democrat MP about getting Scottish seed potatoes into the European market when he made the remark. 'Offensive and insensitive' When his reply was quoted in the chamber by Mr Jogee today one MP could be heard saying "shocking".The Labour MP, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on Ireland, asked the commons deputy Speaker how best to "remedy any offence"."These words appear to be referencing the tragedy of the Irish potato famine, which, if true, is of course offensive and insensitive and would have taken place in the United Kingdom," he deputy speaker said the chair was not responsible for the shadow secretary of state's remarks.
The Journal
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Tory MP appeared to make ‘offensive' Irish potato famine remark, House of Commons told
A SENIOR CONSERVATIVE MP appeared to make 'offensive and insensitive' comments about the Irish Famine, the Commons has heard. Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith, responding to a question, said he was not sure if a person could 'subsist entirely on a seed potato' before adding it 'may have been tried historically and not with enormous success'. Labour MP Adam Jogee said the words appeared to reference the mid-19th century tragedy, which resulted in around one million deaths after the potato crop failed in successive years. Speaking during a Commons debate on the economy on Wednesday, Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone intervened to raise the seed potato industry. He said: 'We have been crying out to get the best of Scottish seed potatoes into European markets, and therefore I do say thank you to the Government for this, it means a lot to farmers, and I have had very positive comments about it. I am being absolutely fair-minded about that.' Advertisement Griffith, in his reply, said: 'I am not sure if one can subsist entirely on a seed potato, I think that may have been tried historically and not with enormous success, but I congratulate the honourable member on the success of his seed potato industry.' On Thursday, Jogee raised a point of order in connection with the remarks made by Griffith. After Mr Jogee read out the words spoken by Griffith in the debate, one MP could be heard saying: 'Shocking.' Jogee, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on Ireland and the Irish in Britain, added: 'These words appear to be referencing the tragedy of the Irish potato famine which, if true, is of course offensive and insensitive and, of course, would have taken place at the time in the United Kingdom. 'So can you please advise on how best we can remedy any offence caused by outlining the process for an honourable member to withdraw such a statement?' Deputy Speaker Judith Cummins replied: 'The chair is not responsible for the shadow secretary of state's remarks but the honourable member has put his point on the record.' Griffith and the Conservative Party have been approached for comment.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Aisling Bea gasps 'that's hard to hear' as she confronts 'shameful' family history on BBC's Who Do You Think You Are?
Aisling Bea gasps 'that's hard to hear' as she confronts her 'shameful' family history on Tuesday's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? Today's (Tuesday 20 May) instalment of the BBC show, which sees celebrities explore their heritage, will see the actress look through some historical documents during a meet up in County Limerick with historian Dr Richard McMahon. Richard opens up to the comedian, from Kildare, Ireland, about her great-grandmother Martha Sheehy and her time during the great famine. However he could find records from the early 1850s which gave him a sense of position that she was in at the time. Aisling says: 'Before famine 40 acers in area of court, then her estate in Ballycannon she had 115 acres post famine...' Richard tells her: 'The family have a larger farm by the end of the famine then they had pre famine Ireland. Today's (Tuesday 20 May) instalment of the BBC show, which sees celebrities explore their heritage, will see the actress look through some historical documents during a meet up in County Limerick with historian Dr Richard McMahon 'So during this devastating period in Irish history, which would have such a long terrible legacy for all of us afterwards, how does someone come to have more land if owned than renting so soon after the famine?' Aisling asks him. Richard explains: 'During the famine landlords would have evicted 100,000s of people off the land and when they are moved of the land, the land is taken over by farmers like your great great great grandmother Martha.' Aisling tries to wrap her head around it and replies: 'So while she might not be evicting them, she maybe using it as an opportune moment.' 'Some people got larger farms on the back of people getting moved off the land,' Richard tells her. Aisling brutally says: 'That is hard to hear. I'll be honest. 'Having spent all our childhood learning about the Irish famine in our history classes, anyone who, any terrible situation profited... 'It does make me feel a little bit shameful to be honest.' The current series of Who Do You Think You Are? has been an emotional one. Richard opens up to the comedian, from Kildare, Ireland, about her great-grandmother Martha Sheehy and her time during the great famine Last week Layton Williams broke down in tears after learning the 'awful' truth about his enslaved ancestors. He grew up in Bury, Manchester, with his mum and three siblings, but his dad - who was born in Bury - also has Jamaican roots, and wanted to find out more. Speaking about what he found out at the end of the instalment, Layton said: 'I'm feeling a mixture of feelings, like a bag of feelings. 'When you're a person of colour, you always know that is probably the eventuality. But when you actually have it all spelt out to you that your family would have, you know, been enslaved, quite frankly... 'To actually think about it and to really know their names, and know that they were children growing up in it, there's so much black power in that. 'And I don't think I've been like, really, really proud of being, like, a person of colour. 'And really, like leaning into "I'm a beautiful black man and I'm proud to have come from people who went through that, but kind of came through the other side..." 'Now I'm going to cry.' The actor, 30 - who took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2023 - appeared on the latest episode of the much-loved BBC show Fighting back the tears, Layton continued: 'It's really, it's really beautiful and it's important that we don't' forget because it's real and it happened, and it was sad. 'And I'm sure it was awful, but we made it here. And my family is like, actually, they're bonkers. 'But they're amazing. And there's so many of us. 'And I really, really hope that whatever they went through, like we were kind of worth it, you know?' 'So yeah, I will look back at this experience for sure and be really happy. 'I'm really proud of the family that came before me.' The week before Ross Kemp broke down as he unearthed a family secret that he spent his whole life questioning. The 22nd series of Who Do You Think You Are returned to our screens in April. The likes of Andrew Garfield, Diane Morgan, Mushal Husian, Ross Kemp, Aisling Bea, Will Young, Fred Siriex and Layton Williams explore their family history. Simon Young, BBC Head of History, said of the new series: 'The stellar line-up this year is a real treat for our audiences. 'But so is the history, from the shock of a royal ancestor to epic stories of survival. 'And that's why this series endures, because it hints at the amazing family micro-histories that make all of us who we are.' Colette Flight, Executive Producer for Wall to Wall Media, added: 'Spanning centuries and travelling the globe, Who Do You Think You Are? is back. 'With eight much-loved celebrities to entertain and captivate us as they delve into their family histories. 'As they discover their ancestors' adventures, triumphs, trials and tribulations, their rich family stories reveal incredible snapshots of history. 'Including one of the greatest villains of Medieval England, the evacuation at Dunkirk, rescuing art looted by the Nazis, and the birth of American Independence.'
