The Irish Potato Famine

The Great Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s is now recognised as the worst humanitarian disaster of 19^th century Europe. In 1841 the population of Ireland was 8.5 million people. By 1850, at least one million people had died in terrible conditions while another million emigrated as refugees. It is estimated that a further half a million births did not take place as a direct result of 'The Great Hunger'.

From newspaper accounts of the time, Skibbereen was depicted as being symbolic of the destitution and hardship caused by the failure of the potato crop. Between 8,000 and 10,000 unidentified souls are buried in the Famine graveyard at Abbeystrewery near Skibbereen.

The Great Famine Commemoration Exhibition at the Skibbereen Heritage Centre commemorates this period of Irish history and serves as a tribute to the suffering of the local population. 

The Exhibition portrays the Great Famine through the primary source accounts of the time, giving an overview of government policies and how they impacted on the ground. Reports from the relief committee in their attempts to alleviate the suffering of local people are shown alongside reports of how the international community responded to the crisis. The story unfolds in an interactive way through the dramatisation by actors, including Jeremy Irons, of actual events and people of the time.

A touch screen monitor gives factual information on the Famine and Souperism, augmented by information panels and artifacts of the period, including an original soup cauldron from a Relief Soup Kitchen. 

Follow The Skibbereen Trail, a ‘virtual’ walk visiting the sites, which have direct links with the Great Famine. Some sites commemorate great works of philanthropy, others of emigration, more of Relief Schemes, while others tell  of famine, fear and death. This can be augmented by walking the route around the town, following a leaflet, which is on sale at the Centre or can be downloaded by clicking here.

'excellent Famine exhibition'
'tragic and moving, a powerful exhibition'
'very enlightening experience'
'superb presentation. Famine content very moving'
'second visit - excellent exhibition'
'thought provoking, excellent exhibition''
'very informative'
'a brilliant history lesson!'
'excellent in providing different perspective on this chapter and its wider context'
'very interesting, good for kids to see this'
'an eye-opening exhibition'
'great place, congratulations to all concerned'
'what a wonderful exhibition - great!'
'very moving experience, excellently portrayed'
'an excellent account of terrible times'
'should be seen by all young people - lest we forget!'
'respect to our ancestors'
'very well done'
'great detail and good references'
'God rest their souls, very moving experience'
'excellent exhibition - so sad that starvation is still with us'
'impressive presentation - high standards evident'
'thanks for helping to preserve our history, this exhibition is so important'