In 1847, during The Great Hunger, one thousand four hundred and ninety men, women and children set off to Canada from their homes in Strokestown (Co. Roscommon, Ireland), guided by their landlord’s land agent during The Great Hunger.
During the 165km walk to Dublin, half of them perished.
Today, that route is now marked by more than 30 pairs of children’s shoes, cast in bronze and known as the National Famine Way. It begins at the National Famine Museum on the site of the Strokestown Estate, and ends at EPIC (the Irish Emigration Museum) in Dublin.
On 19th May 2024, twelve individuals from Liverpool Irish Festival, The National Famine Way and Strokestown Park and Museum will set off on the seven-day walk, before boarding a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, accompanied by a pair of bronze shoes, cast from a pair of children’s shoes found on the Strokestown Estate.
Liverpool Irish Festival Artistic Director and CEO, Emma Smith says: “This walk will raise vital funds for the Trail, as well as awareness about the rich research and work being done to commemorate An Gorta Mór. Famine awareness has progressed as revisionist and post-colonial history is revealing new perspectives that warrant investigation, appreciation and advocacy. This knowledge will be shared.
“The Trail’s seven plaques, memorial ground and other sites are linked by little, bar a few people’s memory, despite its deep significance to Merseyside’s history and heritage. It needs recognition, particularly for those tracing their genealogy and tourists (local, national and international) connecting with Liverpool’s life”.
Sarah Mangan, Consul General of Ireland, notes: “It’s especially poignant to be invited to join this commemorative walk, carrying the bronze shoes representing our Irish migrant’s journey. We are deeply appreciative of the Festival’s work in highlighting the complex story of Irish migration to and through Liverpool, and commend the ambition to formalise links between the work happening in Liverpool with international sites, such as Strokestown Park and Museum, The National Famine Way (Ireland) and Canada. We wish the team well in raising the funds needed to further invest in saving the sites and stories of our ancestors and the impact of An Gorta Mór”.
From Holyhead, the Liverpool contingent of the group will continue their walk along the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail, to the Seacombe ferry terminal, before sailing to the Mersey Port on the 27th May. The final stretch sees the shoes taken to Clarence Dock Gates, before finishing at St Luke’s Church (The Bombed Out Church).
The trail is constant and unforgiving, but for all who walk it today, there is no comparison to the challenge faced by those who walked it at the height of The Great Hunger.
The walk is raising funds to support and maintain the legacy of the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail for future generations.
The funds raised will contribute to forging further bronze shoes, to create a wider-spread cultural heritage that is visible and tangible in museums across the world, including Canada – the original target of the 1,490 people who left Strokestown in 1847. The newly cast shoes will mark the physical route of the Global Irish Famine Way.
Funds raised from the walk will also help to maintain the heritage trail and hopefully support new research, with Liverpool Irish Festival aiming to refresh the memorial monument in Liverpool, which has stood since 1998 in the gardens of St Luke’s Church.
Donate to support the future of the project, and the vital heritage research being done around the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail at: www.justgiving.com/page/bronze-shoes-liverpool
Words, Patrick Kirk-Smith