A Farewell to Famine

A FAREWELL TO FAMINE

174pp; 50 b/w illus., Paperback €14.95;  isbn   0 9519239 1 9

In 1850, Fr Thomas Hore, the ageing parish priest of Killavaney, Tinahely, led a group of over 1000 people from their homes in southWicklow and north Wexford to start new lives in the American Mid-West.  This was no blind flight from famine, but a concerted attempt organised by the Bishop of Little Rock to establish an Irish Catholic colony in Arkansas.  A series of setbacks broke the cohesion of the group which splintered into six, settling in places as diverse as New Orleans, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri and Iowa.  This book follows their progress, showing the other side of the famine emigration experience – what happened when they got to America. The names of 847 of those people form a fascinating appendix to this story. First published in 1994, this book has become an important part of the famine story in Wicklow.

Sunday Press (Dublin):  “A gem of a book”.

Irish Times: “ …a brave and audacious adventure… this account is timely and necessary …”

Books Ireland: “An Irish Schindler’s List ….. a highly readable account of one community’s transplantation..”

Irish Echo (New York): “A valuable document for students of Irish-American history”.

 

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