Join us at Strokestown Park in the National Famine Museum on the 16th May at 7pm for a traditional Canadian Wake, a farewell gathering once held for Irish emigrants leaving for North America.

This event will be an immersive theatrical experience with professional performances in the National Famine Museum. The evening will feature music, storytelling and a moment of reflection as we remember those who emmigrated during the Great Irish Famine.

 You will be taken back to 1847, the height of the Great Irish Famine where we will be revisiting the night that Mary Tighe and her family left the Strokestown Estate. Mary and her family were part of a forced emmigration scheme initiated by Major Denis Mahon, the landlord of the Strokestown Estate at this time.

This emmigration scheme forced famine-stricken tenants to leave their homes in Strokestown. These tenants are today referred to as ‘the missing 1,490’. They began their journey by walking the 165km to the docklands in Dublin, from here they boarded ships to Liverpool and then on to Canada in the hope of a better life.

Follow Mary and her family on their journey, experience their heartbreaking story and join her community in a traditional emmigrant wake, the last opportunity for Mary to say farewell to her loved ones. Knowing that it could be the last time they see each other as she is heading into a life of uncertainty with little money and a treacherous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.

This Canadian Wake is being held on the eve of the National Famine Way Remembrance Walk starting on the 17th of May.

This event is a standing event which involves walking through the National Famine Museum with limited seating in each section of the museum. 

***This is a Free Event, however advanced registration is required.***