National Famine Museum/Strokestown Park
29th May – 1st June 2025
Join us at the 2025 Famine Summer School for stimulating talks from leading academics, an art exhibition, live drama and film, all exploring the legacy of the Irish Famine of the 1840s.
The theme of the 2025 Famine Summer School is “Humanitarianism and Hunger”.
From Indigenous and settler communities in North America to India and the Sultanate of Ottoman Empire, as well as Great Britain and in Ireland, private individuals and groups across class divides raised funds and risked their lives in a humanitarian response to Ireland’s Great Hunger (1845-1852) that often contrasted with official responses. The 2025 Famine Summer School explores the comparisons and contrasts between the historical context and the challenges of humanitarian responses to the Great Hunger and famines in the world.
More information available soon.
About the Famine Summer School
The Irish Famine Summer School is an annual international conference that explores the history and impact of An Gorta Mór.
It brings together leading Famine scholars to share their ideas and research and is an opportunity to exhibit work from talented artists and playwrights who have been inspired to create work based on the Famine.
Key Speakers and Contributors to this year’s event
Professor Mark G McGowan is a Professor of History and Celtic Studies and Principal Emeritus at St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto. He has published extensively on the religious and emigration history of Canada, and the history of the Irish community in Canada.
Professor Christine Kinealy is the Director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute and Professor of History at Quinnipiac University. She has published extensively on the Great Hunger and on the abolition movement in Ireland.
Professor Gillian O’Brien (Liverpool John Moore’s University) is co-Principal Investigator of the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded Sharing Lands: Recognition, Reconciliation, Reciprocity Research Group.
Dr Eamonn McKee is Chief of Protocol in the Department of Foreign Affairs. He is the former Ambassador of Ireland to Canada (2020-2024).
Professor LeAnne Howe (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, University of Georgia) is a member of the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded Sharing Lands: Recognition, Reconciliation, Reciprocity Research Group.
Caroilin Callery is a Director of the Irish Heritage Trust and the Westward Group. She is recognised for her work in establishing the National Famine Way and building connections between the National Famine Museum and international universities and institutions.
Dr Padraig Kirwan (Goldsmiths, University of London) is Principal Investigator of the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded Sharing Lands: Recognition, Reconciliation, Reciprocity Research Group.
The 2025 Famine Summer School is held in partnership with Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University
