Famine Summer School – Call for papers

Famine Journeys and Trails: Communities, Diaspora, Memory

2023 Famine Summer School, National Famine Museum, Strokestown Park, Ireland. 

June 22-25, 2023

Call for Papers:

The 2023 Famine Summer School will take place at the National Famine Museum, Strokestown Park, County Roscommon, Ireland on June 22-25, 2023. The theme of the 2023 Famine Summer School is “Famine Journeys and Trails: Communities, Diaspora, Memory”. 

The 2023 Famine Summer School commemorates the voyage of the 1,490 assisted emigrants from Strokestown who fled the Great Hunger in Ireland in 1847. Their journey from Strokestown to Dublin along the banks of the Royal Canal can be followed along the National Famine Way walking trail (nationalfamineway.ie). From Dublin, they were transported to Liverpool and then crossed the Atlantic on some of the worst of the coffin ships, such as the Virginius and Naomi, with mortality rates of over fifty percent. After their arrival at Grosse Île (now Grosse Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site of Canada that is twinned with Strokestown) in Quebec, Strokestown’s 1,490 Famine emigrants traveled onwards through the fever sheds of Montreal (marked by the Black Rock memorial) to destinations in Canada West as well as the United States. Their journey was emblematic of the Irish Famine migration of 1847. 

One objective of the 2023 Famine Summer School is to explore potential connections between the National Famine Way in Ireland and developing Famine trails and heritage sites in Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. More broadly, we welcome proposals for 20-minute papers and envisage dedicated panels on the topics (but not limited to) of the Great Hunger and its impact on communities, the Irish Diaspora, education, heritage, and memory. Proposals from established and emerging academics, graduate/postgraduate students, independent scholars, and local historians, authors, and artists are all welcome. 

Inquiries and proposals of no more than 250 words, accompanied by a brief biographical note on the speaker, should be sent to Dr. Jason King: faminestudies@Irishheritagetrust.ie and/or Professor Christine Kinealy: Christine.Kinealy@quinnipiac.edu by 1 February 2023. Decisions on proposals by the organising committee will be communicated by the end of February. 

For more information on the Famine Summer School please click here.

The keynote speakers and artists for the 2023 Famine Summer School are: 

Caroilin Callery (Irish Heritage Trust) 

Lance Daly (Director, Black ’47

Professor Christine Kinealy (Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute, Quinnipiac University) 

Robert Kearns (Canada Ireland Foundation)

Professor Mark McGowan (University of Toronto) 

Dr. Eamonn McKee (Ireland’s Ambassador to Canada)  

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