Great Irish Famine Commemorated in Sydney

The Great Irish Famine, an Gorta Mór, was the greatest social disaster of the 19th century, killing over a million people and forcing nearly twice that number to emigrate. Australia was one of the many destinations for those fleeing the famine and on Sunday 31 August 2014 the fifteenth annual commemoration in Sydney of the Great Irish Famine took place at the Memorial to the Great Irish Famine at Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney. Inaugurated by then President Mary McAleese, the monument in particular commemorates the 4,112 famine orphan girls who were resettled in Australia from workhouses in Ireland by the Earl Grey Orphans scheme.

Richard O’Brien, former Ambassador of Ireland to Australia, led the commemoration and spoke about the long shared history between Ireland and Australia. George O’Keeffe, Vice-Consul and Acting Head of Mission, expressed his pride in the Irish community in Sydney, who came together to fund the construction and design of the memorial.

Further information on the Irish Famine Memorial in Sydney is available at http://www.irishfaminememorial.org/en/

The Great Irish Famine Commemoration Committee received a grant of $10,000 in 2013 under the Emigrant Support Programme. Organisations in Australia received €406,912 of funding under programme in 2013. Find out more about the programme on the Dept of Foreign Affairs website.