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2018 International Famine Commemoration, Williamstown, Melbourne

The International Famine Commemoration for 2018 takes place at the Famine Rock in Williamstown, Melbourne on Sunday 28th October.  Over 4,000 young Irish women and girls travelled from the workhouses of Ireland between 1848 and 1850 under the Earl Grey Scheme, in search of hope and a new beginning.  The Famine Rock commemorates their arrival.

Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan T.D. – who is representing the Government on behalf of the Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan T.D. – said:  “At this year’s event, we focus on the plight of those young women and girls who came to Melbourne fleeing the worse ravages of the Great Famine. One can only admire the courage and fortitude of these young women. They were coming to an uncertain future in a strange and distant land. This simple but solid monument – the Famine Rock – conveys a simple but solid message. We have not and we will not forget those who suffered and died, and those who struggled and survived through the Great Famine."

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude, on behalf of the Irish Government's National Famine Committee, to the organisers of the official Commemoration in Williamstown and all others who have contributed to all the events I've attended this week.  Your commitment has ensured that the catastrophic events of the Great Famine - An Gorta Mór - are being so appropriately remembered.

While in Australia, Minister O’Donovan will also meet with Irish community groups and Australian Government representatives.

EDITORS NOTE

This will be the second time the international commemoration has been held in Australia. Minister Jimmy Deenihan T.D. attended the 2013 commemoration in Sydney.  There have been nine international commemorations of the Great Irish Famine to date. Events have also been held in the USA (4) and the UK (1) and Canada (2)..

In 1998, on the 150th anniversary of the arrival of 191 ‘orphan girls’ on board the ship, Lady Kennaway, the ‘Famine Rock’ was erected at the Burgoyne Reserve, Williamstown. The famine Rock honours the memory of these ‘orphan girls’ and the others who travelled from Ireland in the brutal aftermath of the Great Famine. These girls and young women arrived at Melbourne’s Port Philip on a series of six ships.

The ‘Famine Rock’ is bluestone rock at Burgoyne Reserve in Williamstown was dedicated to their memory. The Famine Rock stands as stone of mourning and of welcome.

Minister O'Donovan will also attend a roundtable event entitled "The Famine and Irish in Australia" in Williamstown Town Hall on Sunday.