merrion street

Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, is pleased to announce today (Tuesday 30

October, 2012) that he has provided each of the county and city libraries nationwide with a copy of The ‘Atlas of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-52’, which is edited by John Crowley, William J Smyth and Mick Murphy, and which was recently published by Cork University Press.

Minister Deenihan said:

'In recognition of the important role that libraries play as community centres of culture and learning, I am delighted to now provide a copy of this beautiful and important publication for each of the county and city libraries in Ireland. I hope that they will find it to be a useful and informative resource and that it will be of assistance in publicising and educating communities around Ireland about the history of the Great Irish Famine'.

The failure of the potato crop during the 1840s was a transforming event in Ireland. There is nothing else in the history of the Irish people that can be likened to the Great Famine, either for its immediate impact, or its legacy of emigration, cultural loss and decline of the Irish language. It brought a shattering direct loss of life, established a momentum in emigration that endured for many years and polarised social and political relations in Ireland and with Great Britain. It is now widely accepted that a million people perished between the years 1845-1852 and that an additional one million and a quarter emigrated. In 1835, the number of native Irish speakers was estimated at 4 million, but by 1851 only 2 million spoke Irish as their first language."

In recognition of the significance of this devastating period in our history, the Government established a National Famine Commemoration Committee to develop appropriate arrangements for an annual commemoration of the Great Irish Famine and to ensure that all those who suffered, perished and emigrated are appropriately remembered.

Since 2008, a National Famine Commemoration has been held in Ireland annually, with an overseas commemoration also taking place each year. The date and location of the 2013 National Famine Commemoration, which will take place in the province of Munster, will be announced later this year. Minister Deenihan announced last August that the 2013 International Commemoration of the Great Irish Famine will take place in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday, 25^th August 2013.

Further details will be published on the National Famine Commemoration page of the website of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht as they are announced, at