28-07-2025
Roscommon groups to walk 165 kilometres in solidarity with Palestine
Boyle Palestine Solidarity and other Roscommon solidarity groups will walk from Strokestown to the Famine Statues at the Dublin Docklands over eight days in August.
A spokesperson for Boyle Palestinian Solidarity Group described the event as 'a walk of remembrance, resistance and humanity' amid the ongoing war in Gaza in which tens of thousands of people have died.
'We walk this same path now because we recognise the suffering of others. What happened to our ancestors is happening to Palestinians today — forced displacement, starvation, and grief,' said a group spokesperson. 'This is a walk of remembrance, resistance and humanity.'
Starting on August 1, the group will walk the National Famine Way, a historic trail which retraces the journey of the Strokestown 1490; the men, women and children forced to walk from Roscommon to Dublin in 1847 after eviction during the Great Irish Famine.
The group were evicted from the Mahon estate and escorted on foot by Bailiff Robinson to Dublin to ensure they boarded their ship and did not return home.
Upon arrival in Dublin, they boarded ships bound for Liverpool and on to North America. Many did not survive the voyage. Today, they are remembered as The Missing 1490.
Boyle Palestinian Solidarity Group has invited anyone along the National Famine Way to join them for any section of the walk. They are also encouraging donations to the TEA Collective, which provides humanitarian aid on the ground in Palestine.
The Israeli Defence Forces recently paused hostilities in Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to enter the enclave, where residents are suffering from a severe lack of food, water and medicine.
The itinerary for the upcoming walk in solidarity with Palestine is as follows:
Day 1 (August 2): Strokestown to Clondra
Day 2 (August 3): Clondra to Ballymahon
Day 3 (August 4): Ballymahon to Ballynacarrigy
Day 4 (August 5): Ballynacarrigy to Mullingar
Day 5 (August 6): Mullingar to Hill of Down
Day 6 (August 7): Hill of Down to Enfield
Day 7 (August 8): Enfield to Maynooth
