13-05-2025
Roscommon museum to host summer school focusing on international response to Great Famine
The National Famine Museum in Strokestown Park, County Roscommon, will host this year's summer school, which will feature several distinguished keynote speakers.
With a theme entitled 'Humanitarianism and Hunger', the programme will focus on how global communities - including those in North America, India, the Ottoman Empire, and beyond - reacted to the Great Famine, which claimed the lives of over one million people resulted in one million more emigrating.
The conference will also draw parallels with modern-day challenges in humanitarian assistance, food insecurity, and climate-related displacement.
Keynote speakers at the Summer School include Jean-Martin Bauer, with over two decades of experience in humanitarian food aid; Professor Christine Kinealy, Director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University; Professor Mark G McGowan, a leading scholar on Irish migration to Canada; and Professor LeAnne Howe of the Choctaw Nation, reflecting on the enduring ties between the Choctaw people and the Irish famine legacy.
Historian Dr Gillian O'Brien, a leading voice in Irish public history and a professor at Liverpool John Moores University, will also address the event.
Michael Kennedy - who global headlines when he and the Irish lacrosse team voluntarily gave up their place in the 2022 World Games so that the Iroquois Nationals, who were originally excluded despite their ranking, could participate – will also address the summer school.
In addition to academic discussions, the Famine Summer School will feature live performances, exhibitions, and creative presentations that reflect on the cultural legacy of famine and humanitarian solidarity. The summer school runs from May 29 to June 1,
More information on the 2025 Famine Summer School, including registration details and the full program, is available on the official website:
