Irish President Michael D. Higgins and Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Simon Coveney yesterday officiated at the National Famine Commemoration Day 2018 at University College Cork (UCC).
President Higgins was joined by ambassadors to Ireland from 52 countries at the commemoration, and they laid wreaths as a mark of respect for all those who died or emigrated during the Great Famine.
During the ceremony, the deputy prime minister launched the Great Irish Famine Online, UCC’s new digital resource that charts in detailed information the changes in the social, political and economic landscape of pre- and post-Famine Ireland.
Mr. Coveney said, “The development of the Great Irish Famine Online represents the culmination of a work over a period of years and will represent a major resource for all students of the Great Famine.”
In her blog, Irish Genealogy News, Claire Santry wrote, “This ground-breaking project allows users to access interactive maps containing detailed information on the impact of the Famine on each of 3,000 civil parishes and 1,600 towns across the island. You can analyse statistics that chart changes in the social, political and economic landscape of Ireland pre- and post-Famine. The statistics are taken from the 1841 and 1851 census.”
Read Ms. Santry’s blog post, UCC launches The Great Irish Famine Online, for a link to the site and to learn more.
I wish this site had an index to the Irish counties & then to the towns within each county.
I just know the county of my forebears, but here in the USA, I don’t recognize the shape of where it was!!
In a couple of cases, I also had to look at another map to find the county.