Lecture and launch of book of essays on the Great Famine in County Donegal

The 2023 National Famine Commemoration in County Donegal took place on the former site of the Milford workhouse.

As part of the programme surrounding the national commemoration, Donegal County Council’s Archives Service and County Museum commissioned Dr Hilary McLaughlin-Stonham to carry out research in Donegal County Archives and other archival institutions, exploring aspects of life in the county during the worst years of the Great Famine, 1845 – 1850.

A short illustrated book of Dr McLaughlin-Stonham’s four essays has now been published by Donegal County Council, with the title The Consequences will be Fearful: The Great Famine in County Donegal.

Dr Hilary McLaughlin- Stonham will speak on the subject of the Great Famine in County Donegal, based on a book of four essays just published, titled: The Consequences will be Fearful: The Great Famine in County Donegal / Scanraithe faoina bhfuil i ndán: An Gorta Mór i nDún na nGall.

The event will take place on Saturday, March 9, at 2pm at the County Museum in Letterkenny. To book a place at the lecture please phone 074 91 24613 or email museum@donegalcoco.ie. For more information contact: Niamh Brennan, archivist@donegalcoco.ie

The book has been published in Irish and English. Limited free hard copies will be made available at the event on Saturday and from libraries, Archives, County Museum in the following weeks.

The ultimate goal was to remember those who lost their lives or suffered during the Great Famine in our county and those who left as emigrants to build new lives abroad.

Each essay explores a particular theme or area. The first essay looks at the outbreak of famine across the county and the worsening situation. The second essay focuses on how the county’s biggest town, Letterkenny, coped during the worst years.

The third essay examines the day-to-day lives of both staff and inmates of Inishowen workhouse at a time of chaos, fever and starvation. The final essay provides an insight into experiences, good and bad, of people from Donegal who made the decision to emigrate during the Famine years.

It is hoped that the publication and Dr McLaughlin-Stonham’s lecture will give an invaluable insight into the history of life in Donegal at this devastating time in modern Irish history, and also provide information on the rich avenue of sources available in the County Archives and beyond on the subject.

The book, in English and Irish, will also be made available to download on Donegal County Council’s website following the lecture.