Last full day in Dublin

September 5, 2024

Today we went to visit the famine ship the Jeanie Johnston plus the EPIC (every person is connected) museum. The Great Famine hit Ireland in 1845 and lasted until 1852. The failure of the potato crop and the rise in food prices led to starvation and disease, which killed between 1 and 1.5 million people and forced another 1 million people to flee the country many on ships like the Jeanie Johnston. The Jeanie Johnston was unique in that it never lost a passenger due to the benevolent Captain and the ships doctor. This was very much unlike the “coffin ships” that often lost more than a quarter of their passengers due to disease or starvation in the 4-6 week crossing of the Atlantic. By the time the famine ended Ireland had lost ¼ of its population. The population of Ireland still has not returned to pre-famine levels.

After the ship tour we visited the EPIC museum. EPIC stands for Every Person Is Connected. This is my second visit and it was just as good as the first. Lots of interesting facts about how Irish immigrants have influenced the world.

Tonight we took in a theatre production at The Gate theatre.

A monument to famine victims walking to Dublin to catch a boat to escape the famine.

The National Famine walkway from Strokestown to Dublin replicates the 165km many to the staving people walked to try and escape by sea.

Along the way there are bronze shoes that tell a story.

A replica of the Jeanie Johnston that made 12 crossing of the Atlantic to Quebec. The ship would take passengers on the way over and returned loaded with lumber mostly.

A sick passenger being attended to by the ship’s doctor.

One of the crew. Notice the rules and ration lists on the bulkhead.

A harp shaped bridge over the river Liffey.

You can search your family name to see if you have relatives and where they might be.

The Garden of Remembrance is a beautiful garden in the centre of the city was designed by architect Dáithí Hanly and dedicated to the memory of ‘all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom’.The garden was officially opened on the fiftieth anniversary of the 1916 Rising.The focus point is a magnificent sculpture by Oisín Kelly, based on the legend of the Children of Lir, in which four children are transformed into swans and remain so for 900 years before becoming human again. A poem by Liam Mac Uistin is inscribed on the wall behind the sculpture. It concludes: ‘O generations of freedom remember us, the generations of the vision.’

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Deb HunterI am struck by how many places you visited in Dublin that we didn't even know about. I loved what we saw, but realize how much we missed.
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