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National Irish famine memorial day - Celtic FC
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Terniog2
Sceala Philosopher
Location: Glasgow
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National Irish famine memorial day - Celtic FC
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Celts mark national famine memorial day
Be better if it was called genocide day, because it was British Crown policy not nature, that caused so many Irish people starved to death.
Joe Sullivan
Celtic FC will once again mark the National Famine Memorial Day by wearing special logos on their shirts at the game against Hearts this Sunday, May 9.
The National Famine Memorial Day remembers the tragedy of the Great Hunger (An Gorta Mor) in the 19th century when millions died or were forced to leave Ireland.
The inaugural event took place last year on May 17 when Celtic wore the commemorative logo on their strips when they played Hibernian at Easter Road.
The day was earmarked by the Irish Government to commemorate and honour the 1.5million people who either perished or emigrated from Ireland during the Great Famine from 1845 to 1851.
As a mark of respect, the Celtic team wore the club’s Celtic Cross on their shirts when they played Hibernian that weekend and will do so again this Sunday when visiting Tynecastle.
The Cross, representing a bridge between Scottish and Irish cultures, is the symbol of the club’s charitable arm, established to continue the work initiated by the club’s founder Brother Walfrid, an Irish Marist Brother.
This year, the event will be on May 16, and Celtic have chosen the nearest date to that occasion to pay their own tribute to those who were so tragically affected.
Celtic Chairman John Reid said: “Celtic is a Scottish club with proud Irish roots. These origins will rightly always be cherished by the club and as an institution which is so intrinsically linked to Ireland it is hugely important that we once again mark National Famine Memorial Day.
“This is an occasion when we remember the Great Irish Famine, one of the most tragic episodes in modern world history and indeed a lesson from history which we should never forget,an era which resulted in the death and forced migration of 1.5million people, a famine which blighted lives across barriers of age, sex and religion and which visited its awful effects on parts of Scotland too, uniting the afflicted of both countries.
“For many affected by the Great Hunger in Ireland, the West of Scotland was their point of refuge.
“From such death and desperation, Scotland offered a sense of hope and a sense of future. This future was symbolised in the creation of Celtic Football Club - an institution formed to feed the poor Irish immigrant community in the East End of Glasgow and named in celebration of unity of the twin roots of our Scottish and Irish heritage.
“Children of the Famine were instrumental in the creation of Celtic Football Club and we are proud for the second successive year to be marking this international occasion of remembrance on Sunday.
“While the fusion of Scottish and Irish identities defines our great club, we are proud to have always been an organisation open to all. We will always be so much more than a football club and will always ensure that we extend a welcome to all people.
“On Sunday, we once again honour many thousands of people as we remember with immense sadness the Great Irish Famine.
“We also use this day as a reminder of Celtic's important origins, how Celtic came to be and how we go forward, upholding at all times the important charitable principles and vision of the club's founders.”
Pat Carey TD, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs said: “I understand that this was a great success last year and had a real impact on both participants and spectators alike.
“Sport holds such a strong and respected position in Irish society and I would encourage all sporting organisations to use their influence to pay tribute and acknowledge the losses suffered in Ireland as a result of the famine.
“Unfortunately, famine is not unique to Ireland and many countries across the globe still suffer from famine and hunger today.
“It is important that in acknowledging our own history we continue to raise awareness of the plight of these people”.
The Almighty, indeed, sent the potato blight, but the English created the Famine. John Mitchel.
The truth about what the British did in Ireland during the famine.
In 1845, Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid declared his intention to send £10,000 to Irish farmers, but the English Queen Victoria requested that the Sultan send only £1000, because she herself had sent only £2000. The Sultan sent the £1000 sterling but also secretly sent three ships full of food. The English courts tried to block the ships, but the food arrived at Drogheda harbour and was left there by Ottoman sailors We must never forget this happened. The British controlled all the food in Ireland, their laws and actions, caused the great hunger. The English tried to kill all the Irish.
Monuments and Memorials for the Irish Famine 1845 - 49
More information about The Irish famine
The Irish Holocaust ( An Gorta Mor )
The Great Hunger was a genocide in Ireland which started in 1845, lasted, depending on the region, until 1849 or even 1852 and which led to the death of approximately one million people through starvation and disease, a further million are thought to have emigrated as a result of the famine. Some scholars estimate that the population of Ireland was reduced by 20 to 25 percent. It is not known how many people died during the period of the Famine, although it is believed more died from diseases than from starvation. State registration of births, marriages or deaths had not yet begun, and records kept by the Roman Catholic Church are incomplete. Eye witness accounts have helped medical historians identify both the ailments and effects of famine, and have been used to evaluate and explain in greater detail features of the famine. In Mayo, English Quaker William Bennett wrote of " three children huddled together, lying there because they were too weak to rise, pale and ghastly, their little limbs ... perfectly emaciated, eyes sunk, voice gone, and evidently in the last stages of actual starvation." Revd Dr Traill Hall, a Church of Ireland rector in Schull, described " the aged, who, with the young — are almost without exception swollen and ripening for the grave." Marasmic children also left a permanent image on Quaker Joseph Crosfield who in 1846 witnessed a " heart—rending scene [of] poor wretches in the last stages of famine imploring to be received into the [work]house...Some of the children were worn to skeletons, their features sharpened with hunger, and their limbs wasted almost to the bone... " William Forster wrote in Carrick-on-Shannon that " the children exhibit the effects of famine in a remarkable degree, their faces looking wan and haggard with hunger, and seeming like old men and women."
This American knows his stuff
Ireland's Holocaust
The genocide of the Irish people in the 1840's is most often referred to a a crop failure or so called "Potato Famine." It came after two centuries of land theft by the English colonizer, occupiers. The Penal Laws of the early 1700's required the Irish to change there Catholic religion. The Penal Laws allowed British occupiers to take the land of those who didn't become Protestants. The Irish were left with extremely small parcels of land, to small for most crops (i.e. wheat, barley, etc.). In this way the Irish became dependent on the potato for survival, because sufficient amounts could be grown of very small plots of land. When the potato crop failed due to a blight, Ireland's agricultural bounty was great in terms of wheat, barley, etc. The large landowners were Protestant gentry who shipped all of their agricultural produce to England to keep food prices low in England. As a result, as millions of Irish starved, the English were well fed at low prices. The decision to ship all food to England was made by officials in the English Treasury, knowing millions were starving in Ireland. In doing so 2 million starved and another 2 to 3 million were forced to emigrate. As an occupied English colony, and a part of Great Brittan, the English had an absolute responsibility to feed the Irish people. In not doing so, the English committed genocide as surely as Hitler did when he intentionally starved Jews to death at Malthausen concentration camp. It is only in the last 20 or 30 years that Irish historians have had the opportunity to write about Ireland's history. Prior to that, English historians excused their ancestors holocaust of the Irish people.
Pat Carey T.D., Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, today welcomed a full programme of events organised by the Murrisk Development Association and Mayo County Council for the forthcoming National Famine Commemoration in Murrisk, Co. Mayo.
Speaking today Minister Carey said “I would like to sincerely thank all those involved in putting this programme of events together. I know that a huge amount of work went into it and it is evidence of the deep respect still held today for all those who suffered losses during this great Irish tragedy. The 2010 National Famine Memorial Day will be marked by a formal State ceremonial event in Murrisk on 16th May."
"This together with a full programme of local events shows willingness on the part of the Irish people to acknowledge our own history and also to raise awareness of the plight of those suffering the effects of famine around the world today”.
The programme of events kicks off on Monday, 10th May 2010 at 8p.m in the Holy Trinity Church in Westport, Co. Mayo with a concert entitled “Writing the Famine in Fiction” with the acclaimed Brendan Graham and culminates in a lecture by John O’Shea, CEO of GOAL who will speak about the reality of Famine today and how it effects many countries around the globe.
In addition, throughout the week, a number of events are scheduled to take place across Co. Mayo, including historical walking tours, musical evenings and lectures on various topics.
For further information on local events in Mayo throughout the week leading up to the 16th May and to receive a copy of the programme, contact Westport Town Council, Westport, Co. Mayo Tel: 098 50400.
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