Heroes of the Great Famine to be acknowledged officially

Kosciuszko Heritage is delighted by the Irish Government’s announcement that it is launching a program to recognise individuals who helped the Irish people during the Great Famine: individuals such as Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki.

Ireland’s Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, announced the launch of the project as part of the 2014 National Famine Commemoration programme.

Called Heroes of the Great Irish Famine, the scheme will provide “an opportunity to pay tribute to the individuals and communities whose compassion and generosity sustained the lives of those who suffered during the famine when they were most in need,” the website of the Great Famine Commemoration states.

“It will help us to remember the generosity of ordinary people as well as the many communities that sent assistance to Ireland from abroad and also welcomed those who were forced to emigrate during this time.”

Kosciuszko Heritage has been researching and promoting the contributions made by Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki to the Great Famine for several years.

“The announcement by the Irish Government is a wonderful opportunity to showcase even more widely the significant humanitarian efforts undertaken by Strzelecki,” says Felix Molski, a Kosciuszko Heritage committee member and the author of the book The Best of Human Nature: Strzelecki’s Humanitarian Work in Ireland.

“Strzelecki’s innovative scheme that clothed and fed children through the medium of schools, as well as his tougher hygiene requirements, helped save thousands of people in a time of severe hardship.”

The narratives about the Heroes of the Great Irish Famine will be published on the website of the Great Famine Commemoration, run by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

To read full details of the project, please click here.

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