On Sauturday Marian and I participated in the 20th Annual Famine Walk from Doolough to Louisburgh, a distance of 16 km. The walk was organised by Marian's friend Maria who runs the Louisburgh Community Trust, in association with Afri (Action for Ireland) a Dublin-based human rights group. The aim of the walk is to remember the suffering of the local people on the night and morning of 30-31 March 1849, and to raise awareness of current human rights issues. The following is from the Afri website:
"The immediate cause of the death march was the arrival of two ‘commissioners’, who were to inspect the people and certify them as paupers, so entitling them to a ration of three pounds of meal each. For some reason the inspection was not made and the hundreds of people were told they must appear at Delphi Lodge (ten miles away) at 7am the following morning. They set out on foot along the mountain road and pathway in cold, wintry conditions, including snowfall.
When they arrived at Delphi Lodge, they were refused either food or tickets of admission to the workhouse and so they began their weary return journey. It was on this journey that maybe hundreds of people died."
Marian in front of Doolough
The start of the walk
With About 5 km to Louisburgh