By John Maguire
In the latest instalment of Buried Treasure by ArtsGroupie CIC, writer and historian John Maguire reflects on a deeply moving journey retracing the footsteps of the 1,490 Irish men, women and children forced from their homes in Strokestown, Co. Roscommon, during the Great Famine.
Last year, I undertook a walk from Strokestown to Dublin (the National Famine Way, Global Irish Famine Way) as part of ArtsGroupie’s work with the Liverpool Irish festival on the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail. This commemorated the 1847 journey taken by 1,490 evictees from Strokestown Estate (Co. Roscommon, Ireland). The evictees were marched 165km to Dublin, to be put on cargo ships to Liverpool and thence to Canada. It’s estimated that over half of those who made the journey died before they reached their destination. Participating in the walk of the bronze shoes was a phenomenal experience.
Thought-provoking, poignant and life-changing. A rare opportunity — in a speedy modern world — to take a journey in sync with nature’s rhythms and to reflect, respect and remember the 1,490 of Strokestown. A chance to honour all those who suffered and passed during An Gorta Mór and highlight the resilience and tenacity of the Irish people and their rich contribution to the Global community.
It gave me time to reflect on the Great Hunger Commemoration’s efforts to raise funds for the Famine trail plaques and memorial in the nineties. Our role in preserving the memory of all the people who lost their lives and suffered during AN GORTA MOR, and how Liverpool and the Irish Famine Trail fit into the Global Famine Way.
The night before our departure, we took the famine soup. It tasted a little like the barley recipe my Irish Nan used to make; cheap ingredients, but filling. The poitín was like a strong mouthwash, one that should be gargled, spat out and not swallowed.
Before we started the walk, the names of all the 1,490 were read out aloud, and each was like a painful pinch down the spine. A number dehumanises, but an actual name really hits home the reality. The ‘surplus population’ were actual real people.
So many surreal memories of the trail, including being forced to stop because a flock of cows had escaped their field and played havoc in a sculpted garden, leaping over the wall, like horses on a steeple chase.
Once we reached the canal, it became the one constant that stayed with us over the next few days. The backdrop changed from woodland to marsh, fields of ferns, soggy bogs and carved stone hills. And the wildlife, like swifts, ravens, a woodpecker and a regular visitor we called ‘Harry the Heron’. He would land in the distance. Then, as I got closer, he would fly with grace and elegance into the cotton wool clouds, loop and circle around. A private performance for my eyes before he landed 300 metres ahead. I would walk onwards, and the gesture would be repeated, as if he were leading me along the way.
As the walk progressed, the green landscape and solitude gave way to urban buildup. Mankind is a stain on the very canvas nature has created. Civilisation made its mark on the landscape. Its housing infrastructure and branded supermarkets felt like intrusive strangers, out of place with what we were doing.
On the final day, the collective headed towards Lock Six, the bordering wall near Custom Quay, through the industrial heartlands of Dublin’s docks. The sight of copious amounts of tents littering the canal banks like weeds that had sprung up almost overnight was saddening. People taking flight and landing on the Emerald Isle, hoping that the new land — and tomorrow— would herald a better future. History is repetition. I suddenly felt out of sorts, walking these six days in honour of the 1,490, yet still today, there are people like the 1,490 forced to flee.
(an abridged extract from A Walker’s Reflection: John Maguire, in the new book REVEAL)
This Strokestown to Dublin walk connects with the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail in Liverpool. A way for local people and visitors to the city to engage with Irish heritage. When I began work on reviving the trail with an incredible Volunteer History research group back in 2021, a casual remark from a relative mentioned that my great-grandma’s relatives had come over during the famine, which intrigued me. However, nobody knew anything else, and all those who could have provided more information had passed away. I believe that this is like many people in Liverpool with Irish surnames.
We are all made up of the stories of our ancestors. It is essential to ensure that people understand their heritage and where they have come from. The Liverpool Irish Famine trail allows communities and individuals to reflect on the streets that they live and work in, what has gone before and how that can impede on the now.
ArtsGroupie CIC specialises in bringing history alive through street theatre, walking tours and plays, to culturally engage, an interrogation of the past and an appreciation of the people who have gone before us. There are numerous figures in the Famine story, and numbers and statistics can indeed cause distance and alienation. We endeavour to seek out the personal stories that then honour those dead and also humanise what can be overlooked on the page. Community voices are key, especially when untangling the net of colonialism. And as we continue to discover, we still have a lot more to unpick. Many more voices and stories need to be incorporated to help us understand our heritage, which can hopefully better inform our future. And so, the work continues…
The book REVEAL is available via liverpoolirishfestival.com.
Find out more about the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail and download a free map.
Free Exhibition
Visit Rathbone Ceramic Studio & Gallery, Birkenhead, to experience extraordinary artworks created in response to the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail.
Featuring films, embroidery, banners, cyanotypes, mixed media and community stories — this exhibition powerfully connects Merseyside with the history of The Great Hunger.
Open during gallery hours until Saturday 1 Nov.
FREE entry — just drop in!