Tom Power and Sir William Deane
Céad míle fáilte
Welcome to the web-site for the Australian Monument to the Great Irish Famine (1845-1848). The hope is that it will be an interesting and rewarding experience for anyone interested in Irish History and Genealogy, especially those who can trace their ancestry to the Irish Famine Orphans.
Table & Bowl
The Irish Diaspora throughout the whole of the 19th Century saw an exodus of people to all corners of the world especially to the colonies and former colonies governed by the British, such as Canada, United States and Australia. The majority of those who left Ireland during that period for Australia, left in the main,because of the dreadful circumstances existing at that time.
The rebellion of 1798 saw many Irish men transported as common criminals to the penal colony of New Holland. Minor famines contributed to numbers leaving over the next forty years, but these numbers were small in comparison to the numbers who left Irish shores during the Great Famine (1845-1850) and its aftermath.
Post famine Irish immigration to Australia was very significant with some writers claiming that over 30,000 single Irish women alone arrived over a fifteen-year period between 1848 and 1863. In a male dominated society, these numbers would have altered the demographics of Australia in a very significant way. It is also claimed in many quarters, that 30% of its present population have some Irish blood in their veins. If that is the case, then you may be returning to this site many times in the future.
The Australian Famine Monument is a memorial to the million or so who died during the famine period. It is a monument to those who survived and in a very special way to the 4,200 famine orphans who arrived in Australia under the Earl Grey scheme (1848 -1850). It is a monument to their success, and a recognition of what they contributed to the building of this great country. The information on the web site will be mainly concerned with these. The site will be updated as information comes in. In fact, if you want to have a profile of your orphan ancestor printed on the web, this can be arranged for a small fee of $20.00.
The Australian Monument to the Great Irish Famine is situated in Sydney, in the grounds of the Hyde Park Barracks Museum.
Tom Power
Irish Famine Commemoration Committee
