Featured Discussions - The Wild Geese2024-03-19T07:47:24Zhttps://thewildgeese.irish/forum/topic/list?feed=yes&xn_auth=no&featured=1'Taste of Home / Sapore di Casa' Survey for Italian and Irish Abroadtag:thewildgeese.irish,2019-09-16:6442157:Topic:2437662019-09-16T10:22:51.162ZItalish Magazinehttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/ItalishMagazine
<p class="mentions-texteditor__content">We have designed with<span> </span><strong class="mentions-texteditor__mention" dir="ltr">Lucia Galasso</strong>, on the road to the next San Patrizio Livorno Festival, a survey for Italian and Irish people living abroad.</p>
<p class="mentions-texteditor__content">The survey is available in English (here: …</p>
<p class="mentions-texteditor__content">We have designed with<span> </span><strong class="mentions-texteditor__mention" dir="ltr">Lucia Galasso</strong>, on the road to the next San Patrizio Livorno Festival, a survey for Italian and Irish people living abroad.</p>
<p class="mentions-texteditor__content">The survey is available in English (here: <a href="https://italish.eu/en/sapore-di-casa-taste-of-home-survey-and-talk-splf-2020/">https://italish.eu/en/sapore-di-casa-taste-of-home-survey-and-talk-splf-2020/</a>) and in Italian (here: <a href="https://italish.eu/sapore-di-casa-taste-of-home-sondaggio-e-conferenza-al-splf-2020/">https://italish.eu/sapore-di-casa-taste-of-home-sondaggio-e-conferenza-al-splf-2020/</a>).</p>
<p class="mentions-texteditor__content">The<span> </span><strong class="mentions-texteditor__hashtag" dir="ltr">#saporedicasatasteofhome</strong> explores eating habits of people living abroad. Lucia will discuss the results of our SPLF Survey during next<span> </span><strong class="mentions-texteditor__hashtag" dir="ltr">#SPLF</strong>, on March 20/22 2020.<span> </span></p>
<p class="mentions-texteditor__content"><strong class="mentions-texteditor__hashtag" dir="ltr">#dublin</strong> <strong class="mentions-texteditor__hashtag" dir="ltr">#livorno</strong> <strong class="mentions-texteditor__hashtag" dir="ltr">#irish</strong> <strong class="mentions-texteditor__hashtag" dir="ltr">#italian</strong> <strong class="mentions-texteditor__hashtag" dir="ltr">#italianfood</strong> <strong class="mentions-texteditor__hashtag" dir="ltr">#irishfood</strong></p> Catch 'The Long Ride'tag:thewildgeese.irish,2018-07-09:6442157:Topic:2336842018-07-09T07:05:51.231ZValerie Lapin Ganleyhttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/ValerieLapinGanley
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122519915?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122519915?profile=original" width="359"></img></a> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122520107?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122520107?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p><span><i>The Long Ride</i> is a timely new documentary about the historic 2003 Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride that sparked the birth of the new Civil Rights Movement for immigrant workers in the United States. Alarmed by the…</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122519915?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122519915?profile=original" width="359" class="align-center"/></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122520107?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122520107?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><span><i>The Long Ride</i> is a timely new documentary about the historic 2003 Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride that sparked the birth of the new Civil Rights Movement for immigrant workers in the United States. Alarmed by the increase in immigration raids, deportations, family separation, and attacks on workers’ rights, more than 900 immigrants and allies traveled across America to focus public attention on the plight of immigrant workers and to call for reform of the broken immigration system. They were inspired by the 1961 Civil Rights Movement Freedom Riders who risked their lives fighting to end segregation. The film chronicles their journey and the on-going fight for immigrant rights to this day.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> With Freedom Riders as our navigators, the film puts a human face on this controversial issue and examines the human costs as lawmakers overhaul the U.S. immigration system. The film screens at:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span>New York International Immigration Film Festival</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span>Saturday, July 14 at 1:00pm</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Producers Club </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">358 W 44th St, New York, New York</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://nyiiff.com/schedule-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://nyiiff.com/schedule-2018</a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span>Pacifica Community Center</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span>Saturday, July 21 at 6:00pm</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">540 Crespi Drive, Pacifica, California</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Suggested donation: $5-$15. No one will be turned away.</p>
<p>For more information: <a href="http://www.thelongride.film">www.thelongride.film</a></p>
<p>Facebook: @TheLongRideFilm</p> Irish-American Impresario P.S. Gilmore the Subject of New Radio Documentarytag:thewildgeese.irish,2018-05-22:6442157:Topic:2317402018-05-22T12:50:50.670ZJarlath MacNamarahttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/JarlathMacNamara
<p>Hello everyone! A radio documentary was launched this month by Athlone Community Radio in Ireland titled "The Bandmaster," highlighting the life of the great Irishman Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore. This tells the story of his birth in 1829 and early life in Ballygar, County Galway and indeed in Athlone and his influence on the later talent of John McCormack.</p>
<p>It also features a series of wonderful performances by the No. 2 Brigade Band of the Irish Army directed by Captain Tom Kelly. This…</p>
<p>Hello everyone! A radio documentary was launched this month by Athlone Community Radio in Ireland titled "The Bandmaster," highlighting the life of the great Irishman Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore. This tells the story of his birth in 1829 and early life in Ballygar, County Galway and indeed in Athlone and his influence on the later talent of John McCormack.</p>
<p>It also features a series of wonderful performances by the No. 2 Brigade Band of the Irish Army directed by Captain Tom Kelly. This documentary serves to introduce the subject of GIlmore to Irish America and to Ireland after he was almost lost to the sands of time and scant and misdirected research, and reminds us of the brain drain that resulted from the Great Irish Famine and the "brain gain" that contributed to the building of the wonderful nation of America. </p>
<p>Please enjoy and make any comments you wish here or indeed to my email address at <a href="http://gilmoresband@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gilmoresband@gmail.com</a> and, needless to say, share the link among your friends</p>
<p>Regards from Ireland -- Jarlath </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mixcloud.com/AthloneCommunityRadio/the-bandmaster-music-documentary-about-patrick-s-gilmore-including-music-from-the-band-2-brigade/">https://www.mixcloud.com/AthloneCommunityRadio/the-bandmaster-music-documentary-about-patrick-s-gilmore-including-music-from-the-band-2-brigade/</a></p> Boyd Family, Last Posted in 2013tag:thewildgeese.irish,2017-05-10:6442157:Topic:2168252017-05-10T00:24:21.228ZPamela Boyd Shieldshttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/PamelaBoydShields
<p><a href="http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=dave%2Dhardin&id=I10056" rel="nofollow"><b>This is what I know of the beginning of my family. David Boyd</b></a> (born 1737/38 in Ireland/Scotland. He was buried 11 May 1815 in Fishing Creek Presbyterian Churchyard, Chester, South Carolina, USA. He married his first wife in Ireland, (unknown name, maybe born about 1760). She died about 1766-7 on the way from Ireland or in South Carolina. He married …</p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=dave%2Dhardin&id=I10056"><b>This is what I know of the beginning of my family. David Boyd</b></a> (born 1737/38 in Ireland/Scotland. He was buried 11 May 1815 in Fishing Creek Presbyterian Churchyard, Chester, South Carolina, USA. He married his first wife in Ireland, (unknown name, maybe born about 1760). She died about 1766-7 on the way from Ireland or in South Carolina. He married <span><a rel="nofollow" href="http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=dave%2Dhardin&id=I8730"><b>Margaret Margit Wylie</b></a></span> 1768/1769 in South Carolina, daughter of Peter Wylie and Ann Hawthorne. She was born about 1747 in Antrim, Ireland, and died 17 Mar 1824 in , Chester, South Carolina, USA. She was buried in Chester, South Carolina, USA.</p>
<p>My Grandmother, Macie Huddleston Boyd, also had family that originally came from Ireland. She had the fairest complexion, and talked so sweet and soft. She made bread pudding and things like coddled eggs. I believe she also made cabbage dishes from Ireland (though at the age of 5 or 6, I'm just not sure.</p>
<p>I believe most of the Boyd's were from Ulster or Antrim. If you can help me, please let me know...</p> New podcast about healing postcolonial shame and trauma with arts, culture, and historytag:thewildgeese.irish,2016-10-14:6442157:Topic:2015222016-10-14T01:15:55.737ZJosh Colehttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/JoshCole
<p>A chairde, friends and cousins,<br></br>I made this new podcast to begin to tell our story because I found an old O'Keeffe family fairy story that suggested to me this work would need to be done. I would love to know what you think. <br></br><br></br><a href="http://www.feelingsdetective.com/how-irish-are-you-1-the-high-mans-trumpet/">http://www.feelingsdetective.com/how-irish-are-you-1-the-high-mans-trumpet/</a><br></br><br></br>Here are some responses so far.<br></br><br></br><span><span>I<span><span>reland/America,…</span></span></span></span></p>
<p>A chairde, friends and cousins,<br/>I made this new podcast to begin to tell our story because I found an old O'Keeffe family fairy story that suggested to me this work would need to be done. I would love to know what you think. <br/><br/><a href="http://www.feelingsdetective.com/how-irish-are-you-1-the-high-mans-trumpet/">http://www.feelingsdetective.com/how-irish-are-you-1-the-high-mans-trumpet/</a><br/><br/>Here are some responses so far.<br/><br/><span><span>I<span><span>reland/America, <span class="il">man</span>:</span></span>"You have a wonderful seanachai storytelling style. And a great voice with modulation and nuance. It deserves a big audience. I love how you mix song, history, myth, narrative, personal testimony, linguistics, catharsis.....Unique confluence of tones and themes. Bravo again on this really important therapeutic journey into the <span class="il">Irish</span> psyche. You are doing us all a huge service."</span></span> <span><span><br/></span></span><br/><span><span><span><span><span class="il">Ireland</span>, <span class="il">man</span>: "Josh I really have to thank you for this. I have been looking for some answers in my life, especially recently and this podcast really blew my mind!!! I kept thinking of this photo my Dad showed me of my grandfather mowing the lawn as an older <span class="il">man</span> and it really screamed of a tolerated sadness and disillusionment, a hope and longing. The photo echoed in another shot of my Dad washing dishes and touched my soul. Thanks Josh I see this as a real gift, to have a better understanding of that."<br/><br/></span></span><span><span>Australia, woman: " How <span class="il">Irish</span> Are You? provides a glimpse of fairies, a thread of connection, the beat of a drum—or of a heart—that feels like it is echoing a rhythm both ancient and new. It entices, and resonates, and informs. It is exciting, and comfortable, and heartbreaking."</span></span><br/><br/> <span><span><span><span><span class="il">Ireland</span>, <span class="il">man</span>: "Not only am I in broad agreement with the general thrust of the whole thesis, I think it's kind of obvious (when you think about it). "<br/><br/></span></span>America, <span class="il">Man</span>: "My inner struggle I have forever thought was of my own making. I recognize now that there is real evidence that it is of a much deeper place. I thank you for your research and feel connected as I journey further into your podcasts. I do not feel quite as alone as I once did, which is of huge importance and help going further..."</span></span></span></span></p> The Irish and the Erie Canaltag:thewildgeese.irish,2015-11-02:6442157:Topic:1744212015-11-02T13:41:58.203Zjoel humphreyhttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/joelhumphrey
<p> I am researching the contributions the Irish made in building the Erie Canal. Any stories, comments or historical facts would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p> I am researching the contributions the Irish made in building the Erie Canal. Any stories, comments or historical facts would be greatly appreciated.</p> Too young to flytag:thewildgeese.irish,2015-06-17:6442157:Topic:1627102015-06-17T12:56:46.024ZBrian Nolanhttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/BrianNolan
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122507258?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122507258?profile=original" width="540"></img></a></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>'He had the world before him, fully fledged, full of confidence, ready for the off. He stood on the ledge, the warm breeze ruffling his feathers, lifting his spirit. He looked down, gauging his course, calculating the downdraft, the uplift. Suddenly, without warning, the cat struck, a glancing blow, knocking him off the safety of his perch, sending him…</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122507258?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122507258?profile=original" width="540" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>'He had the world before him, fully fledged, full of confidence, ready for the off. He stood on the ledge, the warm breeze ruffling his feathers, lifting his spirit. He looked down, gauging his course, calculating the downdraft, the uplift. Suddenly, without warning, the cat struck, a glancing blow, knocking him off the safety of his perch, sending him careening into the void, helpless. He lay there, stunned, breathless, injured. I picked him up, the first swallow I've ever held, quaking, terrified, his little heart beating madly. He cheeped his protest, the cat fled, I put him safely back in his nest. Tomorrow is a better day to fly.'</span></p>
<p><span>In memory of the six young Irish J1 students who were tragically killed today when a balcony they were standing in, collapsed without warning in San Francisco two days ago. Air dheis De go raibh a h-anamacha. Remembering also their seven friends who have suffered catastrophic injuries in the accident.</span></p> Is Your 'Local' Irish Pub the Best in the Whole World? Which of the 7,000+ Irish Pubs Would You Vote For?tag:thewildgeese.irish,2015-02-09:6442157:Topic:1432812015-02-09T13:51:43.024ZBrian Nolanhttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/BrianNolan
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500965?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500965?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a> The Irish pub - now there's a welcome sign! No matter where in the world you are, it brings goose-bumps when you step inside...the endless possibilities, the broadening smile, the all-embracing welcome, 'home'. So, which of the 7,000+ Overseas Irish Pubs would you vote for? Do you know a really special overseas Irish Pub? Well, I know I do, several of them in fact! Now…</span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500965?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500965?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a>The Irish pub - now there's a welcome sign! No matter where in the world you are, it brings goose-bumps when you step inside...the endless possibilities, the broadening smile, the all-embracing welcome, 'home'. So, which of the 7,000+ Overseas Irish Pubs would you vote for? Do you know a really special overseas Irish Pub? Well, I know I do, several of them in fact! Now is your chance to make your's everyone's favorite Irish Bar.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/2.3759" target="_blank"><strong>Pen your entry here.</strong></a></p>
<p>* Closing date 28 February, 2015.</p>
<p></p> 'The Great Hunger': Famine or Genocide?tag:thewildgeese.irish,2015-01-19:6442157:Topic:1388102015-01-19T12:14:51.559ZKelly O'Rourkehttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/KellyORourke
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500404?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500404?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p><span class="ssens"><span class="ssens">I took a course at an American university called "Genocides and Crimes Against Humanity." We discussed many world events and sometimes struggled with how to place them into these categories. The accepted definitions and the collective memories of the different cultures involved were sometimes at odds.…</span></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500404?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500404?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-full" width="750"/></a></p>
<p><span class="ssens"><span class="ssens">I took a course at an American university called "Genocides and Crimes Against Humanity." We discussed many world events and sometimes struggled with how to place them into these categories. The accepted definitions and the collective memories of the different cultures involved were sometimes at odds.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="ssens"><span class="font-size-5"><strong>fam·ine </strong></span> <span class="main-fl"><em>noun</em></span> <span class="pr">\<span class="unicode">ˈ</span>fa-mən\</span> : extreme and protracted shortage of food, resulting in widespread hunger and a substantial increase in the death rate</span></p>
<p><span class="ssens"><span class="ssens"><strong><span class="font-size-5">geno·cide <span class="font-size-2"> </span></span></strong><span class="font-size-5"><span class="font-size-2"><em>noun</em></span></span> <span class="font-size-5"><span class="font-size-2">\ˈje-nə-ˌsīd\ </span></span><strong>:</strong> the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group</span></span></p>
<p><span class="ssens"><span class="ssens">Which word best describes the events that occurred in Ireland from 1845 to 1852? Which word encapsulates the cause behind the one million bodies, and the one million emigrants that would forever change this land and it's people? Are the words mutually exclusive, or should we use both to label this tragedy? Perhaps you think a different term is the best description. </span></span></p>
<p><span class="ssens"><span class="ssens">This question has been debated before, and will be debated again, but it is a valuable one. Maybe you've never had a chance to engage in it directly. Please share your knowledge, opinions, and questions here.</span></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span class="ssens"><span class="ssens"><a target="_self" href="http://thewildgeese.com/profiles/blogs/focus-on-the-great-hunger"><img width="750" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500328?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"/></a></span></span></p> Noted Famine Historian Finds 'Nothing Humorous' about Channel 4's Proposed Comedy 'Hungry'tag:thewildgeese.irish,2015-01-08:6442157:Topic:1373082015-01-08T20:43:20.110ZIreland's Great Hunger Institutehttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/GreatHungerInstitute
<p><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500040?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-right" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500040?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350"></img></a> World-renowned Famine historian and Director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University, Professor Christine Kinealy, has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the Channel 4 commissioning of a new comedy series about the Great Hunger. What do you make of Professor Kinealy's…</span></p>
<p><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500040?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/122500040?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-right"/></a>World-renowned Famine historian and Director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University, Professor Christine Kinealy, has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the Channel 4 commissioning of a new comedy series about the Great Hunger. What do you make of Professor Kinealy's argument? Would you agree that the Famine is "too recent, too raw and too relevant" to be funny?</span></p>
<p><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">-------------------------------------------------</span></p>
<p><strong>Is a comedy about a tragedy in bad taste?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Hungry is shameless … in more ways than one, says Professor Christine Kinealy, Director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University, USA</strong></p>
<p>Hearing that Channel 4 has commissioned a comedy about the Irish Famine was not a good start to 2015.</p>
<p>Defenders have likened the concept to that of <em>Shameless</em>, a comedy-drama (on both sides of the Atlantic) about an impoverished, dysfunctional family. But, poverty is not the same as famine, and being dysfunctional is not the same as being powerless.</p>
<p>This year marks the 170th anniversary of a mysterious potato disease, or blight, appearing in Ireland.</p>
<p>Six further years of potato disease followed. But what turned the inevitable subsistence crisis into a lethal famine was a series of inadequate and inappropriate relief measures introduced by the British Government — which had been the sole legislator for Ireland since 1801.</p>
<p>The consequence was that in the space of six years Ireland lost 25 per cent of its population, making the Great Hunger the most lethal famine in modern history.</p>
<p>Moreover, the population of Ireland remains smaller today than it was in 1845, making it unique among western democracies who have all experienced massive population growth. Put another way, the impact of the Famine continues to this day.</p>
<p>There was no neat or happy ending.</p>
<p>Mass emigration, both during the Famine and in subsequent decades, created Irish communities throughout the world, particularly in North America, where millions of Irish Americans regard the Famine as part of their founding story.</p>
<p>This is evident from the large number of memorials that have been erected there since 1995.</p>
<p>But while emigration may have provided an escape from starvation, many who left regarded it as exile. The early generations of migrants not only experienced extreme anti-Irish prejudice, recent research has shown that if they survived the journey, their average life expectancy was only six more years.</p>
<p>Again, no neat or happy ending.</p>
<p>For many years there was a silence in regard to the Famine. Tellingly, the first place to introduce the Famine as a part of the schools’ curriculum was New Jersey in 1994, as part of a human rights curriculum.</p>
<p>For Irish people, while the Famine is a significant part of their history, it can also be viewed as part of a wider history of the denial of human rights and the struggle for social justice — issues that have as much relevance in the 21st century as they had in the 1840s.</p>
<p>Hunger and famine exist in many parts of the world today. Viewing them through a prism of comedy is not only insulting, it is disingenuous and ideologically dangerous.</p>
<p>As a result of the new research on the Irish Famine that has emerged in the last 25, we have gained many fresh insights into the complexity of those tragic years.</p>
<p>This research has helped us to move away from simplistic narratives and crude stereotypes.</p>
<p>A danger of using the comedy format to tell the story of the Famine is that the characters can very easily become stage ‘Oirish’, and that the real heartbreak of the Famine be absent or marginalised.</p>
<p>Instead, disease, death, eviction and emigration will be viewed as funny, rather than tragic – and we might forget that they were preventable.</p>
<p>Where do comedic and artistic boundaries begin and end? I don’t know. But I have researched the topic of the Famine for over 30 years and I have failed to discover anything that is humorous about the slow and painful deaths of one million people, a disproportionate amount of whom were children under the age of nine.</p>
<p>Nor do the accounts written by the men and women who witnessed the suffering first-hand record anything other than abject horror at the scenes they were witnessing — in the words of 26-year-old Quaker, James Hack Tuke, who visited Mayo and Donegal in 1846 and again in 1847, the people were ‘living skeletons… scarcely able to crawl’.</p>
<p>In the space of only six years, over one million people died in Ireland. Many were buried without coffins, in mass pauper graves; others were left where they dropped dead, for fear of contagion. Just as tragically, their names and deaths were not recorded, as so they remain lost to us forever as individuals.</p>
<p>We only know them as a cold statistic. In death, as in life, their lives did not matter to uncaring bureaucrats in Westminster and Whitehall. Comedy is no way to honour their memory.</p>
<p>The Irish Famine is too recent, too raw and too relevant, to be reduced to the medium of a comedy show. Bad history and bad comedy will combine and the outcome will be bad taste. Yes, it is shameless.</p>
<p><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">-----------------------------------------------</span></p>
<p>Professor Christine Kinealy, whose most recent publication is <em>Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland. The Kindness of Strangers</em> (Bloomsbury, 2013), is a former <em>Irish Post</em> award-winner who was previously a senior lecturer in history at the University of Central Lancashire. She is currently Director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University.</p>
<p>Born and raised in Liverpool, to parents from Mayo and Tipperary, Prof Kinealy earned her PhD from Dublin’s Trinity College.</p>
<p><em>Article original posted in th<a href="http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/is-a-comedy-about-a-tragedy-in-bad-taste" target="_blank">e Irish Post</a> on January 6, 2015.</em></p>
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<p><a target="_self" href="http://thewildgeese.com/profiles/blogs/focus-on-the-great-hunger"><img width="750" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/84698336?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"/></a></p>