Opening address by Jimmy Deenihan T.D., Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht at the public lecture “From the Famine to Post Modern Hunger in the 21st Century”, National Library of Ireland, 13th October 2011
Firstly, I am delighted to welcome you all to the National Library today to discuss today’s topic “From the Irish Famine to Post Modern Hunger in the 21st Century”. The Irish Famine is still an emotive issue in the national psyche and has a particular resonance today given the current famine experienced being experienced by the people in East Africa.
I would like to thank the members of the National Famine Commemoration Committee for helping to organise the event and also to our speakers, Dr. Eamon Phoenix, a member of the Committee and Dr. Stephen Devereaux from the University of Sussex. I would also like to welcome my colleague, Jan O’Sullivan, Minister of State for Trade and Development. Thank you also to Mr. Kevin Farrell, Ireland’s Special Envoy for Hunger who has agreed to Chair today’s seminar.
As background to today’s event, the National Famine Commemoration Committee was first established in 2008 following a Government decision to commemorate the Great Irish Famine with an annual, national famine memorial day. The Committee’s key objective is to develop appropriate arrangements for the commemorations to ensure that the famine, its victims and its legacy are not forgotten. The Committee also aims to raise awareness of issues of food security and famine related issues worldwide and to highlight the strong commitment of the Irish people to humanitarian aid and relief.
It therefore appropriate that the topics to be covered by our speakers today touch on lessons to be learned from famine in the past to the global fight against global hunger today and the role Ireland can play in this.
The famine in Ireland is undoubtedly one of the most significant events in our history and also a transforming event. The failure of the potato crop during the 1840’s not only led to a huge amount of suffering and loss of life but also changed the demographic and cultural landscape of our country and had a huge impact on our language – the effects of which can still be felt in today’s society.
The immediate impact of the famine on the population was dramatic. The population fell from almost 8.5 million in 1845 to 6.6 million in 1851. Moreover, the story of Irish population change in the decades after 1851 was unique among the peoples of Europe. Ireland’s population continued to decline: from 6.6 million in 1851 to 4.4 million in 1911 and the key factor in explaining this unique demographic history was emigration.
This fatalistic acceptance by many families that many of their members would be forced to emigrate became a deeply ingrained attitude among later generations of Irish, and had a profound effect on many aspects of Irish social and cultural life.
Indeed, the Great Famine resulted in a disproportionately strong representation of the Irish among the nations formed through emigration in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. These diaspora communities – the Irish abroad – still demonstrate a significant affinity with their migrant predecessors of the Famine. In fact, I am attending an overseas commemoration of the victims of the famine in Liverpool on Sunday. Many who travelled to Liverpool died there shortly after their arrival or indeed en route. However, many prospered and the strong relationship between the citizens of Ireland and our Liverpool ancestors confirms this. This is a relationship is echoed across the world with previous commemorations being held in Canada and New York.
Ireland in the 1840s was healthy and developed: there was no general shortage of food. We ask ourselves – might the crisis have been averted, or, at least, better dealt with? Could the death and suffering have been curtailed? Specifically, might more have been done by the government of the day to deal with the crisis, to save lives and ameliorate the suffering?
These are questions which tormented many contemporary witnesses to the famine, and which continue to challenge historians and, indeed all who have a concern with public policy in relation to food entitlements and the basic needs of people in our own time as well as in the recent past, and in all parts of the world.
Although we can safely say that famine in Ireland is not likely in our future there are other parts of the world experiencing famine today which is why the theme of today’s discussion is so timely. All of us have seen the harrowing scenes of the unfolding humanitarian disaster in Somalia and the Horn of Africa on news reports; on our TVs and in our newspapers over the last few months. It is clear from these scenes that there is an urgent need for the international community to provide an effective and comprehensive response in order to save the thousands of lives that are currently at risk. This is the most severe humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa for decades and tens of thousands of people have already starved to death.
The legacy of the famine in Ireland includes a deep compassion felt by Irish people for those who suffer from hunger in today’s world and a very strong commitment to humanitarian aid and relief. This Government is strongly committed to Ireland’s development programme and we are determined that the fight against poverty, hunger and inequality in the world should be at the centre of Ireland’s foreign policy. In this regard approximately €8.2million has been allocated by the Irish Government to the relief effort in the Horn of Africa so far and my colleague Minister O’Sullivan will elaborate on Ireland’s current development focus on the global fight against hunger a little later on.
As many of you will be aware, we held this year’s National Famine Commemoration in Clones, Co. Monagahan. President McAleese led the official representation on the day and it was a poignant and dignified ceremony. It was clear from the respect given to the victims of the famine at that ceremony by the huge crowd which turned out that the devastating impact of the catastrophe on communities such as those in west Monaghan and south east Fermanagh can be felt right down through generations and this was a catastrophe that was witnessed all over the island of Ireland.
It is unlikely that there is any other event in our history that can be likened to the Great Famine, either for its immediate impact or its legacy. However, it is vital, as a nation, that we use our experience and empathy to raise awareness of those around the world who are experiencing the devastating effects of famine today. This is the only way we can truly honour the victims of the past.
I would like to thank all of you again for being here today and I look forward to hearing the rest of speakers and their perspectives.
Thank you.
ENDS
