Mayo Forgotten Famine Girls Memorial Sunday 19th May
As Sunday next, May 19, is National Famine Commemoration Day, Mayo’s Forgotten Famine Girls Remembrance Group will lay wreaths at the statue of the Orphan Girl on Pearse Street, Ballina, at 10am, and at the Workhouse burial ground at Mercy Park, Ballina (opposite Convent national schools at 10.30. The Orphan Girl statue will be dressed with bonnet for the day. At the request of the Committee, prayers will be said for all victims of the Famine at masses throughout the Diocese of Killala at the weekend. It would be most fitting and appreciated if other dioceses in Mayo did likewise.
Mayo Association Dublin MEITHEAL AWARD 2019
Mayo’s Forgotten Famine Girls Remembrance Group is the recipient of the 2019 Mayo Association Dublin Meitheal Award for the recognition and dignity it gave to a group of women who were forced to leave Mayo in very difficult circumstances.
Mayo’s Forgotten Famine Girls’ Remembrance Group, chaired by Mayo historian and author, Terry Reilly, demonstrated the power of people working together with a common purpose in the best tradition of the Meitheal (the concept of a community coming together at harvest time and the application of co-operation to social needs).
They rolled up their sleeves to overcome obstacles and delivered a very worthy project that will endure and add immeasurably to the history of Mayo and its people. The project connected with many parts of the world, forged many bonds and has the dynamic to grow and grow.
This group has demonstrated the ability to make things happen by doing without state aid. The scale of the project culminated last year in the four-day commemoration event in Ballina to remember the 137 Mayo girls who were transported to Australia, with the unveiling of a Memorial Statue and a Commemorative Quilt embroidered with the names of the forgotten girls.
This along with other events was remarkable and has created a fitting connection between the women, their home county and their descendants, with particular regard to their contribution to Australia.
For more information contact on Facebook : Mayo’s Forgotten Famine Girls Remembrance Group
