After a long walk a group from Stokestown, Roscommon are expected to reach Bond Street, Maynooth along the Grand Canal between 1:00 and 1:30pm this Tuesday 21st April on their way to Dublin.

As part of Ireland's annual Famine commemoration, their walk follows the path taken along the Royal Canal by 1,490 evicted residents of Strokestown House, now the Famine museum. The evictees were accompanied by the bailiff John Robinson who was charged with insuring they boarded the ships to Liverpool. 

They were some of the 5,000 plus Irish who left Co. Roscommon and travelled on four ships to Quebec, Canada during the Great Hunger in 1847. Less than 1,500 survived the journey. Dr Ciarán Reilly of the Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates, NUI Maynooth in conjunction with Strokestown Park House, uncovered the fate of those survivors.

We would love if you would come down and welcome the group to Maynooth.

To mark the occasion, our Local Maynooth History Group will give 2 talks about the Famine in the Maynooth area. The talks will take place in the Foras Feasa Seminar Room, on the First Floor Iontas Building, North Campus in Maynooth University at 8pm.

The talks are free and all are welcome.

The group will then continue their walk to Dublin to arrive on Wednesday evening.