We thank Presenter, John Greene, for the following advance information regarding his Radio Feature this evening. (S.R.)
During the Irish Famine of 1845 to 1847, those who raised enough money to emigrate were deemed the lucky ones, but those left behind faced the possibility of death from hunger or fever, or both. Many were buried where they lay, or dumped, unidentified into famine pits. Fortunately, some of these famine pits have since been transformed into dignified and consecrated burial places.
In this week’s edition of ‘Where the road takes me’, John Greene visits one such burial place at Kilpadder, close to Kilmacsimon Quay, and the nearby village of Innishannon.
For many years victims of the famine from around this area were buried in a small hillside field – their graves unmarked – their plight and deaths forgotten.
However, after permission had been granted from the landowner, and with financial help from America, the local community set about transforming Killpadder into a tranquil place of reverence, where the victims of the famine here are honoured annually.
As the third annual mass is held, we hear the story of Killpadder famine graveyard, this Sunday evening at 7, on C103.
