The Further Heroes of Ireland’s Great Hunger (Volume III ) is edited by Professor Christine Kinealy and Galway's Dr Gerard Moran.
Inspired by the Covid19 Pandemic, and the sacrifices made by front-line workers, the editors invited several leading historians of Ireland’s Great Famine to write about the men and women they consider to be ‘heroes’ of the tragedy that unfolded in Ireland after 1845.
As each of the lives examined in the three volumes demonstrate, humans are fallible, and heroes are not perfect. Many, including member of the Quakers, would have rejected a description of heroism. In the context of Ireland’s Great Hunger, even small acts of selflessness or generosity could make the difference between suffering or survival, life or death.
The men and women examined in this volume are part of a wider story that follows on from the heroes explored in volumes one and two of this series.
This latest volume breaks new ground in its examination of recently discovered archival records of Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee First Nations’ contributions for Irish Famine relief in Canada West (now Ontario ) in 1847, while offering a fresh perspective on the widely commemorated Native American Choctaw and Cherokee donations.
From a French celebrity chef in London, to Protestant clergy in County Mayo, to members of the Society of Friends throughout the world, this new publication recovers the forgotten contributions of a diverse group of people whose actions add a level of complexity to our understanding of Ireland’s Great Hunger.
The Further Heroes of Ireland’s Great Hunger is published by Quinnipiac University Press and Cork University Press.
