Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 February 2025
393. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if the international An Gorta Mór day took place in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5675/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department works with the Department of Foreign Affairs to identify possible locations for the International Famine Commemoration. There have been twelve international commemorations of the Great Irish Famine to date. Since the first international commemoration in Toronto and Quebec in 2009, events have also been held in Australia, Canada and the UK. As well as the International Famine Commemoration my Department works with the Department of Foreign Affairs to identify and support other opportunities for our Diaspora to remember the Great Irish Famine. In August 2024, my Department supported an event, that marked one of the remarkable humanitarian efforts that occurred during the time. The Eternal Heart Sculpture was unveiled at the Choctaw Capitol in Tuskahoma, Oklahoma, USA and this is a memorial marking the significant relationship between the Irish people and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. It was commissioned to mark the 175th anniversary of the gifting of $170 (a value of several thousand dollars today) by the Choctaw Nation for famine relief in Ireland in 1847. The sculpture was officially unveiled on Friday, 30 August 2024, on the Choctaw Capitol Grounds in Tuskahoma, by Chief Gary Batton of the Choctaw Nation and Minister of State Thomas Byrne TD. The commission is a joint venture between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Choctaw Nation’s Chata Foundation. It will remain a permanent symbol of the enduring and meaningful friendship between our two nations.
Given the importance of this unveiling, which was the most significant international event in 2024 relating to the Great Famine, a separate International Famine Commemoration was not held during the year.
My Department is currently engaging with the Department of Foreign Affairs to identify a feasible location for the next International Famine Commemoration and to also support other interesting and engaging opportunities for our diaspora to reflect and remember one of the greatest tragedies in Irish history.
