National Famine Way Roadshow – March 2026
Touring: Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath, Meath, Kildare, Fingal, Dublin.
“a fascinating event bringing a poignant part of our history to life”
Featuring talks, presentations and panel discussions by some of the leading local and international famine historians.
The roadshow event will be in Leixlip Community Library on Wednesday 11 March 2026 from 10 am to 12 noon.
All welcome.
About The National Famine Way
The National Famine Way is a 165km way marked walking and cycling trail commemorating a heartbreaking walk of forced emigration which took place in 1847 at the height of the Irish famine. 1,490 tenants were evicted from their homes and compelled to walk this route to Dublin and emigrate to Canada via Liverpool. Over a third died as they crossed the Atlantic on the worst of the infamous coffin ships. The trail begins at the memorial glass wall at The National Famine Museum, Strokestown Park in Roscommon, and continues through six counties to The Famine Memorial Sculptures near EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum in
Dublin’s Docklands. The symbol of the National Famine Way is a pair of children’s shoes, the original of which is displayed at the National Famine Museum. The route is poignantly marked by more than 30 pairs of these shoes cast in bronze. The National Famine Way is open for
walkers to follow in the footsteps of the emigrants at any time of year.