The Doolough Famine Walk, County Mayo

Ramblings

Clare Balding travels to Ireland, County Mayo, to retrace the steps of those who walked from Louisburg to Delphi, in 1849 at the height of the potato famine, in the hope of receiving aid. Now known as The Doolough Tragedy Famine Walk, hundreds of people come from all over the world to walk the twelve miles each year in memory of those who died of starvation along the route. Clare talks to Joe Murray from Afri (Action from Ireland) on whose behalf he organises the annual pilgrimage, which not only remembers those who died of hunger but also those, across the world, who now live in hunger and struggle with a shortage of food. They're joined by Mary O'Malley whose forebears suffered during the Great Hunger, or An Gorta Mor, and by Prof John Maguire who puts the famine into historical context. The music used in the programme, Turned Away, was an original piece written for the walk by Imogen Gunner. Producer: Lucy Lunt.