Kilbrittain Historical Society made a trip west to Skibbereen Heritage Centre today the 20th July 2024. The group were welcomed and looked after by William Casey of Skibbereen Historical Society.
Terri Kearney manager of the centre gave the group an outstanding presentation on the Famine Story. Her passion and knowledge on the subject had the group gripped from start to finish and we would highly recommend everyone to make visit to the centre. After the Heritage Centre the group made the short journey to Abbeystrowry burial ground, the site of one of the most poignant and significant Famine memorials in Ireland. Here we were met by William Casey and Philip O'Regan who gave a moving account of the mass graves or 'pits' where up to 10,000 Famine victims were buried.
The group also heard the tale of Tom Guerin, a native of Skibbereen who was buried alive as a young 3 year old child. The gravediggers, on pressing the corpses into the mass graves, heard a moan and realised the little boy was not dead. Tom was restored to health despite being crippled and lived till 1910. He was known as a character around Skibbereen who used to travel around the area in summertime begging as the 'man who had risen from the dead'.
His famous poem was:
I rose from the dead in the year ’48
When a grave at the Abbey had near been my fate;
Since then for subsistence, I have done all my best
Though one foot points eastwards and the other points west.
For those who could not make the trip, Skibbereen Heritage Centre have kindly provide links to two very moving videos covering Abbeystrowry burial ground and the Skibbereen and Schull Workhouses.
Sincere thanks again to William Casey, Terri Kearney and Philip O'Regan for their very generous time and for a very memorable trip to Skibbereen.
