Doolough Famine Walk 2025

Join us on Saturday, May 17th, 2025, in Louisburgh, Co. Mayo, for our annual Afri Doolough Famine Walk, a poignant journey of remembrance, solidarity, and commitment to action. This year’s theme, Sowing Seeds of Change in Remembrance and Solidarity, calls on us to honour the lives needlessly lost during An Gorta Mór—the Great Hunger—by confronting the enduring injustices of our time in solidarity with communities affected today.

View the brochure and sponsorship card here

Register on Eventbrite here

History of the Famine Walk
Since 1988, our annual ‘Famine’ Walk has shed light on the parallels between the preventable tragedy of An Gorta Mór in Ireland and modern-day injustices worldwide, calling for action to address grave human rights violations globally. While those in dire need of food and relief died in the haunting beauty of the Doolough Valley in 1849, vast quantities of food were exported from Ireland to England —a fate that occurred all over the island during the ‘Famine’ years, 1845 -1852. These predictable, preventable, and human-made catastrophes occurred and continue, not by nature’s hand, but as a consequence of deliberate policies rooted in greed, dispossession, and domination. These stories of suffering, hunger and starvation are not relics of the past, but a living reality woven into the fabric of our world today, owing to colonialism, war and systemic injustice. This Ceremony and Walk serve not only as an invaluable means of remembrance but also as a continuing renewal of commitment to leaving a different legacy, in fierce determination to imagine and strive for a world rooted in justice, dignity, and equity.

Event Highlights & Structure

11:00 AM – Registration in Louisburgh Town Hall

Walkers will gather in Louisburgh Parish Hall from 11 am for registration. All walkers, even those who are pre-registered, must go to the registration desk to check in and collect their ticket to board the shuttle bus (included in ticket price).

12:00 PM – Opening Ceremony
We will gather at Louisburgh Parish Hall for the Opening Ceremony, featuring conversation, live music and thought-provoking reflections on An Gorta Mór and its parallels today from renowned speakers.

Speaker and Performer Highlights
Clare O’Grady Walshe – Seed Keeper, Author, and Expert in Seed Sovereignty and Globalisation

Paul Laverty – Award-winning Screenwriter, Lawyer, Humanitarian and Storyteller.

Eman Mohammed – Senior Ted Fellow and Award-winning Palestinian Photojournalist

Farah Elle – Libyan-Irish Progressive Musician Whose Distinctive Voice Reveals Something of the Beauty in the Ephemeral Every Day.

12:50 PM – Shuttle Buses to Walk Starting Point

Walkers will be shuttled to the walk’s starting point, where a short tree-planting ceremony will take place before the walk begins. The bus takes approximately 20 minutes. Toilet facilities will be available at the starting point. Please note that no parking is available at the starting point, so walkers must take the shuttle bus.

1:30 PM – Doolough Famine Walk
Following a short tree-planting ceremony at the starting point, we will embark on the Doolough Famine Walk. This 17-km journey retraces the steps of those who journeyed or died in the Doolough Tragedy in 1849, honouring each one as a human with a name, hopes, dreams, and fears. On return to the Louisburgh Parish Hall, each walker will receive a Certificate of Completion.

Why Walk With Us?
As we walk in memory of all who died, whether by starvation or disease, not forgetting those displaced, we stand in solidarity with those all over the world for whom the experience of deprivation, destruction and death is a current reality. This event compels us to see how history is repeating itself, particularly in Palestine, where starvation is being weaponised as a tool of genocide, and urges each of us to heed the call of shared struggle for more just futures as ancestors to be. Your participation also supports Afri’s vital work in education, campaigning, and solidarity. By walking, we defy indifference to injustice and commit to building a future where no one is abandoned to hunger or violence.

Book Your Place Today!
Spaces are limited. Secure your ticket now and join a community of remembrance and resolve. Please note that if the cost is a barrier for you at this time, you can reach out to admin@afri.ie confidentially.

Next Steps:
Stay tuned for the event brochure, which will provide further details, including detailed speaker and performer biographies, information about parking, toilet facilities, and a sponsorship card. Please don’t hesitate to contact admin@afri.ie if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you at this unmissable event!

Contribution by Donal O’Kelly at the Famine Walk 2024

‘On Thursday I heard Palestinian writer Adania Shibli, banned from receiving her prize at Frankfurt Book Fair, talk about how her parents kept silent about what they endured in the Nakba of 1948. It took her thirty years to realise they couldn’t talk about it. As humans we find it hard to talk about the memory of being rendered powerless. Continue reading “Contribution by Donal O’Kelly at the Famine Walk 2024”

Virtual Famine Walk – Forum, Conversation and Music

On May 16th at 7pm – the day on which the annual Doolough Famine Walk was due to take place, Afri will host a virtual Famine Walk Forum with distinguished guest speakers, great conversation and live music. Our host will be campaigner and author Ruairí McKiernan. He will be joined by renowned violinist Colm Mac Con Iomaire, harpist Emer Lynam and singer-songwriters RoJ Whelan and Paul O’Toole, as well as guest speakers including Emeritus Professor John Maguire, author and Lecturer Dr Clare O’Grady Walshe,  MASI member Donnah Vuma and student climate activist Gráinne Malone.

Continue reading “Virtual Famine Walk – Forum, Conversation and Music”

Reflections from Carlow Famine Walk 2020

Climate Change was the theme of the 2020 Famine Walk which began in IT Carlow and concluded in the nearby Famine graveyard. Approximately 70 young people attended from schools including Gaelscoil  Eoghain and Tyndale College.  Each year an oak tree is planted as part of the ceremony of remembrance and solidarity and this year the tree was supplied by two Transition Year students – Eimear and Abbie – who had set up a company to grow and sell trees as part of their course. Thanks to Eimear and Abbie for this excellent initiative and generous gift.

Continue reading “Reflections from Carlow Famine Walk 2020”

Afri Famine Walk 2019

Registration and opening ceremony

  1. Registration takes place in the local town hall in Louisburgh.
  2. This will be followed by the opening ceremony — a very important part of the Famine Walk experience.
  3. Shuttle buses will take participants to the start point, following the opening ceremony.

The Walk

  1. The walk is 11 miles (approx.), walkers should walk on the left-hand side.
  2. A shuttle car will be available during the walk for anyone who gets into difficulty.
  3. No parking is available at Delphi Lodge.
  4. Dogs must be kept on a lead.
  5. Portaloos are available along the route.

Register online here (alternatively you can raise sponsorship for Afri – just bring the sponsorship form to the registration desk on the day)

Download Brochure & Sponsorship Card 

30th Anniversary of the Famine Walk

The Afri Famine Walk is a unique and highly significant annual event in Ireland. Recalling a tragic episode from An Gorta Mór, with reverence and respect, it also promotes compassion, action and solidarity with those oppressed and excluded in today’s world.