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.
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!
The on-going humanitarian crisis in Gaza has in recent times once more reached such a level of frenzied depravity that it is too easy to become frozen in a kind of shocked paralysis. The fact that it comes amidst a persecution by the Israeli powers of the Palestinian people that has spanned many decades and the earthly lives of countless Palestinian souls, makes it seem all the more unjust and no less intensely disturbing.