Crowds wave off famine ship
A replica famine ship commemorating the plight of Irish emigrants today set sail bound for the United States.
Around 4,000 people gathered in Fenit, Co Kerry, to see the Jeanie Johnston set off on her inaugural two-month journey to Florida via the Canary Islands.
Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue was guest of honour at the launch this afternoon.
Among the 40 crew members was a group of 15 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.
The youngsters from Belfast, Tallaght and Tralee will remain on the ship during its initial three-week journey to Tenerife, and will be replaced by other “trainees” for the trip to the US.
They are all part of the International Fund for Ireland’s Wider Horizons programme.
Wider Horizons participants were involved in the construction of the ship at its yard in Blennerville, Co Kerry and some sailed with it on the Belfast-Dublin leg of its trial journey around Ireland.
Once the ship arrives in Florida on April 17 it will visit a further 20 ports.
The 150ft triple-masted vessel was built in memory of the Jeanie Johnston, which carried Irish emigrants to the US during the 19th century potato famine.
The original Jeanie Johnston was built in Quebec in 1847 by Scottish-born shipbuilder John Munn.
It was purchased for use as a cargo vessel but was then used to transport emigrants once the Famine took hold in Ireland.
From 1848 to 1855 it carried more than 2,500 emigrants to North America, and despite harsh conditions never lost a passenger.
Work on the replica Jeanie Johnston began in 1998 and was completed in 2002 in Co Kerry. The actual cost of the project has run to €13.6m, about four times the original estimate.
