Christy joins locals for Doolough famine walk

MORE than 300 walkers braved the elements on Sunday last, taking part in the annual Afri Famine Walk from Doolough to Louisburgh.
As the wind and rain belted in from the sea the walkers, on the usually quiet twisty road, could only imagine the feeling of depression felt by the hundreds of starving famine victims who took the road during desperate times.
In March 1849, several hundred starving people set out on a desperate walk from Louisburgh.
Their destination was a mansion where dinner was being served to the Board of Guardians who had the powers to release food or issue certificates of destitution to give entry to the workhouse.
The Louisburg people were denied both. On the return journey as many as a hundred men, women and children died.
Last Sunday singer Christy Moore headed up the pack, keeping out the cold with famine songs. Nigerian environ-mentalist Dr Owens Wiwa and Rossport couple Vincent and Maureen McGrath was also among the participants.