Description
Jeremy Irons will read NM Cummins’ letter about the Irish famine on the land that it describes to mark the launch of the Coming Home exhibition in Skibbereen
Cummins’ letter, published in The Times of London on Christmas Eve, 1846, described in graphic detail the tragedy unfolding on the Reen peninsula close to Union Hall near Skibbereen – one of the epicenters of the Great Famine (1845-52).
The reading will mark the launch of a momentous exhibition in Skibbereen about the famine, as well as celebrating the rejuvenation of Reen Farm which is now being developed as a sculpture garden by the renowned Australian artist John Kelly. Today, the garden is part of the celebrated West Cork Garden Trail which is co-hosting this event.
The Coming Home Exhibition
Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, is sending its acclaimed art collection to Uilinn, the West Cork Arts Centre in the form of the Coming Home: Art and the Great Hunger exhibition, which will run until October 2018.
The museum’s collection, the only one of its kind in the world, constitutes an incomparable direct link to the past of almost 6.5 million Irish and 40 million Irish-American people.
The event at Reen Farm will mark the arrival of the exhibition in West Cork. It will include an inaugural public reading, by Jeremy Irons*, of the NM Cummins’ letter on the site of the events described, accompanied by a musical performance by acclaimed Irish singer, Jessie Kennedy.
It will also include:
– A tour of Reen Farm Sculpture Garden by internationally renowned artist, John Kelly;
– A talk by Susan O’Toole about her famine land art – The Tree Sentinels, located adjacent to Reen Farm;
– A screening of the film of Alison Glennie’s ‘ Point of Departure: a Lament’ which was inspired by Reen Farm’s story.
Date & Booking Details
The event will take place on 26th July from 17:30pm-19:45pm.
The €15 booking includes cost of bus from Skibbereen to Reen Farm and return, plus light refreshments at Reen Farm. Bus details will be sent after your booking, but the bus will depart from Skibbereen at 5pm to bring you to Reen Farm for the event.
Please note, booking is essential. Admission
- only
by online booking.
Also, there is very little parking at the venue, and any additional vehicles will cause obstructions for local residents.
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Please contact us on 086 303 0991 if you do not intend to take the bus so we can make arrangements that give everyone a lovely evening!
*Jeremy Irons is also the patron of the West Cork Garden Trail.
