110 Skibbereen Girls to be Honored – Sent to Australia during The Great Hunger

“This is a story of bravery, the bravery of women; it is a story of heroines,” says Skibbereen-based artist Toma McCullim. The girls from the Skibbereen Union Workhouse were despatched to Australia to provide labor, marry, have children and help colonize the sprawling continent.

This piece of public art, which will be unveiled by the Australian ambassador on July 20th, will also include an installation of a piece of Australian sandstone, donated by the Australian embassy, which is expected to be placed in front of the archway.

The ceremony will take place the day after the prestigious Coming Home: Art and the Great Hunger exhibition of historical and contemporary artwork from Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, Quinnipiac University in the US state of Connecticut, opens in Uillinn, the West Cork Arts Centre in Skibbereen.

Author, Ailin Quinlan. The above sections were excerpted from The Irish Times. To read more click here: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/irish-breeder-girls-sent-to-australia-during-famine-to-be-honoured-1.3559424