Island families retrace Famine escape route

FAMILIES from Donegal’s world famous island are to retrace their ancestors’ footsteps from 170 years ago.

The devastating Irish Famine meant around million people starved to death while another one to two million fled from 1850, according to historians.

Among those to emigrate were families from Arranmore Island off Donegal.

They left for Beaver Island in Michigan on the US border with Canada.

Now, generations later, a group of musicians from Arranmore Island will remake that journey.

A spokesperson for Beaver Island Irish Heritage Group said: “It is one of the most remarkable chapters in the island’s history.

“Generations ago, families left Arranmore, crossed the Atlantic and eventually made new lives on Beaver Island, Michigan, a small island in Lake Michigan where descendants of those Arranmore emigrants still live today.

“On September 10, the Arranmore Pipe Band will make that journey in the opposite direction.

“After travelling from Donegal to Michigan, the band will board the Emerald Isle ferry in Charlevoix at 10.30am for the crossing to Beaver Island.

“At approximately 12.45pm, as the ferry reaches the island, members of the band will step onto the dock playing their pipes and drums for the Beaver Island community that will be gathered to welcome them.

“But this is much more than an Irish band traveling to America for a festival.

“For many families on Beaver Island, Arranmore, is where their American story began.

“The relationship between the two communities stretches back generations.

“Beaver Island and Arranmore were officially twinned in 2000, and today memorials on both islands commemorate that connection.

“On Arranmore, the Irish and American flags fly together at the memorial recognising the relationship with Beaver Island.

“On Beaver Island, the Arranmore Grotto at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery commemorates the Donegal island from which so many of its Irish families came.

“The pipe band’s arrival will bring that history to life in a particularly powerful way.”

He added: “The people waiting on the Beaver Island dock will include descendants of people who once left Arranmore behind.

“Coming down the gangway will be musicians from the island their ancestors called home.

“In a very real sense, Arranmore will be coming to visit family.

“The visit is part of the Emerald Isle Irish Féile, taking place this month, from September 11 to 12, on Beaver Island and organised by the Beaver Island Irish Heritage Group.”

This map shows areas worst hit during the Famine.

Ireland’s population before the Great Famine was about 8.5 million in 1841 and it dropped to roughly 6.5 million by 1851 as the crisis unfolded.

The 1841 Census recorded 8.5m, but the real figure was said to be closer to nine million, before the potato blight struck in 1845.

Around one million people died from starvation and famine-related diseases, while one or two million people emigrated.

From Arranmore, the first settlers to arrive in Beaver Island did so in 1851 with families continue to arrive there in droves up until 1884.

The Beaver Island Irish Heritage Group spokesperson said: “Generations ago, Arranmore people crossed the Atlantic Ocean, carrying their culture with them and helped build another island community thousands of miles from home.

“This September, the pipes of Arranmore will follow them.”