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‘A HUNDRED THOUSAND WELCOMES’

Welcome
Irish
Famine Memorial

The monument at Hyde Park Barracks was inspired by the arrival in Australia of over 4,000 single young women, most of whom were orphaned teenagers who arrived during the Great Irish Famine. These girls became known as ‘Irish Orphans’ and they arrived under a special emigration program, the Earl Grey Scheme, designed to resettle impoverished girls from the workhouses of Ireland who had suffered family loss and were without support, while serving to increase the female population of the young colony in Australia.

The Great Irish Famine Commemoration Committee (GIFCC) has broadened its activities to pay tribute to and commemorate all Irish people who had to leave their homeland in these destitute times, seeking a new life in faraway lands such as Australia. The Orphan Girls serve as a representation of the many lives impacted by those times in Ireland. Diligent researchers have gathered the names and details of the Orphan Girls and compiled them into a database found on this site.

This website aims to introduce you to the Australian monument dedicated to the Great Irish Famine in Sydney, the Earl Grey emigration scheme that operated between 1848 and 1850 and the courageous Irish Orphan girls who undertook the journey on these ships. It is intended to be a motivating, rewarding and potentially emotional experience for anyone interested in Irish history and genealogy, as well as the broader themes of famine, displacement and immigration, regardless of where you are in the Irish ‘diaspora’.

Each year, a Commemoration is held at the Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney, to give an opportunity to remember and acknowledge the lives of the Irish of the times, and the Orphan Girls. Many of the attendees are descendants of the Orphan Girls. The GIFCC welcomes descendants of the girls to join the association, as well as any with Irish heritage or an interest in its history. To join, simply fill out the membership form and return it to us.

The website was initially set up by Dr Trevor McClaughlin and we are grateful for him allowing us to use the information contained in his two volumes of Barefoot & Pregnant? Irish Famine orphans in Australia, Genealogical Society of Victoria, Melbourne, 1991 and 2001 and for the work he and Jennifer Bainbridge did on the first version of this website.

May the rains sweep gentle across your fields,
May the sun warm the land,
May every good seed you have planted bear fruit,
And late summer find you standing in fields of plenty.
(Irish Traditional Blessing)

We acknowledge funding assistance from the Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Programme.

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