The National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park House and Gardens, Co. Roscommon, in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands has reopened following a multi-million-euro redevelopment.
With a new visitor centre featuring a world-class multimedia exhibition, the museum tells the story of the Great Famine through the personal tragedies of the tenants on the Strokestown Estate and of their landlords, the once prosperous Pakenham Mahon family.
The museum presents an evocative and authentic retelling of the events at Strokestown that led to the forced emigration of 1,490 people from the estate in 1847, scenes that were also played out across the island.
Artefacts and documents from Strokestown’s extensive archive, which is home to the largest collection of material relating to the Great Famine, are showcased throughout the new museum. They include the Cloonahee Petition, a plea from the tenants for help as they faced another winter of starvation.
Visitors to the immersive National Famine Museum can also take a guided tour of Strokestown House, a Palladian manor and important heritage site, which retains its original furnishings and features.