A group of locals from Boyle and surrounding areas, who regularly meet on the bridge in Boyle on Friday evenings will begin a powerful nine-day walk from Strokestown Park House to Dublin Docks on Saturday, August 2nd commencing at 10am, in solidarity with the people of Palestine.
They are inviting the people of Boyle to come along that morning to cheer them off.
They will be joined at the start in Strokestown by Sabina Higgins.
The event – Walk the National Famine Way for Palestine – retraces the path of 1,490 people who were forced to walk from Strokestown to Dublin during the Great Famine in 1847. This time, the walkers do so in solidarity with the people of Palestine, who are currently facing famine, displacement, and unimaginable hardship.
The group will gather at Strokestown Park House from 10.00am on Saturday morning, and will begin walking shortly after.
“We’d love to see a big turnout from Boyle – friends, neighbours, musicians, families – to give this walk the strong and heartfelt send-off it deserves,” said one of the organisers. “This is a walk rooted in our history, and grounded in our sense of justice and solidarity.”
The event will be formally launched by Jim Callery, founder of the National Famine Museum at Strokestown, who has given generous support to the initiative. Cathy Jordan will also attend to add her voice in support. The group also welcomes other musicians to come along and raise spirits with music and song before the walk begins.
Over the following nine days, the group will walk the full 165 km Famine Way route, arriving at the Famine Memorial at Dublin’s Custom House Quay on Saturday, August 9th.
The walk is also a fundraiser for four grassroots organisations providing humanitarian aid in Palestine:
TEA Collective
Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund
The Sameer Project
Médecins sans Frontieres
The walk starts at 10am every day. We’ll be walking along the Royal Canal and only entering the following towns for accommodation:
1. Saturday 2nd – Clondra
2. Sunday 3rd – Ballymahon
3. Monday 4th Ballynacarrigy
4. Tuesday 5th – Mullingar
5. Wednesday 6th – Hill of Down
6. Thursday 7th – Enfield
7. Friday 8th – Maynooth
Donations can be made at: https://chuffed.org/project/140429-national-famine-way-for-palestine
For updates and photos during the walk, follow on Facebook: Walk the National Famine Way for Palestine.
(Supplied pic)
