We visited the Cobh Heritage Center and what a great exhibit and museum! We learned so much about the Great Hunger, Irish immigration to the United States and Ireland's historical role in the building of the Titanic! All of us will bring home some very interesting information, books, and primary sources to the classroom and we cannot wait! I learned something new today! I did not know there was a such thing as the Famine Ships or, as they were also called, the coffin ships. As people left Ireland to escape crushing poverty due to the Great Hunger, they were crowded into ships bound for Canada and the United States. The ships were so overcrowded and the conditions were horrible. As people sailed for six to nine weeks aboard these ships, many died from disease and starvation. Imagine how desperate these people must have been to escape the Great Hunger! They knew the hardships they would face in the ships and in the new land, but it was worth it to escape the poverty in Ireland. Here are some images, but of course you will have to wait for ALL of the pictures! Here is just a preview...
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| It was very crowded on the Famine ships and the conditions were horrible. |
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| One of the books my students will enjoy this year! It is called "Life on a Famine Ship: A Journal of the Irish Famine 1845-1850". I can't wait to get started!!! |
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| A model of the busy ports where people boarded the ships bound for North America |
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| A great display in the Cobh Heritage Center |
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