Kilkenny project that brought stories of local famine victims to life is finalist in prestigious national awards
A Kilkenny heritage project that brought the stories of local famine victims to life has been named as a finalist in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards.
The Kilkenny Famine Experience project, which featured at the MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre, will contest in the Heritage category in the Good Causes Awards final.
The project is among 36 community groups, sports clubs and organisations from all over Ireland who were chosen for the final list.
The Kilkenny Famine Experience project has three fundamental areas of focus. The first is a community reconnection project stemming from the discovery of 976 human famine victims found on site before redevelopment in 2005. The goal is to connect each of them to 976 living people from around the world who then leave their fingerprints etched in brass.
The second is to recount the stories of what happened in the Kilkenny Famine Workhouse and offer an audio visual tour of the building, where the centre is also now located. The third is to honour the victims and survivors with a 12 foot bronze sculpture located at the site.
National Lottery CEO Andrew Algeo said: “Our aim is to recognize the exceptional contributions of our finalists and show the people of Ireland exactly what their participation and support in the National Lottery is achieving within their communities.
“We are all aware of how difficult the past year has been and how important sports clubs, organisations and groups are to our wellbeing. This truly is our chance to show our appreciation for keeping our communities going during such uncertain times.”
The judging of the National Finals of the Good Causes Awards will take place virtually this year on Tuesday and Wednesday, February16 and 17.
Each national category winner will receive €10,000 while the overall Good Cause of the Year will get an additional €25,000 on top of this. The winners will be announced on Saturday, May 29 at the Mansion House in Dublin.
