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Home Page > News > Irish Famine international tribunal to take place at Fordham Law School – VIDEO

Irish Famine international tribunal to take place at Fordham Law School – VIDEO

The Great Famine Tribunal Committee to host groundbreaking examination of Irish history

HILDA HIGGINS,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Friday, June 22, 2012, 7:26 AM

Updated Friday, June 22, 2012, 7:26 AM

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Irish Famine Memorialt at Front and Chestnut Streets, near Penn's Landing, Philadelphia

Photo by Reading Tom

The Great Famine Tribunal Committee will host an international tribunal in New York this October to examine from a legal perspective the response of the authorities to an Gorta Mór.

An estimated one million Irish people died as a result of starvation and epidemic disease between 1846 and 1851 due to a potato blight. Some two million others emigrated.

Last Friday over 80 supports of the tribunal gathered for an ‘Irish famine soup night’ in New York City to discuss the October 20 conference, which is to take place at Fordham Law School.

The object of the Tribunal is to assess the impact of the Irish Famine on the Irish population,
and to examine its political, economic, cultural and physiological legacies, all within a legal
framework.

“This has never been done from a legal perspective,” Owen Rodgers, the chair of the tribunal, told IrishCentral.

The committee will investigate the nature of the catastrophe and the various steps taken to
counteract its severity by the responsible institutions of governance, not least the Imperial
Parliament at Westminster.

A second day of activities will be devoted to educational issues, including a study of famine in today’s world.

“It is intended to consider the overall situation in the widest appropriate context with discussion of contemporary responses within the United Kingdom and by comparison with the responses of other Continental powers to food shortages in their countries,” Rodgers said in a statement.

Patrons of the tribunal include Professor Christine Kinealy; Robert Ballagh, the Irish artist; Brian Friel, playwright; Stephen Rea, actor,Professor Declan Kiberd; Dr. Ruan O'Donnell; Dr. Garrett O’Connor, President, Betty Ford Clinic LA; Fionnula Flanagan, actress; Brian O Dwyer, lawyer; Peter Quinn, writer; Frank McManus, former MP; Fr. Sean McManus; Tom Murphy, Irish playwright; and Chris Byrne, singer; Marie Jones, playwright; Martin Lynch, writer and producer.

For more information log onto The Irish Famine Tribunal's website.

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32 Comments

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bunkerhill | Jun 27, 2012, 03:30 PM EDT

I finally had a chance to watch the video along with the music and it was beautifully made, portraying a horrifying event which was a testament to human greed and meglomaniacs. However there is more to the story and I implore wonderful Fordham University to explore it. Many Irish families who lived through the famine whether they remained in Ireland, or immigrated to the US or Australia carried chromosome disorders caused by the terrible food deprivation. The starved person would recover given some sustenance, but as a result of their starvation they could pass on a chromosome disorder to their children. As a result of the food deprivation among the commoners of England there is a high incidence of Huntingtons Chorea, a particularly horrible disorder. Brilliant Irish families had chromosome changes which produced disorders such as Parkinsons, Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis, Schizophenia and a host of other disorders. What a travesty that decent people should have been starved by a bunch of gypsies calling themselves royal, but witness the cleverness of the same gypsies in the US and around the world today. The Netherlands received millions of dollars from the John and Catherine MacArthur Fund (an American fund) to research chromosome disorders in the descendents of their WWII population. How did that happen? The Netherlands have indigent royals at the helm and royals always know where the money is. I would actually beg Fordham University to address the problem of chromosome disorders being passed down as a result of the Irish genocide. Incidentally the English "commoners" also have a high incidence of food deprivation disorders as do the Dutch and Scandinavians. Has any royal ever suffered a food deprivation disorder? I believe anything they inherit is from intermarriage. However the inherited chromosome disorders are a major problem for the starved populations of the British Isles. Please explore these disorders.

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IrelandNorth | Jun 26, 2012, 09:15 AM EDT

Powerful video. Top marks to Fordham for pursuing justice relentlessly. Moved to tears. Ultimately, it was a class of people who perpetrated this socio-economic injustice. A class of people within a certain nationality. What do potatoe and buffalo have in common. The deliberately conspired staple diet of an aboriginal people inconveniently in the way of imperial progress. Ergo - decimate the crop/herd. The then UK wanted Ireland not the Irish. They wanted real estate not tenants. The British monarch, then and now, as the apex of such a class, inherits enormous responsibility, for one cannot inherit privilege without it. Yet I intuit EIIR is more progressive than imagined. Thing is, will the Council of Ten (richest families who own England and raise her army) impede Her progress, like they clipped their new PMs wings after his Saville apologia apropos Bloody Sunday in Lundyderry. If hell does exist, it must be jammed to the rafters with pot-bellied absentee English landlords.

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sirpeter | Jun 25, 2012, 06:50 PM EDT

ciaradexy.To compare the Holocaust and the "Famine" is actually quite a good analogy.Let's take your argument that the Jews had no options and the Irish had.The Jews had 6 years of extremely harsh antisemitic laws(1933 onwards) and a book by Hitler(Mein Kampf) with text that reveals the crystallisation of Hitler's decision to completely exterminate the Jews.Not a bad warning to move.But they hoped things would get better,but they didn't,they were killed.~~The million Irish that died of starvation.Partial starvation due to blight in 1846 but few deaths.Tough year but hoped next crop would be better.1847 Total failure of potato crop.For poor living in mud cabins with large family,little or no money to move or emigrate,workhouses full and are(Dens of typhus)Starvation imminent.How imminent?As in now.Father fails to find enough food within three weeks.Three weeks without enough food and a family is too weak and sick to travel or do anything.Death imminent.Do you think the million who starved had options?If they had another option other than death.Do you not think they would have taken it? No Money,No Food,No shelter or warmth even if you can move = Death.Ciaradexy.Your understanding of the "famine" is still poor if you thought THAT million Irish who starved had more options.The reality is they had zero options.That's why they died.I'll teach my British friends as you say when I educate the Irish people first.

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bunkerhill | Jun 25, 2012, 09:54 AM EDT

I am so happy to see a prestigious school like Fordham Law looking into what was actually genocide and not a famine. Why is it so seldom mentioned that most of the Irish land was confiscated by the crown making Irish "tenants" on their own property. I see other people questioning whether or not reparations have ever been made to the rightful Irish landowners. In actuality the English and Scots have also suffered desperately under the crown and many English writers do write about the struggles. I was amazed to see on a PBS New York Station on June 23rd the most astonishing documentary on queen Victoria. I had never known that the English had tried to shoot her but missed and killed a poor servant. So many people have been fed fairy tales for so long but now the internet has brought about tremendous interaction seeking the true history of events. The scholarly Smithsonian Magazine had an article a few years back on the people in Cornwall, England. Apparently they don't own the land they live on as it belongs to prince Charles. However I do think that anyone who wants to give up being an "equal", does have the right to become a "commoner." That would show them putting their money where their mouth is, and make them more believable.

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seanomelb | Jun 24, 2012, 08:01 PM EDT

Ciara has a small coterie of British apologist as friends maybe she should hang out with some Irish people she then may learn something of Irish history.She just doesn't get it sirpeter,She's to thick and British focused to make an informed decision.

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ciaradexy | Jun 24, 2012, 05:22 PM EDT

Sirp, Im well aware of the fact that the British are taught nothing of the famine. I lived with and hung out with a group of people from all over the UK when I was in Australia and we all sat down one eve and watched 'Michael Collins'. After the film, one of the English lads said 'No wonder we dont learn any of this in school. The government must be ashamed'. My other half is from Aberdeen and he knows exactly what happened as do all of my British mates so instead of people (especially anti-British Americans) moaning and whinging about it, why not teach your British mates about it? All Irish people have British mates so theres n excuse for them not to know and then why not actually move on? Theres a massive difference in the Holocaust and the Famine. 6 million were shot, tortured or gasses to death, they didnt have any other options. The Irish had. Some emigrated, some moved west and yes, people died but to compare the 2 is wrong. I did history in school up to junior cert when i dropped it for geography but we were taught about the export of our animals and crops. We were not taught that potatoes rotted and that was it. The curriculum has changed over the years. Sean, I hope all's going well for you in the Commonwealth where the Queens face is on your money.

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WoundedKnee | Jun 24, 2012, 05:11 PM EDT

The Irish in Argentina also sent money back to Ireland during the Famine. Of course Ireland's gesture of gratitude is that today the descendents of these and other Irish-Argentines are turned away by Immigration at Dublin Airport.

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Seanmor | Jun 24, 2012, 03:40 PM EDT

The government in Westminister provided very little aid to the needy people of Ireland in the late 1840s, when all of their country was ruled by G.B. As the Great Hunger raged ships laden with grain and livestock continued to sail out of Irish ports as ships fro the U.S. sailed in packed with 'Indian' corn. Among those who contributed to Irish Famine Relief were the Choctaw tribe of Native Americans who generously donated $170 from theit meagre assets. Let us never, never forger the knidness and generosity of our beloved CHOCTAW friends.

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sirpeter | Jun 23, 2012, 09:34 PM EDT

ciaradexy.I'm sure you know Ireland was part of the UK when a million Irish people starved to death.That means we were not a foreign country.Those million starved were subjects of the Queen and therefore part of British history.Go to the British museum in London and you will see NOTHING on the starvation of these subjects of the Queen.You will see a whole floor dedicated to the Jewish holocaust.And that's not even British history.But the British actively remind the innocent sons of Germans when they go into the British museum how their fathers murdered the Jews.Well some of us here won't forget our million dead either.We will constantly remind the world and the sons of these long dead British murderers that they too had better face up to their murderous crimes.The Irish will be the ones who will write their black history.It is written on a thousand mass graves across Ireland and a trail of death across the Atlantic.Listen well.The blight came by accident from America.But the death of a million Irish people was caused by British design.That's not a hate speech.That's part of my history and nobody will make light of it like the British do.

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seanomelb | Jun 23, 2012, 09:27 PM EDT

Ciara is a very forgiving person when it suits her west Brit ideals.

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ciaradexy | Jun 23, 2012, 06:09 PM EDT

Mamaginty, I get the impression youre quite old so Im not sure what you learned in history class but when I studied history we were told that the famine was due to our food being exported by the British and the sole crop that we had to survive on was wiped out due to blight brought from the US no less! I wasnt brought up to hate a nation of people because of what their distant relatives might have done but if you were, then thats really sad.

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Cyn | Jun 23, 2012, 04:06 PM EDT

I am curious to know if the "legal" aspect will be current law or the law of the day?

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mamaginnty | Jun 23, 2012, 11:23 AM EDT

Our schools have always went fast forward when it came to our history. Our governments never mention it. Why ? Because it was Genocide of the Irish people. As well as being starved to death, many Irish men and women were sentenced and shipped to Australia for stealing as little as bread or milk. Do you really think any monies or food that was sent from all those countries ever reached the starving people, I do not think so, more likely on the tables of the priests, elite, and British landlords. It only took a few short years to kill off so many Irish. I am glad this tribunal has started, finally we may be able to print our history books with the truth about this, like any other country. Beidh Éire lá amháin a bheith saor.

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Portia777 | Jun 23, 2012, 10:34 AM EDT

handsome68 Many times worse were, e.g., Chairman Mao, "Uncle Joe" Stalin, and Adolf Hitler, to name only three perpetrators who were doubtless much more conscious of their evil act(s), and therefore much more culpable. Yes, evil exists." So what is the one common denominator in all of these evil people? All trained by Jesuits.All organised programming using the Death Cult.

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Portia777 | Jun 23, 2012, 10:29 AM EDT

DanOLoingsigh. Precisely. Same as in North of Ireland- the heads of all the religions wine and dine while their soldiers kill each other. Both sides are supported by the one puppet master. It is the oldest scam on Earth- Patriarchy- divide and conquer- and we amadams used to fall for it all the time. Not any more.

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