The UK’s largest Irish Festival is to back local artist’s bid to share “the relatively untold harrowing story of our famine children” across Britain and Ireland.
Documentary creative, Lise McGreevy, is keen to tour and educate the wider public across both islands with her new famine programmes. One involves a touring, educational art installation and facilitating workshops, artist’s talks and even a possible documentary.
Festival’s Director, Emma Smith, is keen to help Lise find funding to make her famine story dream a reality. Primarily, funding is needed for the artist to further research, develop and create several bodies of work. That can then be compiled and formed into her educational programme Life, Starvation, Death.
Lise said: “As a defining era in our history, the effects of The Great Famine, An Gorta Mor, permanently changed us demographically and politically. Millions of starving people left our shores, taking treacherous journeys of “hope of survival” to the UK and internationally, “Sadly producing a population decline here, lasting over 100 years.” She added: “With last year marking the UK Irish Festival’s 180th anniversary, I want to use my voice to help tell the story of the lives and deaths of our ancestors who endured An Gorta Mor.
“As a local documentary visual artist, my aim is to hopefully gain funding with Emma’s help, to develop and tour my main creative programme, which explores the specific story of the famine children. Emma appointed Lise as the festival’s first Visual Artist in Residence last October. During which the artist carried out in-depth research into the lives of the famine children who travelled to Liverpool.
Lise said “From the outset I wanted to focus on the kids, as their story is one that is relatively not told in any great depth. These babies, toddlers and youngsters were evicted from their homes along with their families and had to travel hundreds of miles away from their homeland and everything they knew, in search of survival.”
According to Lise, in many cases these kids even lost their lives before and during their travel, in inhuman conditions, aboard ships to ports such as Liverpool. Then, the survivors’ savagely hard lives in the city and the horrendous onward journeys of thousands of these starving people to America aboard the so- called ‘coffin ships’, thus called due to the substantial number of deaths which occurred due to bad weather and lack of provisions..
Focusing on one location, Liverpool, gave Lise the opportunity “to delve more deeply into the harrowing lives endured by these poor, desolate children”. She said: “Life in their new city consisted of little or no food, going to the ‘ragged schools’ or the poor houses “ . This created situations where children were lifted for stealing food to survive ending up in prison. where up to 20 prisoners were packed into a single cell, adults and children together. Children held in the same crammed cells as adults who had committed much more serious crimes. “How horrendous for them.” The artist feels this “relatively untold and harrowing story” needs to be told.
Lise said: “’Children should be seen, not heard’ was a saying commonly used to silence children during the Victorian era. But now, it is time for their stories to be uncovered and told – and their voices heard.” The artist worked with several official bodies in Liverpool to source information about the lives of children and their families. But, records of the time are scarce. Lise said: “But, I was eventually able to pull my research together to gain a much stronger view of what the famine survivors had to endure, especially the children. Should funding be made available through the festival or elsewhere, I plan to create a new body of mixed media artworks which will be part of a touring creative installation. Using actual photographs, paperworks and maps of the time as part of the production process for this budding collection.”
As creative facilitator, Lise’s art practice focuses on designing and producing creative programmes which focus on past and current affairs and human interest issues relating to both here and further afield. She said: “Once completed, I aim to showcase the creative installation and tell the famine children’s story both locally and hopefully even internationally should funding be made available to do so.”
Promoting our indigenous languages, cultures and heritages is one of the core stems covered by the artist’s practice. She is also passionate about promoting and supporting climate action and female equality.
Emma said: “The festival’s theme of ‘arrivals’ explores migration, settlement, new philosophies and home. So, It was perfect that Lise came on board as our Artist in Residence. As her work explores immigration and migration and the human story behind so many areas of our diverse society. “Her practice also prides itself on not only promoting the stories of today, but also on our past heritage. In order to help support and keep alive our traditional indigenous cultures. Which is such an important part of our work within the festival.”
She added: “This recent festival marked a significant milestone, as we revealed some of the deepest work we have done yet. ‘Arrivals’ allows us to explore both historical and contemporary journeys – from the Irish Famine refugees who found sanctuary in Liverpool to modern stories like Gráinne Hunt’s personal discovery of queer identity. The world premiere of our documentary represents years of dedicated research and was launched during the festival.”
According to Emma, in relation to future festivals and other opportunities. This Is only the start for our partnership with Lise. “In 2026 we will come together to discuss future plans. Lise has been a joy to work with and is so passionate about all that she does. So, I shall look forward to new adventures and working with her again in the near future.”
