Entering the Grey Zone; Thinking about Ireland’s Great Famine with Breandán MacSuibhne

Talk, Publication Re-launch & Refreshments

Join Moycullen Heritage for an evening marking Heritage Week 2026, featuring a talk by a leading Famine historian, the re-launch of a local history classic, and refreshments.

Talk: The Poor and Each Other in Famine Ireland

Historians of Ireland's Great Famine have tended to focus on what was done to and for the poor by landlords, charities and the state. Here, University of Galway historian Breandán Mac Suibhne turns that lens around, exploring what the poor did to and for each other — both good and bad.

Guest Speaker: Breandán Mac Suibhne is Established Professor of History at the University of Galway and a leading historian of modern Irish social and cultural history, with award-winning research on the Famine, migration and rural society. He is a director of IMIRCE, sits on the National Famine Commemoration Committee, and is author of The End of Outrage (2017), on land grabbing and informing in a Famine-era community.

Publication Re-launch: An Gorta Mór i Maigh Cuilinn

First published by Moycullen Heritage in 1997 and long out of print, this local history tells how the Famine struck the Moycullen area of Co. Galway. Thanks to funding from Galway County Council and the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, it is back in print for a new generation. Every attendee will receive a free copy.

Refreshments will follow the talk.