One Day Seminar at Mountmellick Museum
Saturday May 24th 2025, 10am – 4pm
Between 1849 and 1853 over four thousand orphan girls aged between 14 and 18 years were shipped to Australia from workhouses throughout Ireland as part of the Earl Grey Scheme. Thirty-seven girls from the Mountmellick Workhouse and twenty-eight girls from the Abbeyleix Workhouse are listed as travelling under this scheme.
This seminar brings together academics, researchers and writers to discuss the Earl Grey Scheme and its impact on Ireland, Australia and especially on the lives of the orphan girls and their descendants. It will look at a selection of local projects designed to commemorate the lives of the orphan girls including the Famine Box Project of Arbour Hill prisoners and a short film on the Story of Bridget Dwyer, an orphan girl from Celbridge Workhouse.
This free event is hosted by Mountmellick Development Association with support from Laois Heritage Office and the National Federation of Local History Societies.
Speakers
Dr. Patrick Fitzgerald, Mellon Centre for Migration Studies. Paddy’s PhD research was on poverty and vagrancy in Early-Modern Ireland (1550-1770). Having been a curator of emigration history at the Ulster American Folk Park since 1990 he became Lecturer & Development Officer at the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies in 1998. Currently he is Head of Research and Development at MCMS. Paddy will talk about the orphan girls who originated in Ulster.
Evelyn Conlon, Irish novelist and short story writer. Her 2013 novel Not the Same Sky tells the story of four orphan girls. It observes them on their voyage and follows them from Sydney as they become women of Australia.
Kay Caball, Kerry based genealogist and author of The Kerry Girls: Emigration and the Earl Grey Scheme.
Cathy Fleming, Celbridge Historical Society. Cathy was part of a project to produce a short film on Celbridge orphan girl Bridget Dwyer. The film will be screened as part of the event.
Liam Dowling, former Governor of Arbour Hill Prison will speak on the prison project to produce replica Famine Boxes to commemorate the Earl Grey Scheme orphan girls. Famine boxes were wooden boxes given to each girl containing 6 shifts, a shawl, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 gowns, 2 wraps, 2 petticoats, 1 cloak, 2 neck scarves, 2 pocket handkerchiefs, 2 linen collars, 2 aprons, 1 pair of stays, 1 pair of mitts, 1 pair of sheets, I bonnet, day and night caps, 2 towels, 2 bars of soap, combs, brushes, needles & thread, a few yards of cotton or calico material, a bible, prayer book and rosary beads.
Paddy Buggy, Mountmellick Museum
Places are free but booking is essential as places are limited. To book your place email annemcneill@yahoo.com
Lunch is available at The Hare’s Corner restaurant next door (lunch is not covered by the seminar organisers).
