Midlands Prison inmates to craft wooden boxes for Abbeyleix famine commemoration

MIDLANDS Prison inmates will craft wooden travel boxes for the 2027 Famine Reenactment Parade in Abbeyleix.

Governor Mark Kennedy has confirmed that the Midlands Prison workshop will produce 28 handmade historical travel boxes for the event, each representing one of the orphaned Abbeyleix Workhouse girls who were sent to Australia during the Great Famine.

The boxes will be carried by local schoolchildren during the reenactment parade, symbolising the few belongings the girls carried as they left Abbeyleix and Ireland forever.

Prison staff will also provide a guard of honour for the Australian and Polish ambassadors to Ireland, who will attend the poignant event.

Describing the prison’s involvement as “a unique and meaningful partnership”, the announcement was made today by the Abbeyleix & District Historical Society (ADHS).

ADHS chair Noel Burke said: “This collaboration marks a rare moment of positive public visibility for the prison and highlights the skills, dedication and craftsmanship of the people working in the workshop.

“Their contribution will become a permanent part of the historical record, with the boxes later displayed in Abbeyleix Heritage House Museum.” 

The ADHS also warmly welcomed Governor Kennedy’s additional offer to provide a guard of honour, formed by Midlands Prison staff, for visiting dignitaries at the reenactment.

Noel said: “With both the Australian Ambassador and the Polish Ambassador already confirmed to attend, this gesture underscores the prison’s commitment to dignity, respect and community partnership.

“This partnership shows the very best of what community collaboration can achieve. Governor Kennedy’s support allows the men in the Midlands Prison workshop to contribute to a national story of remembrance and resilience. Their work will be seen by ambassadors, diaspora communities and the wider public and it will stand as a powerful example of rehabilitation in action.” 

The ADHS extended sincere thanks to Governor Kennedy, Jack Fahy of Midlands Prison staff and the men in the Midlands Prison workshop for their commitment to the historic occasion.

The Abbeyleix Famine Reenactment Parade is expected to draw significant national and international attention, with filmmaker Oliver Fallon, from Bailie & Blake Productions, recording and documenting the event. Diaspora groups are already preparing to travel to Abbeyleix from abroad in May 2027.

Polish Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Artur Michalski and Australian ambassador to Ireland, Her Excellency Chantelle Taylor, both confirmed in August that they would attend the major commemoration of the Great Famine.

Around 37 girls departed from Mountmellick Workhouse and 28 girls from Abbeyleix Workhouse under the Earl Grey Scheme, between 1848 and 1850.

The scheme targeted girls aged 14 to 18 who were deemed industrious, literate and disease-free to help balance the colonial gender ratio in Australia and relieve overcrowded Irish workhouses.

The Polish ambassador’s presence in Abbeyleix will honour his countryman Count Pawel Edmund Strzelecki, who is recognised in Ireland as the Polish hero of the Great Famine. An explorer and scientist, he volunteered for unpaid relief work with the British Relief Association, a private charity formed in January 1847 by a group of English banking leaders, who combined to raise funds for famine relief.

Strzelecki saved countless Irish lives and is regarded as one of the most extraordinary humanitarian figures of the time.

The ambassadors’ attendance is a major boost for Abbeyleix’s ongoing campaign to host Ireland’s 2027 National Famine Commemoration Day, whose host venue is due to be announced later this year or early next year. The event is held annually on the third Sunday in May.