Famine Way walkers makes finish on 90th birthday
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Jim Callery arrived at EPIC, the Emigration Museum today (Wednesday October 15) on his 90th birthday, having completed the entire 165km of the National Famine Way and raised almost €55,000 for immigration charities.
Jim did the walk in remembrance of Strokestown’s Missing 1,490 famine emigrants.
His wife Adeline and his sisters (96 and 94-year-old Eileen O’Connell and Nanette Callery) were in Dublin to welcome him along with four generations of his family.
The last stage was a short walk from Cross Guns Bridge at the third lock on the Royal Canal to Custom House Quay, the Famine Statues and EPIC Museum.
“I’m delighted with how the fundraising walk on the National Famine Way went,” said Jim.
“I thoroughly enjoyed doing it and the support from family and friends was amazing.
“I feel younger and fitter now than when I started!”
The fundraiser is still open and Jim invites his friends, colleagues and supporters to donate through his GoFundMe page.
Jim was the person responsible for saving Strokestown Park House for the nation in 1979 and for setting up the National Famine Museum there.
He was awarded a European Heritage Europa Nostra Award (EU Prizes for Cultural Heritage) in 1979 and the citation said, ‘The restoration and establishment of the world renowned Irish National Famine Museum and Archive by Mr Callery has been the largest act of private philanthropy for cultural heritage in the history of modern Ireland’.
The National Famine Way™ traverses six counties and is a collaboration of Waterways Ireland, the Irish Heritage Trust and the county councils along the route: Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath, Meath, Kildare, Fingal, and Dublin.
The symbol of the National Famine Way™ is a pair of children’s shoes displayed at the National Famine Museum. The trail is waymarked by bronze replicas as a poignant reminder of the journey the 1,490 evicted tenants made.
The National Famine Way™ is open to walkers at any time and the route and associated stories can be followed through a free app. Walkers can also purchase an official passport to get stamped along the route.
• facebook.com/NationalFamineWay
• instagram.com/nationalfamineway
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