The truth about coffin ships?
An investigation devised by Ben Walsh
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These two pictures are photographs of the Irish National Famine Memorial, Co. Mayo, Ireland.
Of all of the images which could have been used, this memorial chose to focus on the coffin ships.
This shows us what a powerful impact the coffin ships have had on the memory of Irish people.
But why have they had such an impact?
Study the images closely and work out:
1. What messages the artist is trying to send with this memorial.
2. How the artist uses images rather than words to get the messages across. Click here for some suggestions. |
Focus of investigation
The investigation, consisting of four tasks, helps students to think about widely held perceptions of
the Famine, or in this case the flight across the Atlantic which was precipitated by the Famine.
It examines the traditional, popular view that the starving migrants fled across the sea in
appalling coffin ships.
Resources
Investigation & teacher note (pdf)
PowerPoint for Task 1
Extracts from web sites in MS Word for Task 3: A Watery Grave The Worst Coffin Ships
Shipping statistics for Task 4 (MS Excel)
Grosse Île & the Irish Memorial National Historic Site of Canada
Following the Famine - an excellent Canadian site*
Two paintings: Emigrant Ship; Typhus (Grosse Îsle)
* 'The latest revisions to www.irishfamine.ca
have been completed through the efforts of The Jeanie
Johnston
Educational
Foundation. We now have extended
programs, streaming videos and new photos and lessons for students and
guides and helpful methods for teachers to minimize their workload in
teaching this course. This web site is part of
the Quebec Ministry of Education
curriculum for the Province of Quebec.
The introduction by
Premier Jean Charest on video is one of 23 streaming videos on the site
which covers a vast range of subjects contributed by some of the most
published historians from the Universities of Cambridge, Manchester,
Liverpool, Glasgow,
Australia, Ireland and our own McGill College, Canada. All members both
old and
young will benefit from this site. It is historically correct, unlike
many publications on the market today.'
More study units & other resources on the Famine