Open Daily 9:30am –6:00pm
About the Event
The South Armagh Lace Collective with the Ring of Gullion Partnership are about to embark on another exciting collaboration in October 2019 with Artist, Christina Henri from Tasmania. Christina is the creative inspiration behind the international Roses from the Heart Memorial project. This project seeks to commemorate the lives of the young single girls and women who were shipped to Australia in the mid-1800s under the Earl Grey Famine Scheme. Between the years 1848-50 there were 4175 girls/women who left Ireland from the workhouses to a country where the majority of the population was male. Many were orphans but the sad fact was that many of these girls families had no means of survival outside of the workhouse. The ships they travelled on were later referred to as Bride Ships.
This current project will run over the course of the winter months between Oct Dec and will involve making and decorating mid-18th century bonnets for individual girls from Counties Armagh, Louth and Monaghan. These bonnets will feature in a large commemorative event in May/June 2020 in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin where many of the girls set sail.
Christina will give a public lecture on The Ship Lass brides in the Cross Square Hotel, Crossmaglen on Friday 4th October at 8pm. Admission is £5.
She will also be facilitating the first bonnet making workshop with the South Armagh Lace Collective on Sat 5th October in Culloville Community Center from 10.30am 3.30pm. This is a free event. However, donations for the materials are kindly appreciated.
This workshop is open to anyone who is interested in coming along to be part of this interesting and worthwhile event to mark the lives of these lost girls and this poignant part of our history. Please check out our Facebook Page – The South Armagh Lace Collective for more details.
