The UK’s largest Irish festival is to back a Belfast artist’s bid to share the relatively untold and harrowing story of our famine children across Britain and Ireland.
Documentary creative Lise McGreevy is hoping to bring a new piece of work to the Liverpool Irish Festival in October.
Festival’s Director Emma Smith is keen to help Lise find funding to make her famine story dream a reality. Primarily, funding is needed for the artist to further research, develop and create several bodies of work that can then be compiled and formed into her educational programme 'Life, Starvation, Death'.
Emma appointed Lise as the festival’s first visual artist in residence last October. Lise has since carried out an in-depth research into the lives of famine children who travelled to Liverpool.
Lise explained: “As a defining era in our history, the effects of the Great Famine, An Gorta Moór, permanently changed us demographically and politically. Millions of starving people left our shores, taking treacherous journeys of hope of survival to the UK and internationally.
“I want to use my voice to help tell the story of the lives and deaths of our ancestors who endured An Gorta Mór.
“As a local documentary visual artist, my future aim is to hopefully gain funding with Emma’s help to develop and tour my main creative programme which explores the specific story of the famine children.
“From the outset I wanted to focus on the kids, as their story is one that is relatively not told in any great depth.
“These babies, toddlers and youngsters were evicted from their homes along with their families and had to travel hundreds of miles in search of survival, away from their homeland and everything they knew.
"I want to delve more deeply into the harrowing lives endured by these poor, desolate children. It is time for their stories to be uncovered and told and their voices heard.
"Should funding be made available through the festival or elsewhere, I now plan to create a new body of mixed media artworks which will be part of a touring creative installation using actual photographs, paperworks and maps of the time as part of the production process for this budding collection.
Festival Director Emma Smith added: “The festival’s theme of arrivals explores migration, settlement, new philosophies and home, so it was perfect that Lise came on board as our Artist in Residence.
“Her practice also prides itself on not only promoting the stories of today but also on our past heritage in order to help support and keep alive our traditional indigenous cultures which is such an important part of our work within the festival.
"This is only the start for our partnership with Lise.
“In 2026 we will come together to discuss future plans. Lise has been a joy to work with and is so passionate about all that she does. So, I shall look forward to new adventures and working with her again in the near future.”
