Putting Their Foot On Board Of A Ship

The Famine and emigration have shaped the Irish psyche.

New Ross hopes it's good for tourism.

Are you a descendant of the Irish diaspora? Then you'll be wanting to make your way to County Wexford to visit the Dunbrody. Thousands of Irish were exported to America on ships like this reproduction. What did it feel like? Here's where you can find out.

To kick off the opening of the tourist attraction, American-born Michael Flatley joined Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar at the launch of the new visitor's center. Mr. Flatley is a product of the diaspora himself, although his mam didn't come over on something quite so uncomfortable as the Dunbrody.

The ship represents more than the hordes of starving Irish arriving in New York City clothed in rags during Black '47. The visitor's centre contains a museum of emigrant history, a long period that may not have fully ended.

In addition, visitors can wander through the Irish-American Hall of Fame, and perhaps find some surprises. Did you know that Walt Disney's family hailed from Kilkenny?

The history of the famine ships is grim, as were the times, but the Hall of Fame provides a reminder that there were those who left with nothing and made something of themselves in a country where such success was possible.

So it was fitting that Michael Flatley be there to watch the actors in period costume pretend to be emigrants, wailing and moaning in fear of their unknown future. If his own mother hadn't put her foot on board of a ship (air or water, it doesn't matter), he might not be the multimillionaire he is today.