Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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942. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if a date has been announced for the Annual Famine Commemoration Day overseas; if it will be held on the same day as the annual commemoration day in Ireland which is held on the third Sunday of May; and the location which it will be held in 2026. [58055/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The International Famine Commemoration took place on Sunday, 02 November, 2025 in Gaelic Park, Chicago, Illinois.

This was the 13th International Famine Commemoration and the 6th to take place in the United States. The commemoration has also been held in Australia, Canada and in Liverpool.

The International Famine Commemorations was established in 2008, by the National Famine Commemoration Committee to remember all those who suffered and died due to the Great Irish Famine. The event also highlights Ireland's continued links with the Diaspora and celebrates the contributions of those who emigrated and of their descendants abroad.

The International Famine Commemoration is a collaboration between my Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

We have no plans to schedule the National Famine Commemoration and the International Famine Commemoration to the same day. There would be few benefits to dividing the resources necessary for these events and putting additional requirements and unnecessary limitations that could discourage possible host communities.

As Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, I am committed to the appropriate remembrance of the Great Irish Famine. This includes ensuring that both the National Famine Commemoration and International Famine Commemoration are to a standard fitting to the tragic events they are marking. As the Deputy is aware I would be unable to host both events if they are scheduled to happen on the same day.

Plans are already developing for the International Famine Commemoration in 2026 and 2027, which we will share when all details are confirmed and nearer to the date of the events. Working with DFAT we have been able to identify a number of important international events that we believe could link-in in a meaningful way with the International Famine Commemoration.

Local support events are important as they bring greater gravitas and opportunity for public engagement from the diaspora and the Irish abroad. This is the heart of the National Famine Commemoration and International Famine Commemoration- local communities leading the nation and international audiences in respectful remembrance. This would be severely limited if the International Famine Commemoration was confined to only take place on one weekend in May.