Wednesday, 1 April 2015

Saving the Famine Irish: Quinnipiac University, USA

A new exhibition – Saving the Famine Irish: The Grey Nuns and the Great Hunger – opens today at Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute in Quinnipiac University, Connecticut. It tells the story of the religious orders in Montreal whose members gave selflessly to Irish immigrants during their time of greatest need.

Ireland's Famine immigrants to Montreal were not only among the poorest of the poor, but many of them also arrived sick with typhus fever. Despite this, a number of people in the English and French Canadian communities provided the ailing and the dying with shelter and support.

In the forefront of this compassionate movement were the Sisters of Charity, also known as the Grey Nuns.

Venue: The Lender Special Collection Room in Quinnipiac University’s Arnold Bernhard Library, Hamden, Connecticut, USA.
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9am–5pm; Sunday, 12pm–5pm.