A Famine Pot has been officially launched in Milltown in memory of those who died in the Great Famine in the 19th Century.
A Plaque was also unveiled to two local men who lost their lives in World War I. Patrick Fenneral and Thomas Walsh were remembered in the poignant ceremony in Milltown Cemetery.
A large crowd was present at the ceremonies which also featured a lone bagpiper.
The Famine Pot was donated by builder Paddy Carroll of Dunmurray Road, Kildare who found it while working on a local farm in Dunmurray.
The event was organised by Betty O'Shea and others of Milltown Tidy Towns group and Milltown Heritage Centre and guest speakers included historians Mario Corrigan and James Durney.
Famine pots, also known as ‘soup pots’ or ‘workhouse pots’ were supplied by the British Government and the Society of Friends (otherwise known as the Quakers) at the height of the Great Famine in 1847.
They were made of cast iron, and were used to provide soup to those in need, both in the workhouses and the new soup kitchens set up under the Soup Act of January 1847.
Photos courtesy of Paul Dempsey
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