22/08/2026
The Cloonahee Petition — the document that started it all.
Out of the thousands of documents preserved in Strokestown Park House in relation to the Irish Famine, the Cloonahee Petition was one of the first documents discovered by Jim Callery who purchased the estate in 1979.
The petition came from Cloonahee, the townland where Jim was born and raised, and its discovery became the inspiration behind his vision for the National Famine Museum.
Dated the 22nd August 1846, the handwritten petition is a plea for help from starving tenant farmers to Major Denis Mahon, their landlord and Chairman of the Strokestown District Relief Committee.
Today, the 22nd August 2026, exactly 180 years after it was written, the Cloonahee Petition continues to remind us of the individual voices and human experiences behind the history of the Great Irish Famine.
"Our families are really and truly suffering in our presence and we cannot much longer withstand their cries for food. We have no food for them, our potatoes are rotten and we have no grain."
You can listen to further extracts from the Cloonahee Petition in 'Treasures of the Strokestown Park Famine Archive' below
https://strokestownpark.ie/treasures-of-the-strokestown-famine-archive/
The original Cloonahee Petition is safely stored within the Strokestown Park Famine Archive and as you can see from the photos even the envelope has survived.
The Cloonahee Petition is at the heart of the National Famine Museum exhibition. Visitors can hear its words through a recording within the exhibition, while a copy is also displayed in the Visitor Centre — the starting point for those beginning their journey through the Museum.
Since 2015, Strokestown Park and the National Famine Museum is under the care of the Irish Heritage Trust, whose mission is to preserve Strokestown Park’s history and heritage for future generations.
