Hamilton actor helps launch Cork walking trail set in the footsteps of Frederick Douglass

The Cork Abolitionists Trail follows on from Douglass Week in February in marking the 1845 Cork visit of the US anti-slavery campaigner

Paul Oakley Stovall, actor and activist, star of the musical Hamilton, pictured at Nano Nagle Place in February for Douglass Week. Pic: Clare Keogh.

A new historic walking trail launches in Cork City this morning - following in the footsteps of Frederick Douglass, the American abolitionist who visited Cork in 1845, including a number of speaking engagements to outline the effect of slavery on American society to the Irish, then journeying to America in vast numbers as the Famine began to take hold.

The 12-stop route will be launched this morning by City and County officials, as well as Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., Douglass' direct descendant, and Paul Oakley Stovall, a star of the hit musical Hamilton, researching a documentary on Douglass' Irish visit for American television.