Famine letter once held by Rita Hayworth's family to return to Skibbereen

Skibbereen Heritage Centre has acquired an open letter dating from December 1846 from a Cork Magistrate to the Duke of Wellington, regarding the appalling state of West Cork due to the famine. Picture: Andy Gibson

A letter, written in 1846 and credited with helping to raise funds from all over the world to combat the Great Famine, has been returned to Skibbereen, one of the areas worst affected by that crisis.

The letter, written by a Justice of the Peace, was once in the hands of the family of Hollywood superstar Rita Hayworth, whose daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, has welcomed its return to Skibbereen, where it will go on display in the town's heritage centre next week.