Famine ship sails into snub row

A SNUBBED American committee is withdrawing its long-term support for the Jeanie Johnson famine ship project.

The Washington-based contributors claim they were left out in the cold during the boat's visit to the States.

Pat Troy has disbanded a Washington-based Jeanie Johnson Committee which had contributed to the ship's building project.

Remaining seed capital of $3,000, set aside by the committee for future promotion and fundraising for the project in the States, has been returned to its American contributors in a protest gesture.

Offaly-born Mr Troy, who heads the committee, said none of the 100-strong contributors in the American capital were invited to the ship or any event run by the Irish Embassy to honour the ship's arrival in Washington.

"No one seems to know who was responsible for drawing up a guest list of 400 at that event, but no Irish organisation, from the embassy to the tourist board or the Jeanie Johnson company, invited any of the 100 Washington contributors.

Tourism Ireland, the semi-state agency promoting the industry overseas which hosted a welcome for the ship and its crew, said no person or organisation was deliberately snubbed.

A spokesperson said: "The guest list focused on people involved in the travel trade and the travel media. The list could be endless and there had to be a cut-off point."

Mr Troy, whose committee initially contributed $13,000 to the ship-building project, said there was no excuse for the snub of Irish-Americans.

However, he conceded that he personally received a last-minute invitation.

"Tourism Ireland called me and said an invitation had been sent to me and to Peter Butler (the committee's treasurer).

"I told them I hadn't received an invitation and, to this day, never received it. The day on which the boat was due to sail, one of the ship's personnel called and asked if my wife and I would like to come down.

"I said to him: 'how do you think the other members of our committee would feel as they weren't invited'."

Restaurateur Mr Troy, a founder member of the city's St Patrick's Day Parade and a Golden Rose recipient due to his Washington involvement with the Tralee festival, said: "There was no fanfare for the ship's arrival or departure here. That was shameful.

"We sent the money but we were completely forgotten about, just like many of the Irish forced to take the original famine boats, we were left in the steerage."

Mr Troy and his wife Bernadette, a native of Kenmare, County Kerry, did not visit the ship during its Washington berthing. The Jeanie Johnston is currently in Baltimore, Maryland.

"We might visit the ship before it departs Baltimore," he said, "but to be honest, I wish it would turn around and go back and become a museum piece in Ireland.

"It was a poorly-managed project in Ireland and poorly-managed in this country if it was supposed to educate the American people about the famine."