Quinnipiac University faculty members win New England Emmy Award for Irish Hunger documentary

 Quinnipiac University faculty members Liam O’Brien and Rebecca Abbott with their New England Emmy Award for the documentary, “Ireland's Great Hunger and the Irish Diaspora.”

HAMDEN  – Quinnipiac University faculty members Rebecca Abbott, Liam O’Brien and Christine Kinealy won a New England Emmy Award for the documentary, "Ireland's Great Hunger and the Irish Diaspora," according to a release.

“It’s a huge honor to have this sort of recognition for our work,” Abbott, a Hamden resident who co-produced the documentary, said, also in the release. “Since the process of making this documentary took several years, it’s really gratifying and rewarding to know that our efforts are valued in this way.

Abbott also noted: “We’re also especially pleased and encouraged because this award may help us share more widely the complex history of Ireland’s Great Famine.”
 

“Although Ireland’s Great Hunger took place in the past, it can teach us many important, universal lessons, and give us all greater understanding to help with similar crises happening around the world today.”
 

"Abbott, who filmed and edited the documentary, and co-producer O'Brien, of Higganum, are both professors in the Department of Film, Television and Media Arts at Quinnipiac." the release said.
 

“This was a major undertaking, especially in regard to the substantive volume of historical, archival and graphics research required, the need to hear the voices and thoughts of our brilliant group of international researchers led by Christine Kinealy, and the very large number of diverse shooting locations in Ireland, Canada, the United States and Australia undertaken by Rebecca Abbott,” O’Brien said, in the release. “It was a distinct honor to serve as co-producer of this fine film and the stories it tells.”
 

Watch the video:

Ireland's Great Hunger and the Irish Diaspora, narrated by Gabriel Byrne from Rebecca Abbott on Vimeo.

"The 50-minute documentary, narrated by Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, explores not just the potato crop failure that led to mass starvation, death and emigration from 1845 to 1852, but the historical, social and political circumstances that made what is misleadingly called the Great "Famine" almost inevitable."

 

'The documentary is a powerful testament to the determination of our Irish ancestors to survive, despite the odds,” said Kinealy, a Hamden resident and founding director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute, in the release. “Rebecca's sensitive filming of locations in Ireland, and others in Australia and Canada, interspersed with interviews with descendants of the survivors and commentary from leading historians, provides an accessible, yet poignant insight into the long legacy of the Great Hunger.  I was honored to play a part in its creation.”
 

"In addition to Kinealy, the documentary features several leading scholars of Irish history, including: Declan Kiberd, University College Dublin and Notre Dame University; Ciaran O'Murchadha, author of "The Great Famine: Ireland's Agony 1845-1852"; Mike Murphy, University College Cork; and Richard Reid, historian, National Museum of Australia."
 

Editor's note: All information and the photo in this post were contributed. Click one of the buttons below to share it.