Stepping Aboard a Famine Ship

The Dunbrody.

 

Whenever we travel, especially if we are within striking distance of an ancestral locale, the Hubs and I like to visit historical sites to get a better understanding of where and how our ancestors lived. 

It was no different on our recent trip to Ireland. Besides visiting many ancient sites, we also took in several folk parks featuring recreations of past ways of life, a deserted Famine-era village Slievemore on Achill Island, the Dunfanaghy Workhouse, and the Irish Wake Museum (awesome!). 

I was particularly interested in sites which told the story of the Great Famine, as I have documented members of my Kilbride kin leaving Ireland between 1846 and 1850, in the midst of what was known as An Gorta Mór—The Great Hunger.¹ Ireland's west was particularly hard hit during this time, and given that some of my Kelly and Ryan records state their County Mayo origins, I know that these families likely suffered greatly before making that heartbreaking choice to leave.

One particular site really brought this history home for us on our trip. We took a tour of the Dunbrody, a full-size replica of an actual Famine-era ship which sailed between New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland, and North America. 

The Dunbrody was built in Quebec in 1845 by William Graves & Sons. During the Famine as more and more Irish citizens decided to flee the country, more passenger capacity was needed to meet the demand. The Graves family took the opportunity to fit out their cargo vessels with bunks to help meet that need.² 

The replica Dunbrody, launched in 2001, is moored quayside in New Ross, County Wexford. Jim and I tagged along with a busload of about 30 tourists who arrived at the ship about the same time as we did. With our replica tickets noting whether we were to travel as passengers in cabins or steerage, we made our way through a dockside recreation of shops and services that those sailing might have had to use. Our tour guide talked us through the famine, the history of the ship Dunbrody and its owners, and what immigrants could expect. Among other things, we learned the concept of an American Wake, which was often given for those emigrating before they left, as "...many thought of emigration as a death in the family. Parents often never saw their emigrant children again."³

Our tour guide led us to the deck of the ship, continuing his explanation of what those onboard experienced. For example, while cabin passengers could freely go on deck during the voyage, steerage passengers who traveled in the cheapest section of the boat were only allowed on deck 30 minutes per day. During that time, they had to cook their meals for the day in a brazier on deck. In bad weather, even this was impossible, and steerage passengers would have to remain below deck until the weather cleared—sometimes for days at a time. 

On deck of the Dunbrody.

 

Our replica tickets noted that each adult was allotted "no less than 10 cubic feet for luggage for the sum of £5." In addition, "Water and Provisions, according to the annexed scale, will be supplied by the Ship as required by law, and also fires, and suitable hearths for cooking. Bedding and utensils for eating and drinking must be provided by the passengers."⁴

Each adult aboard the ship was supplied with "3-1/2 lb. of Biscuit; 3-1/2 lbs in all of Flour, Oatmeal, or Rice, or a proportinate quantity of Potatos (5lbs of Potatos being computed as equal to 1 lb. of other articles above enumerated.)" Per week! (I find it ironic that potatoes were available during this time...). And 3 quarts of water per day.⁵

As our tour continued, we ducked and made our way down the stairs and into the darkness below deck. Lit only by a few lamps, it was cramped with just 30-40 of us. It is nearly impossible to imagine how between 160-300 immigrants could have called this tiny space home for the voyage—which could take as long as 50 days—to North America! But that was fact for the Dunbrody: in 1847, the ship is recorded as carrying 313 passengers to Quebec.⁶ Unthinkable!

Passengers were assigned a small upper or lower bunk, rows of which lined the outer walls of the ship. Four adults were assigned to each bunk; children were counted as 1/2 an adult, so families could bunk together or perhaps in adjacent bunks. Clearly these allotments must have been suspended when the number of passengers increased.

Passenger bunks aboard the Dunbrody.

Items passengers may have taken with them on the voyage.

Consigned below deck, tightly packed with barely room to walk around, with only a bucket behind a curtain for toilet facilities, and without access to fresh air, sickness and disease ran rampant through most Famine-era ships, and all too frequently, passengers died on the voyage from typhus, dysentery, cholera, or other illnesses. Burial at sea was the only option in these cases. 

Our tour group filled the tight space below deck.

Towards the end of the tour, a young woman staff in period costume took on the role of an actual Dunbrody passenger and told her story. She was traveling with her ill husband and three children, including a young baby. At tour's end, the guide disclosed that in real life, neither the woman nor her husband survived that voyage; no one knows what became of the three children. It was a stark reminder of just how brutal these passages could be.

By all accounts, the Dunbrody was considered one of the most successful of the Famine ships, with a very low onboard mortality rate. While lax regulation and overcrowding led to unchecked disease and death on many ships of the time—earning them the moniker "coffin ships"—the Dunbrody escaped that designation, and her captains and crew were respected as efficient and humane.⁷

Touring the Dunbrody was one of the most memorable experiences of our trip, letting us "walk in the shoes of our ancestors" and the reality of their voyages to America. Being on board in good weather, we could only imagine how uncomfortable the trip must have been in stormy seas, or when sickness was all around, or if you did not do well in crowded spaces. How did mothers keep their children occupied and orderly? How did young adults pass the time? How did families stretch their food to last the week? What did men do to fill the hours, days, and weeks of boredom? How did they cope when a family member died and had to be buried at sea, with none of the traditional rituals surrounding death allowed?

How intense their desperation and how strong their vision of a new land and a better life must have been to keep these immigrants going!

Displayed quayside at Dunbrody.

Cook's area.

Captain's table.

Crew area below deck.

Bunks were assigned to passengers, who may or may not be sharing with family or friends.

 

IMAGES: All photos by author, 2026.

NOTES 

¹ John Eldrige, ship master, Liverpool, passenger manifest, Jas. Kilbride, Mary Kilbride, Jas. Kilbride, Owen Kilbride, Frank Kilbride, Rose Kilbride, arriving New York, New York, 3 April 1850; imaged database, "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-559C-54?i=606 : accessed 21 May 2024. Also, Capt. Geo Barstow, Ship Manifest, Espindola, arriving 1 June 1846, New York, New York, Martin Kilbride, age 22; images, "New York Passenger Lists, 1829-1891," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-R99W-NK : accessed 20 July 2024); citing National Archives and Records Administration, microfilm publication M237, roll 62, image 101, Washington, D.C., Capt. Rich'd Haus, Ship Manifest, Spartan, arriving 22 June 1847, New York, New York, Mich'l Kilbride; images, "New York Passenger Lists, 1829-1891," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-R39P-CP : accessed 29 July 2024); citing National Archives and Records Administration, microfilm publication M237, roll 67, image 794, Washington, D.C.

² Dunbrody Famine Ship (https://dunbrody.com/the-original-dunbrody/ : accessed 22 May 2026), "The Original Dunbrody Famine Ship."  

³ Dunbrody Famine Ship Experience, New Ross, Wexford, Ireland, interpretive plaque, viewed by author on 14 May 2026.

⁴ Dunbrody Famine Ship Experience, replica Passenger Contract Ticket issued by William Graves & Son, New Ross, Co. Wexford, Ireland; private collection of author, Tioga, Texas, 2026.

⁵ Ibid.

⁶ Dunbrody Famine Ship, "The Original Dunbrody Famine Ship."  

⁷ Ibid.