The Lost Village

The tiny village of Carrowmenagh on the Inishowen Peninsula was all but extinguished in 1881 when 13 families were evicted from their homes.  We trace the evictees and bring them back Ireland to experience the life of their ancestors.

In the year of ‘The Gathering’, the most important history, genealogy and tourism initiative ever undertaken in Ireland, we present ‘The Lost Village’.

Presented in the Irish language and scheduled to broadcast on RTÉ One as the landmark series of Seachtain Na Gaeilge and funded also by the Irish Language Broadcast Fund using an innovative mix of genealogy, history and traditional craftsmanship we tell the story of life in 19th century rural Ireland and allow direct descendants of evicted famine families the opportunity to experience for themselves what life was really like for their forefathers.  

Our chosen families will move into two traditional 19th century long houses to experience the life of their ancestors. We recreate the same living conditions of the family’s ancestors. Life will be simple, harsh even … but our direct blood liners will gain an understanding of how their ancestors lived up until that fateful day when they were evicted.Academics and commentators from across Ireland specialising in 19th Century history, will provide the context of the evictions, tell the history of the families and how they lived at the time, help show how the families were traced and provide the narrative around the family’s experiences in the long houses in each programme in the series.