A SPECIAL DAY IN MIDLETON, CO CORK
Wednesday, 23rd July
Learn how the Choctaw Native American people from the southeastern United States, The Irish Famine, and Irish Whiskey are all connected!
In 1780 John Jameson established a way of making Irish whiskey that has been produced the same way every day since and has become known globally!
Enjoy a guided tour through the Old Midleton Distillery, covering the history, heritage, and whiskey-making process. The experience includes a comparative tasting of three of signature whiskeys, and a choice of Jameson Original or the bespoke cocktail: Jameson, ginger ale, and lime.
Learn about the unlikely and enduring relationship between the Choctaw and Irish people.
Joe McCarthy will lead us in an inspiring session relating the history and significance of the Kindred Spirits sculpture.
Joe was part of the research team that compiled the historical records and lobbied Irish government to recognise this amazing act of kindness.
The memorial was commissioned by Midleton Town Council, and was officially unveiled and dedicated in June 2017 by Chief Gary Batton, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Assistant Chief Jack Austin Jr., and Councillor Seamus McGrath, County Mayor of Cork, accompanied by a 20-strong delegation from the Choctaw Nation.
A companion sculpture, Eternal Heart, was unveiled in Tuskahoma, Oklahoma in 2024 to further commemorate Choctaw-Irish relations.
Kindred Spirits commemorates the 1847 donation by the Native American Choctaw people to Irish famine relief during the Great Hunger, despite the Choctaw themselves living in hardship and poverty and having recently endured the Trail of Tears. While records of the exact amount of the donation vary, the figure usually given is US$170 (about $5,600 in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars, though some methods indicate it could have been as high as $20,000 )
Tentative Schedule:
08:00 Load coach
08:15 Depart University of Limerick
10:15 Arrive to Midleton Distillery for tour and tasting experience
12:45 Enjoy the town of Middleton and lunch on your own
14:00 Gather at the Kindred Spirits Memorial
15:50 Load coach
16:00 Depart
What to Bring:
Participants are advised to wear warm clothes—layers work best. We suggest a sweater, rain jacket, jeans or pants, and comfortable shoes. Temperatures may vary with rain a possibility.
Disclaimer:
All persons participating in the tour and activities do so at the participant’s own sole risk. UWPIAA organisers of the tour are released from any claims, actions, damages, liabilities, losses, costs and expenses by participants in the tour and all persons accept full responsibility for their own selves during the tour.
Weather:
Participants are advised to wear warm clothes – layers work best. We suggest a sweater, rain jacket, jeans or pants and comfortable shoes. Temperatures may vary with rain a possibility.
Note:
This is to give an overview of the possible day’s itinerary. It is subject to change based on the weather and other conditions which we cannot control.