AN IRISH convict woman sent to an Australian penal colony in 1842 is to be remembered in a memorial in Cork dedicated to thousands like her.
Mary Walsh, a mother of one, was sentenced to seven years in the penal colony of Van Diemen’s Land in Tasmania for allegedly stealing cloth from a local shop in her native Clonmel.
She is one of more than 25,000 convict women due to be commemorated at a special ceremony this month that is expected to draw ancestors from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Australia.
The concept has grown from the work of artist Christina Henri, a student of visual and performing arts at the University of Tasmania. He has collected thousands of bonnets, similar to those worn at the time, to commemorate the life and contribution made by each of the transported women in the founding of a new nation. To date, 15,000 bonnets have been collected. The memorial, “Roses from the Heart” will pay tribute to 25,566 convict women transported to Australia from Britain and Ireland from 1788 to 1853.
Mary Walsh’s story, encapsulated in a letter written by her husband, that she left behind in Ireland, forms a central part of the project. James Walsh addressed the love letter to his wife and posted it in 1843, it forms part of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. The events begin with a concert in west Cork on August 27th. A second performance takes place at Cork Gaol the following day, while a third concert takes place at Cobh. The blessing of the bonnets, will take place at noon on Sunday, August 29th.