National Famine Commemoration Day

In 2005, he was reluctant to countenance a designated annual national day to commemorate the Famine; he favoured a single memorial to all major historical events, mentioning the 1798 Rebellion and the Land War.

[14] That year, the day of the CCIFV walk received a modicum of official recognition, with one reception hosted by Conor Lenihan, Minister of State responsible for food aid,[12][14] and another by Bertie Ahern at Iveagh House.

[12] The Friday before the 2008 CCIFV walk, the government issued a press release announcing that the state would in future organise an annual commemoration.

[15] That Sunday there was a reception hosted by Minister of State John Curran at the Custom House, Dublin before the CCIFV walk.

[15] A July press release of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs described this as "the first National Famine Commemoration Day".

[18] In December 2016, Sinn Féin introduced a private member's bill seeking to have the commemoration held on the second Sunday of every May every year.