Plaque to honour Polish explorer who saved thousands of Irish children

A special plaque will be unveiled in Glenties, County Donegal, on Monday 5 October to commemorate Paul Edmund Strzelecki, a Polish explorer credited with saving more than 200,000 children during the Great Irish Famine of 1847‑48.

Strzelecki’s relief work in the famine years involved distributing funds and developing principles that later became standard practice, according to the Australian Dictionary of Biography. Historians estimate he directly saved around 7,000 children in Glenties alone.

The ceremony will take place at 11 am opposite St Columba’s Comprehensive School, where pupils will take part in the unveiling. Attendees will include Minister of State Charlie McConalogue (Department of Culture, Communications and Sport), Cllr Anthony Molloy (Cathaoirleach of Glenties Municipal District) and John G. McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Donegal County Council.

Representatives of Poland will also be present: Jonathan Conlon, Ambassador of Ireland to the Republic of Poland, and Artur Michalski, Chargé d’affaires of the Republic of Poland to Ireland. The plaque is intended to symbolise the enduring friendship between Poland and County Donegal, highlighted during Ireland’s EU Council Presidency.

Source: Donegal Daily. Photo: Donovan Kelly / Pexels.