The five young ladies (Kristian Cowden, Clare Barrett, Emily Barrett, Gwenllian Kern-Allely and Maggie Thulson) are under the direction of Mrs. Barbara Allen of the Denver School of the Arts.The presentation was entitled “The Misnomer of An Gorta Mor (Great Famine)” and told the story of how the Famine was a man-made disaster that cost the lives of over 1 Million Irish and forced an unknown number of Irish to emigrate from their country with the beginnings of the great Irish Diaspora. Land owners in Ireland were growing food but it was being shipped overseas to other parts of the empire as a “money crop”. The potato (native to South America) had been introduced into Ireland by the English to feed the masses. With the blight on the potato, the Irish (dispossessed of their land) were left to fend for themselves. The visitors gave the young ladies a rousing ovation after the presentation, and watched as AOH Michael Collins Div. 1 President Patrick F. Sullivan and Treasurer Michael Regan gave the ladies an additional Special Cash Award from AOH National. Ken Hannon LarsonCultural CoordinatorColorado Irish Festival