Trevelyan descendant 'would consider' Irish famine compensation

A descendant of 19th Century aristocrat Sir Charles Trevelyan has said if the Irish authorities asked her household to wage compensation implicit the Irish famine they would see the request.

Laura Trevelyan accepts that her great, great, great-grandfather was among those who "failed their people" portion governing Ireland during the famine.

The Irish people opus The Fields Of Athenry singles him retired for blame.

But she does not judge her household should beryllium held personally responsible.

Ms Trevelyan, a erstwhile BBC journalist, said this is due to the fact that Sir Charles was progressive successful his capableness arsenic a British authorities authoritative during the famine.

In the 1840s, helium was the elder British civilian servant successful complaint of Irish famine relief.

More than a cardinal radical died and different 2 cardinal emigrated during the famine, the effect of murphy blight and exports of nutrient to Great Britain, which ruled the full land of Ireland astatine the time.

The Fields Of Athenry is simply a ballad astir a antheral prosecuted for stealing "Trevelyan's corn", a notation to nutrient exported from Ireland portion millions were starving.

Asked wherefore the Trevelyan household would wage compensation to Grenada implicit slavery and not to Ireland implicit the famine, Ms Trevelyan said her ancestors were personally profiting from the merchantability of sweetener cane harvested by enslaved Africans successful the Caribbean, portion Sir Charles was carrying retired authorities policy.

She added: "If the Irish authorities said the Trevelyan household are liable for what Sir Charles Edward did, past of people that would person to beryllium considered."

After 30 years successful the BBC, successful the UK and America, Ms Trevelyan near the corp past period to go a full-time slavery reparations campaigner.

After her household issued a nationalist apology successful February implicit their historical links to slavery, the Irish novelist Katherine Mezzacappa asked Ms Trevelyan connected Twitter: "Any connection connected Charles Trevelyan's catastrophic handling of famine alleviation successful Ireland?"

Ms Trevelyan told BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show that the Fields Of Athenry had been sung astatine her, and she had been straight challenged astir her household nexus to the famine by Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness successful the 1990s.

She said: "A 4th of a period ago, erstwhile I was a BBC newsman covering the Good Friday Agreement, I tripped implicit my ain history.

"I good retrieve Martin McGuinness saying to me, 'Is this a coincidence that the British person sent a Trevelyan for the BBC, a authorities institution, to screen these negotiations?'.

"I assured him it was a coincidence but helium didn't deliberation it was astatine each and that's erstwhile I tripped up against Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan.

"And I retrieve truthful intelligibly being successful Crossmaglen successful southbound Armagh and speaking to a subordinate of Republican Sinn Fein who looked astatine maine successful fearfulness and said, 'How tin you beryllium driving astir southbound Armagh with the humor of the Irish connected your hands?' And to my embarrassment I didn't adjacent truly recognize what either of them were talking about.

"When I got backmost to Britain I began to work up connected Sir Charles."

Amid each the caller publicity astir her family's transportation to the enslaved trade, she expected questions to beryllium besides asked astir what happened during the Irish famine.

In the 1830s, aft the abolition of slavery, the Trevelyan household received astir £34,000 successful authoritative compensation, the equivalent of astir £3m successful modern money.

Asked for her idiosyncratic presumption of Sir Charles Trevelyan, she said: "When I wrote a publication successful 2006, A Very British Family, I'd work everything that had been written astir him to that point.

"Where 1 ends up is, arsenic [the past premier minister] Tony Blair said successful 1997, those who governed successful London astatine the clip of the Irish famine failed their radical by lasting by portion a harvest nonaccomplishment turned into a monolithic quality tragedy.

"He [Sir Charles] was the Treasury authoritative successful complaint of the famine alleviation truthful helium is an perfectly cardinal quality successful this and arsenic I reflected successful my publication successful 2006, he's a providentialist, he's a laissez-faire economist. He feels that backstage foundation successful Ireland should beryllium leaping to the rescue.

"It is hard to construe his writings successful immoderate ways due to the fact that they're truthful Victorian and convoluted and unfastened to mentation successful immoderate ways. But helium some says the radical cannot nether immoderate circumstances beryllium allowed to starve - and they bash starve, truthful he's failed by his ain point.

"And helium besides seems to suggest that successful immoderate ways this is the divine punishment of God for a one-crop economy. It's precise hard to support immoderate of it."

In her book, she said determination was a statement implicit the grade of the relation played by Sir Charles, with immoderate historians being much captious than others, and astatine slightest 1 defending him.

As for the song, The Fields Of Athenry, it has go precise acquainted to Ms Trevelyan.

Written by Pete St John, it has grown successful popularity successful caller years and is often sung astatine Irish sporting occasions, including by fans supporting the Ireland rugby team.

"It's been sung to maine galore a time," Ms Trevelyan said.

"I was erstwhile trying to parkland a car extracurricular the Ministry for Foreign Affairs successful Dublin and idiosyncratic came and helped maine get into the spot. I said, 'Thanks precise much', and helium said, 'What's your your name?' and I said 'Laura Trevelyan'.

"He looked astatine me… and began singing The Fields of Athenry.

"And I erstwhile I got into the Irish Ministry for Foreign Affairs I was shown astir arsenic though I was an humanities artefact - 'she's related to Sir Charles' - each of which was beauteous extraordinary. What I was embarrassed astir astatine the clip was that I didn't cognize the past of my household and present I was gathering each these radical who knew it intimately.

"It made maine realise that the past defines the present… you realise that much and more, however the past is not truly the past."

On the contented of reparations for Ireland, Ms Trevelyan expanded connected her position.

She said: "To the champion of my cognition determination isn't an inter-government petition from the Irish authorities to the British for reparations to beryllium paid for the famine due to the fact that of the enactment of officials similar Sir Charles.

"I conjecture the favoritism I would marque is that successful the Caribbean my ancestors were acting for backstage nett whereas Sir Charles was acting arsenic an authoritative for the British government, and the British authorities did successful 1997 admit his failures and the failures of others."

After 3 decades of telling the stories of different people, Laura Trevelyan is present astatine the centre of her own.

From anchoring BBC World News America, the broadcaster has turned into a campaigner.

While uncovering the abrupt power "truly weird", she says she has nary regrets and is present afloat focused connected her caller role.

Listen to the afloat interrogation with Laura Trevelyan connected The Nolan Show connected BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds astatine 09:00 BST connected Monday.