A PIECE of Irish history with deep ties to the Famine has returned home to Skibbereen after 165 years.
A silver samovar, presented in 1859 to Dr Daniel Donovan by the people of Skibbereen, has gone on display at Skibbereen Heritage Centre as part of its Famine exhibition.
The long-lost artefact resurfaced in Ontario, Canada, where Brenda Ratkay’s parents had received it as a wedding present.
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After looking into its origins, Ms Ratkay contacted the heritage centre last year and said she was ‘honoured to send it home’ after 88 years in her family’s possession.
‘In 2025, I reached out to the Skibbereen Heritage Centre with the wish to return this important piece of Skibbereen history to its rightful home,’ Ms Ratkay said. ‘Now the samovar is safely in Skibbereen, Ireland—home at last.’
The samovar was originally gifted to Dr Donovan by 150 Skibbereen residents who also presented him with a purse of 100 guineas, thanking him for his tireless service.
Dr Dan Donovan, known in the community as Dr Dan, was much-respected for his self sacrifice during the Famine, treating the sick and starving under extreme conditions.
His reports drew worldwide attention to the crisis, bringing much needed aid to West Cork. Dr Dan is also widely known for featuring in the bestselling novel The Hungry Road by Marita Conlon-McKenna.
The Famine exhibition also features another Famine-era artefact: a set of apothecary scales belonging to Dr Stephen Sweetnam from Schull, donated by the family of Dr Larry O’Connor.
‘The stories of the famine are very bleak and very sad. But among it, Dr Donovan and Dr Sweetham were two heroes who saved many, many lives. It’s amazing we have these artefacts to remember them, on display,’ said Minister Christopher O’Sullivan at the unveiling last week.
Dr Dan’s samovar bears the inscription, dated August 1859: ‘The service of plate to which this belongs was presented to Daniel Donovan Esq. M.D. by the inhabitants of Skibbereen and its extensive district both as a tribute to his private worth and in grateful recollection of his long and able Professional Services especially during the Calamitous Famine of 1846 7.’
