90.1 FM San Luis Obispo | 91.7 FM Paso Robles | 91.1 FM Cayucos | 95.1 FM Lompoc | 90.9 FM Avila
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KNBX (north county KCBX) is currently off the air due to a PG&E service interruption.

Journeys of Discovery: Why no one ever died on the famine ship Jeannie Johnston

Irish Archeology
Famine ship Jeanie Johnston in Dublin, Ireland.

The famine ship Jeanie Johnston, built in 1848, made 16 trans-Atlantic passages carrying more than 2,500 passengers. The vessel is revered in the annals of the Irish Potato famine as not one life was lost throughout her career—while many famine ships lost more than 30 percent of their manifest to disease, lack of fresh water and toxic food. 

To honor the Jeannie Johnston’s illustrious career, an authentic replica was completed in Blennerville, County Kerry in 2002 following six years of labor by 300 hundred shipwrights and craftsmen. Today the Jeanie Johnston is moored at Custom House Quay on the Liffey River in downtown Dublin, Ireland. Come along onboard and join correspondent Tom Wilmer for a tour and chat with the skipper, John O’Neil.

This show was originally broadcast March 17, 2017 and is reposted as a “best-of-the-best” from Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer travel shows produced over the past 30 years.

You are invited to subscribe to the Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel show podcast, Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer, featured on the NPR Podcast DirectoryApple PodcastiHeartRadio, the NPR One App & Stitcher.com. Twitter: TomCWilmer. Instagram: Thomas.Wilmer. Member of the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Underwriting support provided by the Society of St. Vincent De Paul.

Tom Wilmer produces on-air content for Issues & Ideas airing over KCBX and is producer and host of the six-time Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR podcast Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer. Recorded live on-location across America and around the world, the podcasts feature the arts, culture, music, nature, history, science, wine & spirits, brewpubs, and the culinary arts--everything from baseball to exploring South Pacific atolls to interviewing the real Santa Claus in the Arctic.
Related Content