Located in Battery Park City, The Irish Hunger Memorial was designed to bring awareness to the Irish Potato Famine from 1845-1852 that killed over a million people in Ireland. The usage of soil, plants and abandoned cottage brought from Ireland serves as a reminder of Ireland for those that left during that time.
“The landscape is very similar to Ireland’s and the fields are barren as they were during the famine. However, even with such a fantastic and authentic landscape, I thought the most powerful part of the experience was the quotes that wrapped around the base of the structure before you enter.” -Anthony Cacchione
“Striding nearer every day, Like a wolf in search of prey, Comes the Famine on his way.”
Heremon, “The Famine,” 7 March 1846
“We ask does her Majesty ever read a newspaper? Does she ever cast her eye over the London Times, where the dying groans of the Irish are ridiculed, and the wail of the starving infant is laughed to scorn?”
John B. Knox. ed. Clare Journal. 25 February 1847
“They are dying as numerous as bees on a harvest day, burying them in their own clothes, without a coffin or any other thing requisite for them to defray their funeral charges.”
Belmullet, Co. Mayo. Letter to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. 1847
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