Irish Hunger Memorial

Standing facing west on the corner of North End Ave. & Vesey Street in Lower Manhattan's Financial District, the viewer observes a rather ordinary park of green grass and vegetation. A seemingly unkempt tangled mass of vines creeps over boulders and stones as New Yorkers strike past. Not far from this very spot is the new One World Trade Center and the 911 Memorial, yet few venture the additional 3 blocks to the radically designed Irish Hunger Memorial.

View from the opposite side

The memorial is dedicated to the Irish and the 'Great Famine' that killed over a million people between 1845 and 1852. During the same period, over a million Irish emigrated to various countries including America in the New World. By 1850, the populations of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore were nearly a quarter Irish. The landscape architect, Gail Wittwer-Laird, and artist, Brian Tolle, collaborated on the elevated half acre design to raise awareness of the Great Irish Famine and hunger worldwide. Walking the perimeter for an extraordinary experience of art, activism and landscape design.

 Standing on Irish soil.

Construction of the site began in March of 2001. The soil, stones, and vegetation all hail from Ireland, with stones from each of the 32 counties. The lush landscape is reminiscent of overgrown ruins in an abandoned garden. The design appears precariously balanced, both striking and troubling. The base of the elevated platform is Kilkenny limestone and is separated with bands of text about world hunger. The Irish Hunger Memorial was dedicated on July 16, 2002.

A Quote by Pope Pius IX. I learned that during the potato famine, Ireland was exporting corn and other viable crops while the people starved.

The Irish Hunger Memorial is open to the public year round. If you are visiting the 911 Memorial, walk the extra 3 blocks to experience a little slice of Ireland in America. For more information, click here.

If you want to learn more about the 911 Memorial, read our blog post here.

headline photograph by, By Catson - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34840477