What can I see at the Irish Hunger Memorial in New York?
A half acre of Ireland lifted 25 feet above the street. The memorial, designed by the artist Brian Tolle and dedicated on 16 July 2002, stands at Vesey Street and North End Avenue in Battery Park City, looking over the Hudson towards the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. You climb through a reconstructed rural landscape built with stones brought from all 32 counties of Ireland, each stone marked with its county. At the centre stands an authentic Famine era cottage from Attymass, County Mayo, dismantled in Ireland and rebuilt here. Text around the base deals with the Great Famine of 1845 to 1852 and with hunger in the world now. It is free, open air, and takes about half an hour. Go on a clear day, when the harbour view does half the work.
Useful pages: Irish in USA · The Irish surnames map · Trace your Irish roots · Coming home · Irish around the world
Sources
- Battery Park City Authority: the Irish Hunger Memorial, bpca.ny.gov
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