Irish Hunger Memorial

If you are a local, a tourist, on a lunch break, or a lover of history... I highly suggest visiting this unique memorial of an Irish tragedy. A human tragedy to be exact; one that destroyed the lives of millions and changed the lives of other millions. The Irish Hunger Memorial is powerful, beautifully maintained, simplistically harrowing, and yet reminds us of the cynical nature of life. I suggest for everyone to make a visit to this splendid gem !!!

This monument reminds us of what many in Ireland consider to have been a natural catastrophe which if not engineered, was at least used by London for political reasons as London essentially sat and watched 1 million people die of hunger in the late 1840's. No help was received, no pity was given.... This is one of the great massacres of the 19th century and yet, so much silence over it. The monument gives a good image of the desolation which existed in Ireland from 1845 to 1849, the contrast with the wealthy and fancy surroundings adds to the starkness of it all.

I've come here many times. I often stand along the eastern base of the fence and close my eyes for a moment. Opening them you can easily be transported to a hilly heath in Ireland. Despite my surname, much of my genetic makeup is Irish, though they came over before the famine. While at least one reviewer seems to have missed the entire wall of quotes and statistics along the monument's sides, they are nonetheless there as are audio recordings of readings and poems as you enter the hallway entrance. It is a beautiful site no matter the time of year.

Powerful memorial that highlights the struggles of Irish immigrants who left a Ireland in search of a better life in America. Built from resources taken from the west of Ireland the memorial is a perfect representation of rural Ireland and contains stones representing each of the 32 counties. The memorial also offers great views of New Jersey and World Trade Center.

I have lived in this area since 2015, but only discovered this memorial accidentally on a recent visit for a show at Tribeca Performing Arts Center. My husband and I had arrived to the area early, so we decided to just walk around and explore. Both of us being of some Irish descent, we were very interested in taking this in! I actually think I would like to return and spend more time reading all there is to read on the walls! When we were there, it was the end of March. It was hard to tell if the vegetation on the hill leading to the top of the memorial was meant to look sort of poorly managed or if it was a transitional time of the year. I would be interested to go back when things are in full bloom and see if there has been any change there. It looked like a good space to have a lovely garden, but that was not the case at the time. Being that it is an Irish hunger memorial, I thought there was a possibility that appearance was intentional.