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All the United States New York State New York City Manhattan Irish Hunger Memorial

Irish Hunger Memorial

Blighted Irish field and the ruins of a 19th-century cottage on the edge of urban Manhattan.

New York, New York

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Allison Meier
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Irish Hunger Memorial.   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
The Hunger Memorial, with One World Trade Center rising behind it   David Plotz
Irish Hunger Memorial.   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
Irish Hunger Memorial.   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
Irish Hunger Memorial.   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
Located in Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan, the Irish Hunger Memorial venerates victims of the Great Potato Famine, and all instances of hunger crises worldwide. Built using stones from each county in Ireland, the memorial also serves as a replica of Irish living–no property owner with a plot larger than the memorial itself (1/4 of an acre) was allowed relief under the Irish Poor Law of 1847.   Nick Coleman
The Hunger Memorial in late summer   David Plotz
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
Looking toward the river   David Plotz
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About

Between the steel and glass skyscrapers of the financial district and the Hudson River is an oddly rural sight: a fallow potato field and the ruins of a 19th-century cottage.

A winding path is lined with blackthorn, foxglove, and ling heather, marked with 32 rocks each engraved with the name of an Irish county. The quarter-acre of Ireland on the edge of Manhattan is a memorial to the over one million Irish who died during the Great Famine of the 1840s, as well as those who continue to suffer from hunger.

Designed by artist Brian Tolle, the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park incorporates a Famine-era stone cottage brought over from County Mayo, Ireland, and reconstructed as the heart of the monument. Visitors can enter directly from the street up a path through the suspended field, or through a tunnel lined with granite and words behind glass remembering worldwide hunger crises, while a ghostly recording plays voices recounting famine.

Room has been left for more words to mark new hunger crises. From the top of the field at 25 feet in the air, there is a view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the first stop for many of the over two million Irish immigrants to the United States.

No explanatory text can be found at the Irish Hunger Memorial. Instead, visitors are left to create their own narrative, deciphering meaning in the unexpectedly tranquil and solemn space.

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Monuments Memorials Architectural Oddities Architecture

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Allison

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Facebook672800102, davidplotz, SEANETTA, cait7911...

  • Facebook672800102
  • davidplotz
  • SEANETTA
  • cait7911
  • MtnLady

Published

March 15, 2013

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Sources
  • Architectural Record: Project Portfolio: http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0307Hunger-2.asp
  • New York: Irish Hunger Memorial: http://nymag.com/listings/attraction/irish_hunger_memorial/
  • Gothamist: Irish Hunger Memorial In Battery Park City: http://gothamist.com/2011/03/17/video_irish_hunger_memorial_in_batt.php
Irish Hunger Memorial
290 Vesey St.
New York, New York, 10281
United States
40.714461, -74.015496
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