Located in Battery Park City, the Irish Hunger Memorial stands
on a half-acre site at the corner of Vesey Street and North End
Avenue. Designed by artist Brian Tolle, the memorial represents a
rural Irish landscape with an abandoned stone cottage, stone walls,
fallow potato fields and the flora of the north Connacht wetlands.
In addition to raising public awareness of the events that lead to
the Great Irish Hunger and Migration of 1845-1852, the memorial is
intended to serve as a catalyst for addressing current issues of
world hunger.
Elevated on a limestone plinth, the memorial contains stones
from each of Ireland's 32 counties. Along the base are bands of
texts separated by layers of imported Kilkenny limestone which is
more than 300 million years old and contains fossils from the
ancient Irish seabed. From the western or river end, you approach
the memorial through a formal ceremonial tunneled passageway which
ends inside a ruined fieldstone cottage that was brought to New
York from the townland of Carradoogan near Attymass, County Mayo.
It was disassembled in Ireland and rebuilt in New York in
accordance with guidelines by the Irish Historic Trust. Stroll
along the winding path up the incline where you will arrive at a
cantilevered overlook 25 feet above the pavement. This overlook
offers views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, emblems of
America’s welcome to all immigrant people. The size of the
cultivated area of the memorial, one-quarter of an acre, is
significant. In 1847, Sir William Gregory proposed an additional
clause to the Irish Poor Law stipulating that no person occupying
land of more than one-quarter acre was eligible for any relief. The
law had a devastating effect and contributed to the suffering as
many of the starving were poor and owned a half-acre, forcing them
to abandon their homes in order to obtain food. The unroofed
abandoned cottage reminds visitors of the stark choice between
survival and holding home and hearth.
The landscape conveys the sense of a rural, abandoned
countryside in the west of Ireland. It is not manicured like a park
or garden. Planted with some 62 species of Irish plants and
grasses, many grown from Irish seeds, the landscape will change
with the seasons, the years and its encounter with the local
environment.
Now for the puzzle. You can find and log this cache at
approximately the same distance from Corcaigh and An Longfort and
three times that distance from Ciarraí. Once you've picked up the
clues you'll be at GZ. You need not travel any place south of
Gaillimh.
***Please do not jump any fences as it is forbidden and there is
no need to disturb the landscape.***
So make the trip to Manhattan's Emerald Isle and visit this
beautiful memorial garden. Take in the scenery and views.
Remember to bring a pen/pencil.
2009 Nominee for Most Scenic / Best Hike