The Great Hunger Memorial was unveiled on June 24, 2001 at V.E. Macy Park in Ardsley to commemorate the suffering of millions of Irish peasants who died from the potato famine or were forced to leave their country.
The monument’s sculptor, Eamonn O’Doherty of Ireland, describes the memorial as comprising three related elements.
- The first represents five members of an Irish family group.
- The second element depicts the deserted shell of the homestead they were forced to leave.
- The third element refers to the potato blight and consists of an overturned basket from which potatoes, as they spill onto the ground, metamorphose into skulls.
After its dedication in June 2001 the monument received widespread critical praise and won several awards, including American Institute of Architects’ community recognition as Most Outstanding Work of Public Art.