Outdoor Concerts at the Irish Famine
Memorial Site
Saturday, September 20, 2008 during
Waterfire
Free concert of traditional Irish
music with Mance Grady and friends.
Sunday, September 21, 2008 4-6 PM
Free concert of traditional Irish music with Finton Stanley sponsored by
Ireland's 32 Society.
The
Memorial
RHODE ISLAND'S
PERMANENT MEMORIAL TO THE TWO
AND ONE-HALF MILLION VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS OF IRELAND'S "GREAT FAMINE"
OF 1845-1851 IS was
dedicated on Saturday, November 17, 2007! Photographs of
the site are posted on the Dedication page.
A beautiful down-city site along the Providence River Walk was
selected as the location for the
Rhode Island Famine Memorial, which
was designed and executed by the
internationally acclaimed sculptor, Robert Shure. It serves as a
forceful and moving tribute to the sufferings and triumphs of those who
came before us. It also preserves the memory and the
historical meaning of the great Famine for future generations of Rhode
Islanders of whatever ethnic or cultural background.
Mr. Shure
painstakingly crafted the sculpture models over the course of one
year. Below are photos of Mr. Shure with this work
of art
in its first (clay) stage, as it was prepared to be sent to the foundry
for final casting in bronze.
Mr. Shure also sculpted the model for the memorial wall that will
tell the Irish immigration story in images and narrative text.
Below is the clay model for the center portion of the wall.
You can play a continuing part in Rhode
Island's Irish-American history
and future. Further information about purchasing a commemorative
brick or flagstone, or by making a larger, tax-deductible
donation. Although the Memorial has been dedicated, funds are
still being raised to ensure perpetual care, as well as to fund annual
events.
It should be noted that we
continue as a member organization of the Heritage
Harbor Museum and
will be involved in the creation of indoor exhibits as that project
reaches fruition.
The Memorial
- A Description
The Irish Memorial will occupy a
prominent location along the newly restored waterfront at River Walk in
Providence. A
larger-than-life statue of
three Irish figures will sit on a round stone base, bordered by a
walkway that incorporates the donor-bricks
and flagstones. The walkway will lead
to a commemorative wall that will
narrate the history of the Famine
amid the Irish immigration. The sidewalk beneath the wall will
incorporate an outline map depicting the coasts of America and Ireland,
emphasizing the courageous
journey
of the Irish people to the United States. Donor-bricks and
flagstones will create an outer semi-circle framing the maps.
This original plan has been adapted as described on the
Site Plan page.
The three sculpted figures in the Rhode
Island
Irish Famine Memorial will symbolically commemorate the suffering of
the
Irish people during the Great Hunger of 1845 to 1851. The sculpture
will
uniquely combine the despair of the past with an enduring sense of
optimism
that reflects the strength of our ancestors’ immigration and the joy of
our achievements here in America. The printed history of the Famine, on the
third side of the triangle, will feature vignettes of Irish life at the
time of the Hunger. You will be able to trace the immigrants’ escape to
the new world on horrendous "coffin ships." You will visualize their
struggle
in the American urban crucible as our forebears overcome all adversity
to build and shape our new home. You and our many successes as
Irish-Americans
will be the crowning end to the noble story. Our memorial will remain
an enduring symbol to the tragedy and triumph
of victims, survivors, and descendants of the Irish Famine.
