History of the Rhode Island Irish Famine Memorial

During the Autumn of 1995, one hundred and fifty years after the start of the Great Famine, a memorial Mass was held at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul to remember the one million Irish who died during the Famine. The mass was organized by Anne Burns. Over one thousand people attended the event, and it led to the creation of the Rhode Island Irish Famine Committee.[1] The committee was founded in May 1997, and was incorporated as a tax-exempt charitable and educational organization “with the sole purpose of commissioning, creating endowing and maintaining a permanent, tasteful monument to commemorate the one million victims of Ireland's Great Famine of 1845-1851” as described on the Rhode Island Famine Memorial website.[2] The Committee includes the following Rhode Island organizations: Irish Ceilidh Club of R.I., R.I. Police Officers Emerald Society, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Ancient Order of Hibernians Ladies Division, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Labor History Society of Rhode Island, The Museum of Newport Irish History, Irish-American Coastal Club, Irish Cultural Association of R.I., Irish Northern Aid of Rhode Island, Ireland’s 32 Society, R.I. Irish Historical-Genealogical Society.[3]

The committee determined that they were in need of half of million dollars for the memorial, which took twelve years to raise. The project was led by Raymond McKenna, a school teacher from Warwick. The committee also included vice president Pauline Grant, recording secretary Claire Barrett, corresponding secretary Catherine Miller (who succeeded the late Anne Burns), treasurer John F. O’Gara, finance director Thomas P. Gill, fundraising chairman Michael P. Doran, monument design chairman Dr. Donald Deignan, education coordinator Dr. Scott Malloy, and the group’s chaplain, Father Dan Trainor.[4] The committee then selected Robert Shure as the sculptor out of thirty submitted proposals.[5]

The purpose of the memorial was to pay tribute to the one and half million Irish people who left Ireland during the Great Famine and to give recognition to the Famine survivors. The committee asked three requests of Shure in the designing of the memorial. First, they asked for a literal depiction in the sculpturing of the Irish people during the Famine. They hoped that visitors would understand and feel on an emotional level the suffering and death caused by the starvation and disease of the Great Famine. Second, they requested that Shure find a way to honor the financial contributors so that they may have a permanent part in it. Last, they insisted that there be a strong historical narrative component to the memorial so that all visitors, from various ethnic, cultural, and education backgrounds can leave the memorial with a greater understanding of the Great Famine and lasting effects on Irish people.[6]

[1] Patrick Conley. “Rhode Island’s Famine Memorial: A Tribute to the Survivors.” Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame, http://riheritagehalloffame.com/rhode-islands-irish-famine-memorial-a-tribute-to-the-survivors/.

[2] “R. I. Irish Famine Memorial .” R. I. Irish Famine Memorial , https://rifaminememorial.com.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Conley. “Rhode Island’s Famine Memorial: A Tribute to the Survivors.”

[5] "ON THE TOWN WITH THE BIR." The Boston Irish Reporter, 01, 2008, pp. 3. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/on-town-with-bir/docview/367416303/se-2.

[6] “R. I. Irish Famine Memorial .”