Irish Hunger Memorial

Bronze, by Robert Shure, located at Washington & School Sts.

depicts a starving woman, looking up to the heavens as if to ask "Why?", while her children cling to her. A second sculpture shows the figures hopeful as they land in Boston.

This memorial was unveiled in June 1998 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine. The memorial includes eight narrative plaques about the Famine and two groups of figures, one deeply affected by the Famine, and the other looking healthy and well fed. Through these two opposed groups, sculptor Robert Shure has highlighted the significance of Ireland’s class structure during the Famine. Poor farmers and rural laborers were far more likely to die from hunger and disease than the urban population of white-collar workers.

Photo 482, April 2012

Irish Hunger Memorial on Washington St.

Photo 483, April 2012

Irish Hunger Memorial on Washington St.

Photo 485, April 2012

Irish Hunger Memorial on Washington St.

Photo 486, April 2012