A piece of Ireland in NYC, a photo from New York, Northeast

Photographer's Note

Last week I revisited a site that’s not very well-known, but one that’s very unique. It’s the Irish Hunger Memorial, located in the neighborhood of Battery Park City, in southern Manhattan.

The memorial was built in order to raise awareness of the great famine in Ireland between 1845 and 1852, when more than one-and-a-half million people died. It has an interesting cantilever design. You enter at street level through a dark passage, emerge into an abandoned Irish cottage, and then make your way up a winding path to a viewing platform facing the Hudson River. Statistics, quotes and poems are displayed on the outer walls and entry passage, and inside the garden are soil and native vegetation from the west coast of Ireland. Throughout the landscape there are also rocks from each of Ireland’s 32 counties. The abandoned cottage is from the 19th century, and was donated by ancestors of the Irish family that lived there.

This memorial opened on July 16, 2002, and it’s a surprising patch of greenery in the middle of huge skyscrapers. The World Trade Center is only a block away.

This first photo shows the unique design from the front. You can see the entrance, and, directly above it, the viewing platform.

In the WS are two more views.

Fis2, PaulVDV, ricardomattos, ikeharel, pajaran, jemaflor, holmertz, jhm, Royaldevon, lucasgalodoido, jean113, COSTANTINO, adramad, fotka has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fis2 (169821) 2021-09-28 13:43

Witaj Brenda!
A very curious set of photos.
Interesting place, views make impression.
Good frames and colors.
Well done.
Good presentation.
Good afternoon.
Krzysztof

PaulVDV (62804) 2021-09-28 15:29

Hello Brenda,
I missed this when I walked north from the southern tip of Manhattan along the Hudson. But I took inland a little too early to get to the One World Observatory.
Your three photos show a very remarkable memorial of a very sad period in Irish history (and for any American with Irish roots)
Truly a very special design.
A good set of three photos. In WS1, it seems as if the skyscrapers are a painting on a wall behind the memorial.
Wonderful bright pictures taken on a beautiful sunny autumn day.
Best regards, Paul

ricardomattos (17408) 2021-09-28 15:36

Hello Brenda,

Very interesting and original work of art this although it makes me sad to know that so many people starved to death in Ireland. I never knew about this event but the memorial is for this: that we never forget to help those who find themselves in difficult times. Nice pictures.

Greetings

Ricardo

ifege (47043) 2021-09-28 22:04

Hi Brenda
Now that's a spot that I missed on my stay in NY. A good photo of the unusual but interesting structure.
cheers
Ian

pajaran (114995) 2021-09-28 22:17

Pozdrav.

Lep pogled, dobar tekst ...
Lep stari spomenik, dobro pokazan sa lepim bojama i kontrastom.
Dobar rad sa lepim fotografijama u radionici.
Lep deo grada i arhitektura.

Zelim vam sve najbolje.
Paja

jemaflor (146360) 2021-09-28 23:20

Hi Brenda,
interesting to discover this particular memorial with this piece of Ireland in NYC, perfectly framed, a good photogenic angle of view, good management about contrast of ligt, good green part in the right side, interesting shot, tfs.

holmertz (102050) 2021-09-29 0:30

Hello Brenda,
I never heard of this place, so these photos are informative but above all very interesting to watch. Each one has its special advantage and each one could have been a main upload. Most of all I like the reflections on the memorial building and on surrounding buildings. The design of the entrance building is truly unique.
Kind regards,
Gert

lousat (138669) 2021-09-29 3:34

Hi Brenda,a nice surprise in the center of N.Y., very unusual to find buildings so low in this area that it is actually covered with skyscrapers. 3 beautiful photos that show this Irish memorial with many pieces of original provenance including the many indigenous rocks, very beautiful also the perspective of the dark passage in the WS. Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

jhm (211734) 2021-09-29 5:30

Hello Brenda,

This is the first time that I see this nice build subject
Thans for your interesting note, I've something learned.
An excellent picture good photographed, pleasant of colours,
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

Royaldevon (85640) 2021-09-29 5:59

Hello Brenda,

This is amazing as a piece of dramatic art and as a memorial! I cannot believe that we visited Battery Park in 2010 and never realised the significance of this!
I like all three of your photographs but this as the best! It is almost as if the earth is opening, by the fan-like structure beneath expanding!
It's a lovely composition with the inclusion of the surrounding, gradually-enlarging skyscrapers.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

Tue (91648) 2021-09-29 11:22

Hello Brenda,
I don't think we ever really noticed this memorial, even though we did visit the area. A good photo of it, taken from a good angle and in fine sunlight. The buildings add a nice backdrop as well with different colours and some nice reflections.
Lars

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2021-09-29 15:28

Olб Brenda,
bonito esse memorial, assim como a histуria que ele representa. Composiзгo primorosa como sempre. Belo trabalho.
Parabйns e Abraзo,
Lucas

jean113 (27639) 2021-09-30 9:06

Hello Brenda, a fascinating memorial, in fact the idea must be unique.
Your explanation is very clear.
It looks out of place in its surroundings yet makes a bold statement.
Thank you for sharing.
Kind regards, Jean.

GyurMaster (24672) 2021-09-30 13:09

Dear Brenda,

It is a quite unique piece of art: it strangely fits into the modern buildings. The human presence is a nice addition.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

COSTANTINO (115605) 2021-10-01 23:07

hello dear Brenda and have
a pleasant week end
your chosen title describes
what we can see here...
thanks for your useful notes
about this memorial which was
built in order to raise
awareness of the great
famine in Ireland
between 1845 and 1852
regards
costantino

adramad (72590) 2021-10-03 14:13

Hi Brenda.
Back on my trip to the Pre-Pyrenees of Huesca, again with you.

Surprising images both this main and the WS, it is a super original construction, and I certainly think that it fulfills very well the purpose of paying homage to such a terrible fact suffered by the Irish people.
I have never seen photos of this place before.
Very effective coloring, good management, both of brightness and sharpness.
Very well done. I like it.
Happy start of the week.
My best wishes for you.
Luis

fotka (8907) 2021-10-25 5:50

Hello Brenda,
The unique architectural style of the Irish Hunger Memorial, surrounded by modern skyscrapers, looks great.
New York has a lot of Irish immigrants so this is the right city for this kind of memorial.
Great pov as well as colors, light and sharpness.
Best regards,
Zbigniew

mkamionka (73470) 2021-10-31 14:54

Hi Brenda,
This is again a completely unknown spot for me. I admire US for managing being friendly for both those who suffered the famine and those who caused it. It is so difficult to find a balance in politics.
Very interesting subject. I lived in Ireland for five years. The popele are so kind there but also the land is beautiful.
M

emka (157280) 2021-12-08 15:43

Hello Brenda, I was in a Battery park, but I didn't know about this memorial. I have seen somewhere the Irish Famine Memorial but I can't remember where it could be. Maybe Dublin? What a tragedy of the country, caused by potato blight. Interesting monument.
Best regards Malgo

jmdias (114340) 2021-12-18 10:01

brenda

really a curious and unusual monument, so linked with NYC that received so many irish people after that disaster. curious the contrast of the stones and the modern shapes of architecture. a surprising view. TFS this.

take care

jorge