The atmosphere at the Barras Art and Design Centre was electric last night as hundreds came along to see the unveiling of the final design for Glasgow’s first Great Hunger Memorial.
John McCarron, from Buncrana, Donegal was announced as the winning submission beating a competitive field of entrants.
His design called ‘The Silent Tower’ depicts three thin, gaunt, emaciated semi-abstract figures representing those forced to leave Ireland, sitting on a three-metre-high steel plinth with engravings of a verse from the poem The Stricken Land and the words An Gorta Mór written on it.
The design inspired both the Committee and the multi-generational Irish community of Glasgow, who took part in the public consultation last month and came again in large numbers to hear the winner announced.
The memorial was commissioned to commemorate the millions who died of starvation or were forced to flee the effects the Great Hunger from 1845-52. Hundreds of thousands of those displaced immigrated to Glasgow, making the city what it is today.
Jeanette Findlay, chair of CCAGM, said, ‘This has been a long journey having started this project in 2015. Tonight, is an important milestone for the project and for Glasgow.’
She added, ‘People had to emigrate or starve to death because of the British-engineered programme of starvation and eviction of the Irish people; hundreds of thousands came to Glasgow. It is only right their legacy and struggle are commemorated by their descendants in a permanent and fitting way.’
John McCarron, was delighted when he heard the news his submission was successful.
The talented and graceful artist said, ‘The work submitted by my fellow artists was excellent, I felt honoured to have been part of the process and overwhelmed that my design has been picked. A memorial to a terrible event is worthy of a powerful statement.’
The event was also an opportunity to add to the fundraising efforts with a raffle for the team shirt worn by Dublin’s own Jonny Hayes on National Famine Memorial Day in 2017 and live music by Boolavogue of the song specially written for the project by Kevin Smith, entitled, ‘We are Building it’.
Joining the committee were special guests; Irish Consul General in Scotland, Mark Hanniffy; the Chief Executive of Celtic PLC, Peter Lawwell and the Head of Sculpture and Environmental Art at the Glasgow School of Art, Paul Cosgrove who has offered his expertise to the committee throughout all the stages of the design competition. Archbishop Tartaglia was unable to join us as he was in Westminster at an event celebrating one hundred years of Catholic education in Scotland. However, he sent his best wishes and looks forward to seeing the monument in due course.
If you’d like to read more or donate to the Memorial to An Gorta Mór please visit: https://angortamorglasgow.com/
Background
The Coiste Cuimhneachaín An Gorta Mór (Great Hunger Memorial Committee) was formed in 2015 with the aim of building a fitting and permanent memorial to those who died and fled Ireland during An Gorta Mór.
Cautious estimates reveal that more than one million died and a further one million fled starvation in Ireland during the years of 1845-1852, a quarter of the country’s population which sat at 8 million at that time. The population of Ireland has never recovered.
Hundreds of thousands of those displaced came to Glasgow.
The memorial will be built at St Mary’s Church, Calton a fitting part of city where many Irish settled.
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