Famine Memorial — Attraction in County Sligo

Sculptures depict the horror of Irish Famine sadness.During the Great Famine of Ireland, between 1845 and 1850, the town and county of Sligo were especially badly affected. It is estimated that more than 52,000 people from the locality either died of disease or starvation, or else emigrated during this time.

Sligo Famine Memorial

Considered the greatest Irish tragedy, the famine was caused because of the failure of the potatoe crop. At the time that was the main food of the Irish people.

Originally the famine was known as “the blackness”, “the potato blight”, “the rot” or “the distemper.”

In Sligo, the Famine Monument can be found at Sligo Harbour. In July 1997, the monument was erected in memory of the huge number of local people who either died or suffered...

Beautiful, evocative piece of art, installed near the Quayside in Sligo. It commemorates the Gorta Mór, in English the great hunger, where so many died of starvation, emigrated and struggled to make a life for themselves if they survived the coffin ships. An important reminder of that painful history for the times...

The Famine Memorial, or The Famine Family, was erected in 1997 for the 150 Anniversary. Over 30.000 people left the Sligo Harbour from 1847/51, for America and Canada. This beautiful sculpture is by...