'Famine' (1997) was commissioned by Norma Smurfit and
presented to the City of Dublin in 1997. The sculpture is a
commemorative work dedicated to those Irish people forced to emigrate
during the 19th century Irish Famine. The bronze sculptures were
designed and crafted by Dublin sculptor Rowan Gillespie and are located
on Custom House Quay in Dublin's Docklands.
This location is a particularly appropriate and historic as one of the first voyages of the Famine period was on the 'Perserverance' which
sailed from Custom House Quay on St. Patrick's Day 1846. Captain
William Scott, a native of the Shetland Isles, was a veteran of the
Atlantic crossing, gave up his office job in New Brunswick to take the 'Perserverance' out of Dublin. He was 74 years old. The Steerage fare on the ship
was £3 and 210 passengers made the historical journey. They landed in
New York on the 18th May 1846. All passengers and crew survived the
journey.
In June 2007, a second series of famine sculptures by Rowan Gillespie,
was unveiled by President Mary McAleese on the quayside in Toronto's
Ireland Park to remember the arrival of these refugees in Canada.
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