Examining the connection between the Irish Famine and the 9/11 tragedy

Rocks from Mayo, accounted for in the chaos following 9/11, lie at the core of a Famine memorial in New York, just a stone’s throw from Ground Zero, says Bette Browne.

AMONG the crowds paying homage today at New York’s September 11 memorial, some will likely pause nearby at a roofless cottage marking the Irish Famine and recall the poignant link between both memorials.

Work on the Irish Hunger Memorial, built with stones from Co Mayo, began around the corner from the World Trade Center in March 2001, after the go-ahead from then New York governor George Pataki, and was half completed six months later when terror struck.