Cottage rebuilt in New York to mark Irish famine

A ruined 19th century West of Ireland cottage rebuilt in New York has been officially opened as a memorial to the Irish potato famine.

Irish President Mary McAleese and Bob Geldof addressed the ceremony in lower Manhattan overlooking the harbour where many survivors from the disaster first arrived in the US.

‘‘We will not forget the tragedy that brought so many Irish immigrants to these shores, nor will we forget the great embrace of this wonderful country,’’ said the President.

An estimated one million people died and millions more were forced to emigrate after successive potato harvests were wiped out by a blight that triggered the 1845-52 famine.

A three-bedroom stone cottage that originally stood in Ballina, Co Mayo, was dismantled brick by brick and reconstructed in Battery Park City as the centrepiece of the Irish Hunger Memorial Park.

The €5.4m memorial also includes plantings of native Irish wildflowers, plants and grasses and stones from each of Ireland’s 32 counties.

New York Governor George Pataki, who was the driving force behind the tribute, told yesterday’s ceremony: ‘‘The memorial will serve as a reminder to millions of New Yorkers and Americans who proudly trace their heritage to Ireland of those who were forced to emigrate during one of the most heartbreaking tragedies in the history of the world.’’

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the memorial should remind people of those who are going hungry in the modern world.

‘‘By evoking the suffering of the past, long before the Celtic Tiger became the strongest economy in Europe, the memorial forces us to confront the suffering of the present.

‘‘In drought-stricken southern Africa, more than 300,000 people could die from starvation in the next half-year alone. If this memorial can inspire people to work to avert such a catastrophe, it will show how powerful art can truly become.’’

Geldof told the crowd of about 300 it is the duty of America ‘‘to reach out a hand to those who have no hands or strength to offer a hand back.’’