The grassy slope and stone walls of the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park City

Tunnel, bridge & industryManhattan

Irish Hunger Memorial, a Hidden Irish Field in Battery Park City

The Irish Hunger Memorial is a half-acre park at Vesey Street and North End Avenue in Battery Park City, Lower Manhattan. Dedicated in 2002, it honors the victims of the Great Irish Hunger (An Gorta Mór) with a landscape of Irish stones, soil and plants, and a real cottage from County Mayo. It is a quiet, little-known detour from the busy Financial District.

In the shadow of One World Trade Center stands a bit of the west of Ireland: a grassy hillside with stones from every Irish county and a real famine-era cottage brought over from County Mayo.

WhereManhattan, Battery Park City, at Vesey Street and North End Avenue

TypeMemorial park and landscape artwork

Best forIrish and immigration history, quiet reflection, a different view near the World Trade Center

Getting thereA public park in Lower Manhattan, close to the World Trade Center area; check the current opening hours and access rules before you go

The history of the Irish Hunger Memorial

The memorial remembers the Great Irish Hunger, known in Irish as An Gorta Mór, in which more than one million people starved to death between 1845 and 1852. Many survivors emigrated, and New York was one of their main destinations. In the decade after 1845 more than 900,000 Irish emigrants entered the port of New York, so that by 1855 Irish-born New Yorkers made up almost one third of the city’s population. The memorial links that history to the city where so many of them arrived.

Construction began in March 2001. Then came the attacks of September 11 on the nearby World Trade Center, which affected the surrounding areas too, but the project went on and was completed. The memorial was dedicated on 16 July 2002. It was designed collaboratively by the artist Brian Tolle, the landscape architect Gail Wittwer-Laird and the architecture firm 1100 Architect.

The result is a landscape work rather than a traditional monument. The park is built with stones, soil and native vegetation shipped from the west coast of Ireland, and it includes stones from every Irish county. At its heart stands an authentic Irish cottage from the 19th century, from Carradoogan in the parish of Attymass, County Mayo. The family that owned it left it deserted in the 1960s and later donated it to the memorial, in memory of relatives who emigrated to America and did well there.

In August 2016 the memorial was closed temporarily for waterproofing work. It reopened in August 2017.

Little-known facts about the Irish Hunger Memorial

Its Irish name is Cuimhneachán Ghorta Mhóir na hÉireann.
The stones come from every Irish county, and the soil and plants were also brought from the west coast of Ireland.
The cottage is real: it stood in Carradoogan, County Mayo, and was left empty in the 1960s before it was donated to the memorial.
The whole park covers only about half an acre, yet it is built as a rising hillside that stands out among the nearby towers.
Construction started in March 2001 and finished after the September 11 attacks, with the dedication on 16 July 2002.
It was closed from August 2016 for waterproofing and reopened in August 2017.

Tours near Irish Hunger Memorial

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

How Money Was Made Wall Street Walking Tour

★ 4.9 (214 reviews) · 2 h

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Wall Street Insider Tour with a Finance Professional

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Manhattan Group Tour Including Wall Street and 911 Memorial

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Guided Bike & E-Bike Tour of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge

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Visiting the Irish Hunger Memorial

The memorial is a public park in Battery Park City, at the corner of Vesey Street and North End Avenue, near One World Trade Center.
Winding concrete paths lead up the green hill, and photographs show them as accessible. At the top you can see the cottage ruins and the landscape of stones and plants.
Check the current opening hours and access rules before you go, since the sources give none and the memorial has been closed for works in the past.
This is a memorial to a famine in which many people died, so quiet and respectful behavior is appropriate.
The surrounding area, with Battery Park City and the World Trade Center site, makes it easy to combine with other places in Lower Manhattan.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where Irish Hunger Memorial is

Photos of Irish Hunger Memorial

200 West Street and One World Trade Center seen from Vesey Street near the memorial

Accessible concrete paths winding up the green hill of the Irish Hunger Memorial

View across the Irish Hunger Memorial landscape in Battery Park City

Questions

Where is the Irish Hunger Memorial?

It is in Battery Park City, Lower Manhattan, at the corner of Vesey Street and North End Avenue, close to the World Trade Center area.

What is the Irish Hunger Memorial?

It is a half-acre memorial park dedicated in 2002 to the Great Irish Hunger (An Gorta Mór), made with stones, soil and plants from Ireland and a real 19th-century cottage.

Is the cottage at the Irish Hunger Memorial real?

Yes. It is an authentic 19th-century cottage from Carradoogan in County Mayo, left empty in the 1960s and donated to the memorial.

Who designed the Irish Hunger Memorial?

The artist Brian Tolle, the landscape architect Gail Wittwer-Laird and the architecture firm 1100 Architect designed it together.

Can you visit the Irish Hunger Memorial?

Yes, it is a public park in Lower Manhattan. Check the current opening hours and access rules before you go, because it was closed for waterproofing from 2016 to 2017.

Why does New York have a memorial to the Irish famine?

Because so many Irish emigrants arrived in New York after 1845: more than 900,000 entered the port in a decade, and by 1855 Irish-born New Yorkers were almost a third of the city’s population.