[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 17, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E451]]



                      BOSTON IRISH FAMINE MEMORIAL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 17, 1999

  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, it is fitting that on the feast on St. 
Patrick I rise to pay tribute to the Irish community of Boston and 
Massachusetts for building a poignant memorial to commemorate the 150th 
anniversary of the Irish Famine. The Boston Irish Famine Memorial sits 
at the corner of Washington and School Streets, near Downtown Crossing, 
just a few blocks from where Famine Irish refugees originally settled 
in the 1840s. The memorial's place along the city's Freedom trail 
serves as a constant reminder of what the Irish and others sought when 
they braved oceans and continents to reach the United States of 
America.
  Ireland's Famine, which lasted from 1845 to 1849, drove over 100,000 
Irish refugees to the shores of Boston, where they arrived 
impoverished, sick, and traumatized by one of the great catastrophes of 
the 19th Century. Their rise from famine to fame is one of the great 
American success stories.
  The Boston Irish Famine Memorial committee was headed by Thomas J. 
Flatley, an Irish immigrant who came to this country in 1950 from 
County Mayo. Mr. Flatley's reputation as a generous contributor to and 
tireless advocate of Irish and religious causes is well know in 
Massachusetts. He and his committee were able to draw upon hundreds of 
friends from the greater Boston community to raise one million dollars 
to build the park. Donations came from individuals and large 
corporations alike, and ranged from $5,000 to $50,000.
  The committee was comprised of leading members of greater Boston's 
Irish community, and included college presidents and bank presidents, 
professors and writers, musicians and artists, and representatives of 
the major Irish Organizations throughout the state.
  Massachusetts artist Robert Shure designed the Memorial, which 
features twin bronze statues depicting the odyssey of the Irish 
immigrant from tragedy to triumph. Mr. Shure is a well-regarded artist 
whose works include the bust of George Washington at the Washington 
Memorial in Washington, as well as the Korean War Memorial in the 
Charleston Navy Yard, Boston.
  The unveiling of the Boston Irish Famine Memorial last June 28 
attracted over 7,000 people, and included Ireland's Minister of State 
Seamus Brennan, Ireland's Ambassador to the United States Sean O 
Huiginn, Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci and Boston Mayor Thomas 
Menino. Bernard Cardinal Law, head of Boston's Catholic Archdiocese, 
blessed the memorial. Also present that day were the ordinary people of 
Boston's neighborhoods--South Boston, Charlestown, Dorchester, 
Brighton--many of them descendants of the Famine generation. For the, 
it was a day of remembrance and redemption.
  It is worth noting that the committee invited representatives from 
the African, Asian, and Jewish communities to participate in the 
ceremonies. The Irish Memorial is more than the story of the Irish 
succeeding in the United States, it is a parable of becoming American. 
Since the unveiling, thousands of people from all walks of life have 
visited the Memorial, to reflect upon the story it represents. Last 
October Ireland's President Mary McAleese visited the site while in 
Boston.
  The committee's success in building this memorial park in just over 
two years will soon be matched by the second phase of its humane and 
practical mission. It is currently working to establish an Irish Famine 
Institute in Boston to raise relief funds for people in countries still 
afflicted by famine around the world today. The Institute will also 
seek to honor missionaries and health care workers toiling in famine 
countries in the spirit of the late Mother Theresa.
  ``The Irish love to help others in need,'' Flatley says. ``We want 
the Institute to serve as a beacon of hope for those people still 
suffering from hunger and disease a full century and a half after 
Ireland's Great Huger occurred. The Institute will give to others what 
the Irish themselves sought when they came to Boston--compassion and a 
helping hand''
  These words underscore the spirit of the Irish community of 
Massachusetts and indeed Irish people everywhere. I offer my heartfelt 
thanks and congratulations to the Boston Irish Famine Memorial 
committee for this tremendous undertaking.

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