Lead figure in famine memorial project has Mayo roots
THE final phase of the extensive renovation of the Irish Hunger Memorial in Manhattan has been completed.
The architectural project manager for the $5.3 million renovation has strong Mayo links. Indeed, the memorial itself has a strong connection with the county – the Famine-era stone cottage at the centre of the memorial came from Attymass.
CTA Architects served as architects for the renovation, and their team was very emotionally involved with the project because of their Irish roots.
CTA Architects' project manager, Frank Scanlon, was brought up around Westport, and in Rooskey, Co. Roscommon. His mother was the late Mary Scanlon (nee Forde) from Westport, as his grandparents were Georgie and Tessie Forde.
Most of his mother's side of the family are still living between Westport and Murrisk and also near Leenane. His father is Aidan Scanlon, who retired from An Garda Síochána.
The memorial, designed by internationally renowned sculptor and public artist Brian Tolle, originally opened in 2002 and is a contemplative space devoted to honour the Great Irish Hunger and Migration of 1845-1852, while encouraging viewers to contemplate present-day hunger worldwide.
Over the years, it had succumbed to water infiltration from above and subsequent water damage.
Battery Park City Authority, CTA Architects, P.C., construction manager The LiRo Group, and contractor Nicholson & Galloway, Inc. have restored the monument to its former magnificence, while rendering it significantly less susceptible to damage from weather for years to come.
The just-completed final phase involved planting and landscaping, with vegetation native to Ireland, which had to be grown off-site. With the final plants now in place, the monument is permanently open to visitors.
Visitors wind through a rural Irish landscape, with paths carved into a hill thickly lined with native Irish plants and stones imported from each of Ireland’s 32 counties. The paths lead to a breathtaking viewing point 25 feet above street level, which boasts views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Located centrally is the stone cottage that was donated by Tolle’s extended family, the Slacks of Attymass. It was disassembled and brought over from Ireland and reconstructed on-site.