Great Hunger Memorial (Deer Island, Massachusetts)
Celtic cross
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Great Hunger Memorial is a 16-foot tall Celtic cross located on Deer Island in Boston Harbor.[1][2]
 Interactive map of Great Hunger Memorial | |
| Location | Deer Island, Massachusetts, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Type | Celtic cross |
In the late 1840s, the Boston Corporation erected a hospital on the island.[3] Irish immigrants, who arrived on coffin ships, were quarantined there.[3] The memorial commemorates the 850 people who died on the island between 1847 and 1850, as they were trying to escape the Great Irish Famine.[2] Their bodies were discovered during construction work done on the island in 1990.[4]
The memorial is the result of decades long effort of a number of local Irish-American activists.[5] Its construction was also championed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and other local officials.[2][3][6]
The memorial was the brainchild of Michael Kearney, John Flaherty, Peter O’Malley, Bernard Callaghan, and the late William and Rita O’Connell.[3][5] It was cut and engraved at a quarry in Pennsylvania.[3] It was erected with the help of Feeney Brothers of Boston and Local 25 of the Teamsters Union.[3]
The monument was dedicated on May 25, 2019, in a ceremony attended by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Cardinal Sean O’Malley. The dedication included a speech from Boston City Archivist John J. McColgan.[2]