Famine Memorial – A Haunting Reminder: Westport, Co Mayo

This stirring piece of sculpture by John Behan is called ‘coffin ship’, and it looks, from afar, like a bronze sculpture of one of the many tall ships that took the Irish from their homeland to the New World during the time of the Great Famine.

However, as you get closer, it may chill you to realize that the many figures on the boat are actually flowing skeletons – representative of the thousands and thousands that perished on ships stuffed with passengers, in horrible conditions. Yet, they went – because the conditions back in Ireland were worse.

It is a very sobering piece of art. I believe it is made more so by the fact it is in a lovely park, with a beautiful view of the bay. It makes the horror that much more intense.

Please, make some time to stop here while near Westport. Remember those who passed away to try to make a better life for themselves, their descendents, and their people.

The memorial is about 5 km from Westport, towards Croagh Patrick. Indeed, you can see the mountain behind it in many pictures.

• HMdb: National Famine Memorial

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Written by Christy Nicholas

Christy is an artist, accountant and traveler with a love for Ireland and hopes to move there someday. A variety of her artwork and travel reports are available at www.greendragonartist.com. Christy’s Tips | Website