Located in Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery is an Irish-American memorial dedicated to the Potato Famine of 1845-1851. The memorial is comprised of a sandstone cross sculpted in three parts and is a replica based off the
Cross of the Scriptures) in memory of the most miserable of times in Ireland: An Gorta Mor, the Great Famine. More than 1 million Irish starved during the 1845-51 potato blight and political debacle and 1.3 million more fled, mostly to the United States.
The Oregonian newspaper did an online article on the memorial ceremony that took place when this cross was officially unveiled to the public. You may read it here. Parts of this article regarding the stone cross read:
The crowd "awwwed" at the 14-foot Celtic cross, modeled on The Cross of the Scriptures, the iconic "sermon in stone" at Clonmacnoise that typifies Ireland's golden age. Archbishop John G. Vlazny, celebrating his 25th anniversary as a bishop this weekend, performed the blessing.
O'Longaigh spent 10 years working for a memorial and settled on a Celtic cross as the symbol "of hope, and of glory."
Irish natives O'Longaigh, Peter Cullen and Gerard McAleese worked closely with Portlander Brian Doherty on the project. The Hibernians raised $125,000, not including all the donated land and site preparation and finish work.
Irish sculptor Brendan McGloin, 39, spent 2 1/2 years carving the three-piece project in Donegal. When he arrived at the ceremony in a dapper, but wholly inadequate pinstripe suit, Patty Campbell of Beaverton whipped off her Gore-Tex jacket and covered him. |
Facts on this memorial cross:
Oregon Irish Famine Memorial
Modeled on: The Cross of the Scriptures at Clonmacnoise, County Offaly
Sculptor: Brendan McGloin
Size: 7 tons, 14 feet tall
Materials: Sandstone, Irish limestone base, concrete foundation
Foundation: The concrete holds a stone from the Hill of Tara, seat of the historic High Kings of Ireland, to commemorate the past; a euro for the present; and a stone from County Mayo on April 10, the day the Good Friday Peace Agreement was signed in 1998, represents Ireland's future.