Cambridge Civil War Monument
Cambridge Common
CAMBRIDGE FAMINE
MEMORIAL @ 25
TRAVEL & CULTURE MAGAZINE
SUMMER/FALL 2022
July 23, 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the Cambridge Irish Famine Memorial, unveiled on Cambridge Common in front of 4,000 people.
Ireland’s President Mary Robinson spoke at the ceremony, equating the process of “looking back and remembering” the Irish famine with an equally passionate resolve to solve “modern famine and hunger and inequalities in our world.”
The Cambridge Irish Famine Memorial was created by Maurice Harron of Derry, Northern Ireland, who said the sculpture “is meant to convey the tragedy, two people dying, two people escaping, the fearful guilt of leaving loved ones behind, and the will to carry on.”
The Cambridge Irish Famine Memorial was the idea of John Flaherty, an immigrant from Galway who is active in the greater Boston Irish-American community. Local businessman John O’Connor funded the project, which was supported by the city’s politicians, activists, neighborhood residents and historians, including the Cambridge Historical Society.