In the mid-19th century, a large percent of the Irish population were impoverished and over 60% were reliant on agriculture for their merger incomes. The primary crop was potatoes. So when late or potato blight occurred in 1845, the disease had devastating effects. Over one million people died through 1845 during the Great Famine. Another million emigrated. Many stumbled towards ships docked along Custom House Quay. These bronze sculptures, created by Rowan Gillespie in 1997, memorializes this horrendous period.
