February 24th BLOG Update: Oregon's Irish Famine Memorial Foundation Complete
Sam Adams
2-24-06 Update: The memorial's cement foundation and pad have been poured thanks to the Walsh
Construction Co.
Surrounded by soggy, green hills and shrouded in fog, it was a perfectly
y Irish morning for us to break ground on Oregon's Irish Famine Memorial.
Victor General Father Dennis O'Donovan along with Father Joseph Brown blessed the gathering.
Tim Birr played the bagpipes.
City Commissioner Randy Leonard and I said a few words of encouragement.
Bill Borns, Paul Carr, Denny Codd, Peter Cullen, Brian Douherty, Chuck Duffy, Dick Feeney, Bill 
Gallagher, Dan Holden, Sam Keitor, Tom Kurran, Gerard McAleese, Tom Marcraft, Roger Martin, Bill Meulemans, James Meyer, David O'Longaigh, Howie Petsker, Mary Ryan, Fred Ryan and Bob Walsh then started digging the square hole for the base of the memorial.
The purpose of the Memorial is to promote awareness and understanding of the Irish Potato Famine,
a devastating catastrophe that struck Ireland from 1845-1851. With the loss of its potato crop for five successive years, Ireland's rural population was driven to near extinction. One million died, while two million emigrated to save themselves from a similar fate. Most of those emigrants came to America.
A great many Famine Irish traveled the Oregon Trail to Portland, or sailed by ship around the Horn. Census records show that between 1850 and 1880, the Irish were Portland's largest foreign born group, comprising almost ten percent of the City's population.
Fr. James Croke, a priest from Co. Cork, Ireland, built Portland's first Catholic Church, St. Mary's of the Immaculate Conception, in 1851. Stephen McCormick, a native of Dublin, became the first foreign-born Mayor of Portland in 1859.
A 5-ton sculpture measuring 13 feet high is being shipped from Donegal to Portland where it will be erected as an Irish Famine Memorial at Portland's Mount Calvary cemetery. It is being paid for with private contributions.
These were my prepared remarks:
As a descendant of the famine's survivors and as a proud citizen of both the United States and Ireland, I am honored to be here this morning to participate in the ground breaking.
This Irish Famine Memorial will be fitting tribute to the one million Irish who died
during the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, many deaths that could have and should have been prevented.
My comments are made in memory of my Irish grandfather Francis Gibbons, who was born in Galway.
It is impossible for us to truly imagine the hell that was the Irish famine. 
We can get a glimpse, though, with the words of Captain Wynne, an Inspecting Officer for West Clare County who wrote in 1846:
"I ventured through that parish this day, to ascertain the condition of the inhabitants…the women and
little children, crowds of whom were to be seen scattered over the turnip fields, like a flock of famished crows…shivering in the snow and sleet, uttering exclamations of despair, whilst their children were screaming with hunger…this I cannot stand."
Out of respect for the adversity of his forbearers, Grandpa Gibbons never permitted turnips in his house. 
Oregon has one of the highest rate of hunger in the nation. So, it is especially fitting at this place that we build a memorial to the famine:
- let this marker be a memorial of those lost in Ireland; and,
- let also it serve as a prompt to reach out to those that need our help today.
Thanks to you all for helping make this happen.
Please help support the Irish Famine Memorial in Oregon project.
Posted by Sam Adams on February 24, 2006
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Comments by site visitors
Sam, thank you for being with us on Saturday and for your comments then and today on your website. It's been said that "...the Famine was an exodus...A wound that would not clot."
As a result it changed forever the face of Ireland as well as that of the United Staes, where many of the exiles fled.
Posted by: Dick Feeney | Jan 23, 2006 8:06:21 PM
Commissioner: I understand that you are currently working on a plan to improve traffic patterns around Vancouver. Rather than making a plan to widen the freeway, please consider incorporating an extension of the MAX to Vancouver. This will not only cut down on traffic, but will encourage less use of fossil fuels.
Thank you.
Posted by: Sally Moyce | Jan 24, 2006 12:29:26 PM
Sam,
We sincerely appreciate you and Randy, attending our groundbreaking, and your comments.
It was a grand day. There's something about Irish guys, shovels and ditches...it's all very genetic!
Keep up the good work, despite the inevitable criticism that comes with the territory.
Chuck
Posted by: Chuck Duffy | Jan 24, 2006 2:00:38 PM
Thank you Sam for lending your support and attendance to our work party. It was rewarding to get caught up in the digging which I'm sure so many of our ancestors did only looking for something to eat.
We are all looking forward to the arrival of our monument.
Posted by: Thomas Curran | Jan 24, 2006 3:22:04 PM
What an incredable experiece to be part of Portland/Irish history this Monument will be a part of our lives and our childrens lives for 100s of years .It is the speed of our fearlous leader that has put a liitle piece of Ireland in Portland
Posted by: Barry Glass | Jan 24, 2006 6:24:28 PM
Sharing in the "great dig" of the foundation of the Irish Famine Memorial last Saturday was a great Irish experience. As a native Irishman from Cork it brought back memories to me of my visits to my father's farm in County Wexford and getting out there and doing some real work - saving the hay, thinning the vegetables, etc. and of course enjoying a hearty lunch brought out to the fields by my Aunt Brigid - Kells did us the favor this time. What great Irish comaraderie for a great Irish Memorial that Portland can be proud of.
Posted by: Peter M. Cullen | Jan 25, 2006 4:04:34 PM
On January 26th, 2006, three items were placed into the concrete foundation for Oregon's Irish Famine Memorial. These items symbolized Ireland's past, present and future.
From the past a stone from the Hill of Tara, the seat of the Historic High Kings of Ireland.
From the present, a one Euro coin, symbolizing modern's Ireland's role in the European Community. The coin bears on its reverse the harp of Brian Boru, the official emblem of Ireland.
For the future, a stone picked from a beach in Co. Mayo,Ireland, the day that Ireland's Good Friday Peace Agreement was signed on April 10, 1998. This peace agreement brings hope for the future, a future Ireland with peace and justice.
Is dochum gloire De agus onora na hEireann.
David O'Longaigh
Posted by: David O'Longaigh | Jan 26, 2006 5:06:59 PM
Sam,
Thanks so much for coming out and joining us for the ground breaking ceremony of the Oregon Famine memorial. It was truly a memorable experience and I'm glad you could share it with us. Slainte!
Posted by: Dan Holden | Jan 27, 2006 7:39:18 AM
Sam,
It was nice to be soaking wet with you in a cemetary, standing in the mud, remembering our great-grandparents who fled thier homes to give us a chance to succeed.
Tom Markgraf
Posted by: Thomas Briggs Markgraf | Feb 16, 2006 4:20:55 PM
It is nice to know that one of Oregon's finest Labor Leaders and his wife will be honored by this memorial John William O'Neill was in great part responsible for the eight hour day in Oregon and He and His wife were the Founders of The All Ireland Cultural Society formerly The All Ireland Social Club. His entire family will celebrate their lives at the O'Neill Family reunion held this year at Long Beach Washinton on August 11-13. All 93 members gather together every 4-5 years to celebrate his dedication to the Iriah and to Oregon. Hopefully, since many (93%) of this family donated to the memorial it will not be dedicated on this weekend so that many can attend the dedication.
Posted by: Jean O'Neill | Mar 16, 2006 3:15:52 PM
Aloha to the Gaels of Oregon,
Since I'm visiting Portland tomorrow, Monday, March 20th, to visit my son Kevin (Tulane Law School 2005)I surfed the internet and found this wonderful post. Would love to visit the Famine Memorial site but failed to see where exactly it's located. Also if there are any Irish events taking place during the week March 21 through 28 I'd love to hear about them and get to see the Portland Irish at their best. I'm a Fermanagh man who resides in Hawaii but visits home often twice each year. Yes, I've been blessed.
Go n-eirigh an bothar libh,
Brian.
Posted by: Brian Ellis | Mar 19, 2006 11:52:07 AM
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A very good accounting of the background of this monument and the ground breaking that took place..Thank You..Fred Ryan
Posted by: Fred Ryan | Jan 23, 2006 8:04:01 PM