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Work underway on memorial as fundraising passes 60%

Donegal sculptor John McCarron has commenced work on “The Tower of Silence”, the design chosen in our public consultation to be the first permanent memorial in Glasgow to the dead and displaced of An Gorta Mór.

John’s design made a strong impression on those who viewed the model. Made of steel to reflect Glasgow’s shipbuilding industry it depicts three unclothed, emaciated figures, representing the 100,000 who fled here in desperation. The plinth underneath the figures will be engraved with a verse from “The Stricken Land” by Lade Wilde which conveys the injustice of the suffering they were forced to endure. The memorial will stand in the grounds of St Mary’s in the Calton, a church and an area with deep roots in Glasgow’s Irish community.  

The memorial wouldn’t be reaching this significant milestone without your fantastic support.

Over £52,000 has now been raised, which takes us to 65% of our fundraising target, and donations continue to come in. The pre-match bucket collection at Celtic Park in March 2019 generated £20,100 and we’ve been overwhelmed by the level of support you’ve given to the cause.

A grand total of £5,000 has been donated by Celtic fans from all over Ireland who attended the Ballymena Shamrock CSC dinner dance on 21/6/19  while a fantastic £868 was donated in one night of fundraising in the parish of St Maria Goretti in Glasgow. Over €480 has been raised so far in the Badass Café in Dublin, while countless other people are holding events, collecting change and donating online.

There’s a lot more to come and we need your continued help to raise the rest of the money required to create a fitting tribute to the memory of our ancestors. Stay tuned for news on future fundraisers, including details of song downloads and how you could own a match worn shirt from Jozo Simunovic or Scott Sinclair featuring the National Famine Day Memorial logo.

How you can help:

Thank you for your support.

We are building it!

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