Great Famine memorial gets green light for Glasgow site

A site in Glasgow, integral to the prosperity of the city’s Irish community, has been given the green light for a memorial to commemorate the Great Famine and how it changed the face of the city forever. St Mary’s Church in Calton has been selected as the location for a memorial after a persistent fight and years of campaigning from members of Glasgow’s Irish community. The famine seen mass disease, starvation and emigration in Ireland between 1845 and 1852. The devastating effects of the famine killed around one million people, with one million more emigrating to flee the country’s abject poverty. Glasgow, as a result, was one of 140 cities all over the world that seen a considerable influx of Irish immigrants desperate to survive and make a better life for themselves. In the early days of immigration, the Irish settled in huge numbers in the area around St Mary’s church and many remain there today. More