In the nineteenth century, it was inconceivable that an agricultural disease could dramatically change the demographics of Ireland forever. Throughout the 1840s and 1850s, poor potato farmers helplessly watched as blight completely dissolved their potato crops, leaving only stalks.

What made matters worse was that the majority of these farmers depended upon this root for their daily sustenance. Though the British government and independent American groups attempted to bring financial and nutritional relief, it was not enough.

In the end, over a million men, women, and children starved to death, many more immigrated to the United States.

At the height of the famine, English mercantilism policy continued to export grain and other foods out of Ireland, instead of using it to feed those who genuinely needed it. Today, some maintain the Famine was a civil rights issue and hold England responsible for failing to do more to curtail the mass starvation.

Visitors will find the Irish Immigration Memorial on Front and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The location and the design of the Memorial are significant; positioned alongside the Delaware River where thousands of Irish immigrants took their first steps on American soil.

This bronze sculpture reveals the hardships the Irish faced both in their native land and in their passage to the United States. Moreover, it recognizes those who found a new life and a new calling in America, especially in the city of Philadelphia.

The purpose of the memorial is to remind its visitors about the undying determination and faith that the Irish possessed when they came to America.