Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield

06/16/2026

Charlotte Kelly’s Potato Fields (2009) is a contemplative oil painting that captures the quiet intensity of Ireland’s rural landscape, symbolizing its historical ties to the Great Hunger. The artist’s use of muted tones and layered textures evokes the desolation and struggle associated with the potato fields during the famine era.

The abstraction in Kelly’s composition allows the viewer to engage emotionally, drawing upon the cultural memory of a nation shaped by its relationship to the land. Subtle hints of green and ochre break through the canvas, representing the resilience and renewal of the Irish people despite the tragedy that the fields once symbolized.

This work bridges past and present, inviting reflection on the enduring impact of history on Ireland’s cultural and environmental identity.

06/12/2026

The 2nd Annual Founders' Gala draws a fine host of supporters for Ireland's Great Hunger Museum.

06/10/2026

Potatoes: Famine
Artist: John Behan, RHA
Date Created: 2001
Medium: Welded copper
Dimensions: 16 in x 14 in x 12 in

John Behan (b. 1938) created Potatoes: Famine in 2001, a welded copper sculpture that poignantly reflects the devastating impact of the Great Hunger. The sculpture serves as a reminder of the reliance of Irish peasants on the potato as their staple
food and the catastrophic consequences of the potato blight in 1845.

The blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, spread rapidly from Mexico to Europe, devastating Ireland more severely than other countries due to its population's heavy dependence on the crop. An Irish male would consume 10 to 14 pounds of potatoes daily, while women and children ate slightly less. The lumper potato, though high-yielding and suitable for poor soil, lacked nutrition and resistance to disease. The arrival of the blight not only led to widespread famine but also triggered a rapid decline in population and cleared the land ruthlessly and efficiently. Behan’s work memorializes the pain, loss, and resilience of those who lived through this tragic chapter in Irish history.

06/08/2026

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1508347754256472

06/08/2026

.THE GREAT IRISH FAMINE, DISPORA, AND GLOBAL LEGACY
Explore the Irish Famine in this FREE course by leading museum-based expert historians.

Explore the Irish Famine in this free course by leading museum-based expert historians. Uncover the socio-political forces behind the 19th-century catastrophe that claimed over a million lives and triggered a global exodus. From analyzing British policy to accessing records for Irish ancestral research, probe how this tragedy forged the modern Irish diaspora. Journey into Ireland’s past to understand your heritage today!

https://alison.com/course/the-great-irish-famine-history-diaspora-and-global-legacy

06/08/2026

CT Open House Day is on Saturday, June 13th. If you have Irish roots or an interest in Irish history, be sure to visit *A Journey of Hope: The Irish American Immigrant Experience* at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum in Norwalk.

The exhibition has been extended through September 6th, allowing more time to explore these remarkable artworks and sculptures in the beautiful early Gilded Age mansion.

Join us at on Saturday, June 13th, from 12–4 pm for reduced admission and to learn more about Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum.

06/01/2026

Beneath the streets of Montreal, 6,000 Irish men, women, and children lie buried in a mass grave. ☘️

They came on the coffin ships in 1847, fleeing the Great Famine. They arrived sick, starving, and dying. The fever sheds at Grosse Île were full. So they were brought upriver to Montreal, where they died by the thousands on the banks of the St. Lawrence.

The city buried them where they fell.

For decades, a single black boulder marked the spot: the Black Rock of Montreal. It still stands today, on the edge of a busy road, surrounded by a city that grew up around the bones of Ireland's forgotten dead.

These were not soldiers. They were not rebels. They were farmers, mothers, children, and old men who simply wanted to live.

Their names were never recorded. But they were someone's family.

Drop your Irish county below if your ancestors survived the Famine crossing. This stone belongs to all of us. ⚔️

05/18/2026

Lá Cuimhneacháin Náisiúnta an Ghorta Mhóir - Irish Famine Commemoration Day observed at the Irish Heritage Society (IHSM) of Milford in Milford CT. 05.17.2026.

05/18/2026