Skeletons as rigging on the coffin ship monument
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (368657)
Rockingham, Australia
April 18, 2023 2:57pm CST
The photo is of the National Famine Monument, a bronze statue depicting a ‘coffin ship’. Coffin ships were those crowded with emigrants, desperate to escape the Great Irish Famine, and those displaced by the Highland Clearances.
The ship-owners provided as little water and food as possible and the ships were hopelessly overcrowded. Death rates regularly reached 20% and those who died were buried at sea. It was said that sharks followed the boats due to the number of bodies thrown overboard.
The Monument is sited at the base of Croagh Patrick mountain in Murrisk, County Mayo, Ireland. Sculpted by John Behan, it uses skeletons and bones as rigging and is Ireland’s largest bronze sculpture. It was unveiled in 1997, the 150th anniversary of the Irish Famine by the then President of Ireland, Mary Robinson.
16 people like this
17 responses
@BarBaraPrz (51071)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
19 Apr 23
By an odd coincident, I just read Henry David Thoreau's account of the aftermath of a shipwreck. "The brig St. John, from Galway, Ireland, laden with emigrants, was wrecked on Sunday morning" about a mile from shore at Cohasset, on Grampus Rock.
The Shipwreck
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (165018)
• United States
18 Apr 23
I can see why people waited 150 years to "commemorate" something like that. The people who were forced to go to flee Ireland would have hated knowing there was a reminder of that time anywhere in the world, in my opinion.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (165018)
• United States
19 Apr 23
@JudyEv I can just see how well "commemorating" slavery would go over in the US. 
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (368657)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Apr 23
@DaddyEvil I thought 'commemorating' was a better word than 'celebrating' but there is something more suitable.
1 person likes this
@jobelbojel (36788)
• Philippines
18 Apr 23
This looks interesting. I like learning about history of countries. Have not read about this before. Mostly US, Afro, and Asian Literatures were studied during my time in college.
2 people like this
@jobelbojel (36788)
• Philippines
19 Apr 23
@JudyEv they must be unfortunate to experience tragic event in the past.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (117028)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
18 Apr 23
A very interesting photo of a bronze statue depicting a skeleton ship.
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (117028)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
19 Apr 23
@JudyEv My pleasure to learn new items from our world.
1 person likes this
@Beestring (15377)
• Hong Kong
19 Apr 23
I do not know much about the history of Ireland. The Great Irish Famine must had claimed the lives of many people.
2 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (91155)
• United States
19 Apr 23
I remember Mary Robinson too by the way.
She was great.
Anyway this is a very sad sight this coffin ship.
My Mother told me of them.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (91155)
• United States
19 Apr 23
@JudyEv Yes she is very intelligent, I like her. I am not a fan of the other one.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (368657)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Apr 23
@RebeccasFarm Fair enough. I don't have strong opinions on any of them really.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (92601)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
19 Apr 23
That is an amazing looking monument and kind of scary too, Thank you for the information. Thanks to you I am learning a lot about Ireland.
2 people like this
@Fleura (33296)
• United Kingdom
19 Apr 23
@JudyEv Oh yes that really is horrible : (
And the worst thing about blight is that it may not appear to have affected the potatoes at first. You can just imagine the crops being harvested and stored away as usual - and then the horror when the clamps were opened months later in winter and all the potatoes were rotten.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
19 Apr 23
How sad a thing to be commemorated, but how good to recall it as well.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (368657)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Apr 23
It was a terrible time for the people. Just awful.
@LindaOHio (210091)
• United States
27 Apr 23
Not real bones...just depicted bones and skeletons, right?
1 person likes this
