Northern Ireland

New famine memorial garden opens in Fermanagh

Some of the sculptures carved by Lithuanian man Jonas Raiskas in the Garden of Celtic Saints in Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh
Some of the sculptures carved by Lithuanian man Jonas Raiskas in the Garden of Celtic Saints in Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh Some of the sculptures carved by Lithuanian man Jonas Raiskas in the Garden of Celtic Saints in Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh

A SPECIAL garden commemorating the famine and featuring stunning hand-carved wooden sculptures has opened in Fermanagh.

The Famine Memorial Garden, adjacent to Sacred Heart church in Irvinestown, was blessed by Bishop of Clogher Liam MacDaid in a special ceremony on Saturday.

Like the church itself, the garden is located next to the site of the old workhouse, a place that featured prominently in the harrowing scenes of the famine.

The new memorial builds on the work already done by a local cross-community group in restoring a graveyard nearby and follows on from the earlier creation in 2010 of a Garden of the Celtic Saints at Sacred Heart church.

Much of the artistic work on these projects is due to the skill and talent of Jonas Raiskas, who came to the locality from Lithuania.

He was commissioned by the parish to create 20 carvings in the Garden of the Celtic Saints plus those in the new memorial garden.

The sculptures were carved using only hand tools and are heavily influenced by events of the famine and Irish Christianity.

The Famine Memorial Garden has four distinct parts - the potato field, the famine kitchen, the workhouse door and the emigrant ship. These are marked by eight carved pieces by Mr Raiskas.

Parish priest Canon Michael McGourty said the memorial allowed people in the community to reflect on the past and the present.

"It calls us to address the poverty and famine in our own world today and constantly answer the call of the Gospel to reach out to those in need," Fr McGourty said.

"Its location and its art does so in a way that brings both the traditional message and the history of Irish Christianity into focus in a profound way."