Several thousand people attended a ceremony today to remember the 1.5 million people who died or emigrated during the Famine.
All those who suffered between 1845 and 1851 will be honoured at the National Famine Monument in iMurrisk, Co Mayo, a large bronze sculpture of a coffin ship which sits at the foot of Croagh Patrick.
The service featured a wreath laying, music, readings and a tree planting and candle lighting ceremony.
Frank McCarrick, of Murrisk Development Association, said the ceremony was particularly poignant for locals as several coffin ships left for the US from nearby Westport.
“A lot of people would have seen Croagh Patrick and Clare Island, at the mouth of Clew Bay, as their last glimpse of Ireland as they left and headed for America,” he added.
In a statement, the Irish Bishops Congregation encouraged parish communities to find an appropriate way to mark the day, like with a pilgrimage to or prayer at a local famine site or graveyard.
“As the country holds the second National Famine Commemoration Day, we are confronted by the shocking reality that more than one billion people on the planet are victims of hunger,” they said.
“Remembering the millions who died or were forced to emigrate at the time of the Irish Famine brings to mind that almost one in six of the world’s people does not have enough food to eat today.”