Ardess Famine Pit and Memorial
“Within this famine pit lieth the unknown dead 1845-1850”
In 1836 a Poor Law Inquiry found that over one third of the people of Ireland depended on the potato as their main (almost only) source of food. The Potato Famine of 1845-49 brought inevitable results.
This famine grave – located in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church at Ardess, outside Kesh – is a grim reminder of the effect of the famine on the Kesh and Ederney area and on Fermanagh generally where it is thought that over 25% of the population died or emigrated as a direct result of the famine. Across Ireland, in addition to the million or so deaths, a couple of million more fled the country mainly for America and Canada.
There is no record of the identities of any of the people buried in this pit – in reality a sunken mound running for 120ft (40metres) up the Memorial tomb – which lay derelict, overgrown and forgotten for decades. The pit was restored in 1997 (marking the 150th anniversary of 1847 – Black 47) by the Ardess Community Association and the Ardess Historical Society when a four part memorial, designed by local artist Gordon Johnston, was erected at one end.
“Within this famine pit lieth the unknown dead 1845-1850”
In 1836 a Poor Law Inquiry found that over one third of the people of Ireland depended on the potato as their main (almost only) source of food. The Potato Famine of 1845-49 brought inevitable results.
This famine grave – located in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church at Ardess, outside Kesh – is a grim reminder of the effect of the famine on the Kesh and Ederney area and on Fermanagh generally where it is thought that over 25% of the population died or emigrated as a direct result of the famine. Across Ireland, in addition to the million or so deaths, a couple of million more fled the country mainly for America and Canada.
There is no record of the identities of any of the people buried in this pit – in reality a sunken mound running for 120ft (40metres) up the Memorial tomb – which lay derelict, overgrown and forgotten for decades. The pit was restored in 1997 (marking the 150th anniversary of 1847 – Black 47) by the Ardess Community Association and the Ardess Historical Society when a four part memorial, designed by local artist Gordon Johnston, was erected at one end.
Ardess Famine Pit and Memorial
“Within this famine pit lieth the unknown dead 1845-1850”
In 1836 a Poor Law Inquiry found that over one third of the people of Ireland depended on the potato as their main (almost only) source of food. The Potato Famine of 1845-49 brought inevitable results.
This famine grave – located in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church at Ardess, outside Kesh – is a grim reminder of the effect of the famine on the Kesh and Ederney area and on Fermanagh generally where it is thought that over 25% of the population died or emigrated as a direct result of the famine. Across Ireland, in addition to the million or so deaths, a couple of million more fled the country mainly for America and Canada.
There is no record of the identities of any of the people buried in this pit – in reality a sunken mound running for 120ft (40metres) up the Memorial tomb – which lay derelict, overgrown and forgotten for decades. The pit was restored in 1997 (marking the 150th anniversary of 1847 – Black 47) by the Ardess Community Association and the Ardess Historical Society when a four part memorial, designed by local artist Gordon Johnston, was erected at one end.
“Within this famine pit lieth the unknown dead 1845-1850”
In 1836 a Poor Law Inquiry found that over one third of the people of Ireland depended on the potato as their main (almost only) source of food. The Potato Famine of 1845-49 brought inevitable results.
This famine grave – located in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church at Ardess, outside Kesh – is a grim reminder of the effect of the famine on the Kesh and Ederney area and on Fermanagh generally where it is thought that over 25% of the population died or emigrated as a direct result of the famine. Across Ireland, in addition to the million or so deaths, a couple of million more fled the country mainly for America and Canada.
There is no record of the identities of any of the people buried in this pit – in reality a sunken mound running for 120ft (40metres) up the Memorial tomb – which lay derelict, overgrown and forgotten for decades. The pit was restored in 1997 (marking the 150th anniversary of 1847 – Black 47) by the Ardess Community Association and the Ardess Historical Society when a four part memorial, designed by local artist Gordon Johnston, was erected at one end.
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