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Celia Griffin Memorial Park & Famine Ship Memorial

Galway
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The park at Grattan Beach has been named for Celia Griffin and is dedicated to all the children who lost their lives in the Great Famine. 100 famine ships sailed out of Galway between the years 1847 and 1850. These ships saved the lives of many thousands of people and the services of their captains and crews ought not to be forgotten. The stone monuments will bear the names of these ships. The Celia Griffin Children’s Park will be the only Famine Memorial park in the world where the children who died and the ships that saved so many will be memorialised. Celia Griffin was born and raised on the Martin estate in Connemara, being a native of Corindulla, near Ross. The family were badly hit by the famine, and in February 1847 walked the thirty miles to Galway in search of relief. She and her two sisters were taken into the Presentation Convent on Presentation Road in the second week of March when Celia collapsed on the street. Attempts by the nuns to save her failed and she died as a result of the effects of starvation. At the end of the park there is the Famine Ship Memorial, two sandstone monuments flank an existing piece of limestone which is a memorial to a six-years-old girl, Celia Griffin. You can walk along the outer walkways which bring you along the coastline, and give you stunning views of Mutton Island and Galway Bay.