The Paupers Graveyard Famine Memorial, Cornagrade, Enniskillen

The famine memorial was officially unveiled on 28th August 1995 at a Commemoration Service to mark the 150th anniversary of the famine.

It consists of two stone gable walls built by stonemason Lawrence Connors, with stones taken from old derelict forestry cottages in Derrylin. At the centre is a bronze table with five empty plates created by Derry born sculptor Eamon O’Doherty symbolising the scarcity of food during the famine. The memorial invokes a sense of desolation, despair and loss. A letter written to the Enniskillen guardians in 1847 is cited at the memorial, it reads: “We beg to direct the attention of the Guardians to the shameless, indecent and dangerous piling of the dead paupers in the new ground.”