In remembrance of the people from Claremorris that were buried during the pre and post Famine years at the site of the new Link Road from Mount Street to the Railway Station, a special commemoration was held on Sunday 2 June.
As the new Link Road passed over the burial ground of the original Famine Workhouse and the Fever Hospital Refuge, Mayo County Council honoured their commitment to providing funding for a commemorative stone.
Together with the St. Colman’s Parish Pastoral Team and the local Historical Society, the project got underway and in a matter of weeks, the stone was ready in time for the official commemoration, which took place during the Corpus Christi procession on 2 June. Also adjacent to the site was a ‘Cillin’ or children’s graveyard.
Parish Priest Fr. Peter Gannon said at the blessing that the stone was a fitting tribute to all the people that were buried here before, during and after the Famine years and to the parents of the infants that were interred here over a number of decades.
“God Bless them and their families. This memorial will ensure that these people who were once part of our community will never be forgotten,” he said.
“Great credit must go to the members of the Parish Pastoral Team who took on this project with support from Mayo County Council,” he added.
Inscription on the memorial
This stone commemorates the people who died in the Claremorris Work House (1851-1918) and in Mount Street Fever Refuge (pre-1851). Resting here also are many unnamed infants who died in this community. We pray that they rest in peace.
“Faoi Bhrat Mhuire go raibh siad”
MAYO.ME 