Boston Irish gather at the Irish Famine Memorial on Sunday, May 23 to commemorate An Gorta Mor, the Great Hunger

The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) is holding a wreath-laying ceremony at the Boston Irish Famine Memorial on Sunday, May 23, 2010, at 2:00 p.m.

Father Peter Nolan, Pastor of Most Precious Blood Parish in Hyde Park, is conducting the prayer service, which pays tribute to the victims of the 19th century Irish Famine.

The event is organized by the James Michael Curley Division One of the AOH.

Attending the event are Kevin Durant, chairman of AOH Division One, as well as Michael Cummings and Phil Haughey of the Boston Irish Famine Memorial committee, the group that built the memorial park.

Unveiled on June 28, 1998, the Boston Irish Famine Memorial is part of the worldwide commemoration of the Irish Famine of the 1840s, also known as An Gorta Mor (The Great Hunger), where one million people died of starvation and disease and another two million refugees fled Ireland, coming to cities like Boston.

The Famine Memorial is part of Boston's Irish Heritage Trail, and is located at the corner of Washington and School Street in Downtown Boston.

For more information on the Irish community in Massachusetts, visit IrishBoston.org.

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