about
Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield was established by leaders of the Gaelic-American Club of Fairfield and investigates the Famine and its impact through art. We have partnered with Quinnipiac University to serve as the new caretakers and curators of the IGHM collection, and our museum interprets the Famine visually, allowing artists — both those contemporaneous with the Great Hunger and those working today — to explore the impact of the loss of life, the leeching of the land, and the erosions of language and culture. Through its display of outstanding historical and contemporary images, layers of history are peeled back, to uncover aspects of the Famine indecipherable by other means.
A Journey of Hope: The Irish American Immigrant Experience
March 12, 2026 - September 6, 2026
With a loan courtesy of Quinnipiac University, in conjunction with Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield, the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will open a new exhibition on March 12 titled, A Journey of Hope: The Irish American Immigrant Experience.
The show has been extended through September 6, 2026, and feature paintings and sculptures displayed in the Mansion’s Billiards Room/Art Gallery as well as in the Servants’ Quarters.
A FRAGILE PEACE: BREXIT AND NORTHERN
IRELAND - Sunday July 12 @ 2pm
A special screening followed by a live panel discussion featuring distinguished guests from Ireland, academia, public service, and the Connecticut–Ireland Trade Commission.
The documentary explores the lasting impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland, the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement, and the ongoing challenges and opportunities for peace and reconciliation. Post-screening panel discussion featuring: Gerald Angley, Consul General of Ireland, New York; Rory Duffy, Documentary Filmmaker; Dr. Ashley Morin, Sacred Heart University; Emmett Riley, Connecticut–Ireland Trade Commission; Marty Dunleavy, Connecticut–Ireland Trade Commission; Loretto Leary, Connecticut–Ireland Trade Commission.
$15 General Admission | $10 Students with ID
In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, the exhibition In God We Trust: The Knights of Columbus and the American Experience explores a U.S.-born institution and how the history of the United States helped shape the Order’s founding and its development into the global institution it is today.
In addition, the exhibit shares how the Knights of Columbus have persevered in improving society through its core principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism.
Quinnipiac University, in conjunction with Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield lent sculptures on a rotating schedule as part of the exhibition.
Bus Trip to the Irish Famine Memorial Unveiling Sunday September 20 - $20 per person
(Please make checks payable to Gaeli American Club)
This memorial honors Irish Famine immigrants buried on Staten Island. It commemorates 6,000+ men, women, and children from the Great Famine era who died after arriving through the Marine Hospital Quarantine Station in St. George.
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Bus Pickup 9:30am at GAC - Bus departs at 10am Sharp.
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Dedication Ceremony 2pm - The Unveiling of the Permanent Famine Memorial, 26 Central Ave, St. George, Staten Island, NY.
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Dinner 4:30 pm - Jodi’s Club Forest 372 Forest Ave, Staten Island, NY 10301. (Price for dinner not included in the $20 bus fee).
Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield (IGHMF) is proud to announce the launch“The 1847 Fund”, a new approach to fundraising befitting the cultural and historicalvalue of “The Great Hunger Collection.” Obviously, 1847 is a reference what becameknown as Black ’47, generally considered the worst year of the famine - when deathtolls began to mount, hunger related diseases like typhus and relapsing fever took hold,and mass emigration, often forced, increased dramatically. In fact, by end of this May in1847, forty Coffin Ships lay at anchor, lined up for miles in the St. Laurence River,awaiting inspection at Grosse Isle quarantine station. On board were some 12,500 Irishmen, woman and children hoping to gain entrance to Canada via the port of Quebec.
Art, Memory, and the Irish Experience
Reflections from Muldoon-Doyle Cultural Night
By John Foley, IGHMF President
he Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield exists at the intersection of art, history, and moral imagination. Rooted in the story of Ireland, but speaking to the wider world, our mission is to remember what happens when a society turns away from its most vulnerable – and to honor the resilience of those who endure.
Per Special Request*
Layers of History: Kilmallock in County
Limerick During the Famine
Famine Commemoration Day Presentation
by Loretto Leary
May 18th 2025
A town's rise and fall is like an ancient tapestry interwoven with layers of history—at times it is woven with golden threads of prosperity, displaying vibrant scenes of bustling streets and booming trades. As time passes, the tapestry's colors fade, and fraying edges whisper stories of abandonment in empty streets and silent village squares. In County Limerick, Kilmallock is a town interwoven with layers of history, which has known both the golden threads of prosperity and the silent squares of abandonment.
* Due to the overwhelming response to Loretto Leary's presentation on Famine Commemoration Day at the GAC we have published her presentation in it's entirety
Fairfield hosts Irish Famine Commemoration Day to honor resilience and
remembrance at the Gaelic American
Club in Connecticut.
by Loretto Leary
Contributor @IrishCentral
May 20, 2025
On Sunday, May 18, the Gaelic American Club in Fairfield, Connecticut, hosted the 2nd Annual Irish Famine Commemoration Day Ceremony, an event held in conjunction with Ireland's Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield.
This solemn and poignant gathering paid tribute to the millions affected by one of the darkest periods in Irish history - the Great Hunger of 1845 to 1852.
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'The dreadful reality is beyond yea or nay in this county. From one end to the other the weal has gone forth that the rot is increasing with fearful rapidity. We regret to say no description of potatoes have escaped. One thing is certain, the staple food of the people is gone: and the Government cannot too soon exert themselves to make provision to provide against certain famine' The Mayo Telegraph, August 1846.
County Mayo During the Great Hunger
By Paddy Gannon
December 1, 2025
30 Mar 1849: In a windswept mountain pass, somewhere between Louisburgh, Co. Mayo and Delphi, Catherine Dillon, along with her son Patrick and daughter Honor, trudged their way toward a hunting lodge owned by the Marquess of Sligo. Making this journey, of roughly 15 miles, was a last-minute decision, and this destitute family, already in a weakened condition was hardly dressed for the bitter, wintry conditions they now faced.
IGHMF needs your support
Ireland's Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield is a work in progress and needs your support to see it to completion.
You can help IGHMF along this journey by making a donation and by volunteering your time.
Please visit the IGHMF Donation Page