This is the fifth time the commemoration has been held in the US

Ireland’s annual International Famine Commemoration will take place in Phoenix, Arizona this November.

Read More: Ireland's 12th annual National Famine Commemoration held in Co Sligo

TD Josepha Madigan, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, announced this week that the 2019 commemoration will be held on Sunday, November 3 in Phoenix.

Minister Madigan said: “As Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, I look forward to the International Famine Commemoration being held in Phoenix, Arizona.  This is the fifth time the commemoration has been held in the U.S. and Phoenix is the westernmost venue to date. Previously the International Famine Commemoration has been held in New York, Boston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.”

“I am particularly pleased that the Commemoration is being held in Phoenix this year as 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of the dedication of the Great Hunger Memorial commissioned by the Irish Cultural Center.”

Read More: How to honor Irish Famine Commemoration Day in the US

“This year’s commemoration represents an opportunity to not only recognize the work of the Irish Cultural Center and McClelland Library in Phoenix itself but to honor the memory of those who left Ireland during the Famine itself, the subsequent years of emigration which saw many Famine Irish and their descendants make an enormous contribution in the Western U.S., and the ongoing role of the Irish diaspora and Irish-Americans in Arizona and throughout the Western U.S.”

The Famine memorial at the Arizona Irish Cultural Center (AZIrish.org)

The Famine memorial at the Arizona Irish Cultural Center (AZIrish.org)

Read More: Ireland getting an official Famine Commemoration day

This will be the fifth occasion that the international commemoration has been held in the United States. There have been ten international commemorations of the Great Irish Famine to date. Since the first international commemoration in Toronto and Quebec in 2009, events have also been held in Australia, Canada, and the UK.

Have you attended a Famine commemoration event before? Let us know in the comments