Crossing the Bowl of Tears

This is a statue from the Irish Famine Memorial, located in Downtown Crossing (outside of Borders).  I had a hard time capturing this image.  It's a very powerful statue and I couldn't quite get the angle I wanted.  I went with this shot because I was able to frame it so that the building across the street was the backdrop.  From other angles you could see street lights, cars in traffic and people walking by. However, from this angle you cannot see as much of the anguish on the woman's face who is kneeling.

There is a plaque that reads:

Crossing the Bowl of Tears
In a frantic attempt to outwit death, nearly two million people fled Ireland. "many thousands of peasants who could still scrape up the means fled to the sea as if pursued by wild beasts, and betook themselves to America," wrote Irish patriot John Mitchel. The emigrants boarded vessels so unseaworthy they were called Coffin Ships. So many passengers died at sea that poet John Boyle O'Reilly called the Atlantic Ocean upon which they journeyed "a bowl of tears." 

 

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2 Comments

  1. Great shot Jamie. I like how the leafless tree is also framed in the background. I don’t think it would look quite as good if you took this same picture in a month or so when the tree is covered with leaves.

  2. I’m sure you are right about the picture not looking the same in a month or so when the tree blooms.

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