Dick Clark: "The Great Hunger"
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“They entered the wild country...
Broken fences.

Ruined castles.

Stretches of bogland.

Wooded headlands.

Turfsmoke rose from cabins, thin and mean.

On the muddy paths, they glimpsed moving rags.

The rags seemed more animate than the bodies within.

As they passed, the families regarded them.

The children appeared marooned with hunger.”
― Colum McCann, Transatlantic

"Deserted Clachan 1845-49"

Written, artistic and spoken word accounts of The Irish Potato famine are plentiful with many being well informed.

Our collection has but one very important representation of the Irish famine: a desolate, abandoned Clachan.

Colum McCann's words match the mood of this important model in their sparsity and precision.

Poignancy is thick in the air.

We can only wonder what thoughts were in Dick's head as he assembled this piece.

Perhaps it is not unrealistic that he may have reflected upon his wartime service:

Alongside his Polish comrades, Dick Clark was tasked with entering a newly discovered Nazi camp.

Family members suggest that this this left a lasting impression, if not scars, on Dick's life.
Just as Ireland carries her Famine scars.

Little more needs saying here.

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