A FAMINE sculpture specially commissioned for a city in the United States could be erected in Co Limerick instead.
A £40,000 to £50,000 sculpture was designed for Philadelphia by Cork sculptor Kenneth Thompson after an international competition.
However, the Philadelphia Famine Committee plans appear to have fallen through and the sculptor has offered his work to the new Famine Memorial Park in Kilmallock.
Mr Bill Parkinson, chairman of the Kilmallock Committee, told The Irish Times yesterday: "No one seems to know why Philadelphia's commemoration was no longer going ahead. They were trying to raise something in the region of $1 1/2 million and their plans may have been too ambitious.
He added: "We discovered Philadelphia's plans on the Internet and on making inquiries we found that Kenneth Thompson was getting no response from the Philadelphia committee."
Mr Parkinson's committee has seen a model of the sculpture and was impressed by it.
"Philadelphia have first claim, but Mr Thompson has given them until September 1st in writing to give him an answer if they want him to proceed with it or not," he said.
The monument, depicting a Famine family arriving in Philadelphia with all their worldly goods in a box, will be set on a plinth.
Standing nearly 17 ft high, it would dominate the Memorial Park under construction at Bully's Acre, where hundreds of Famine victims from the Kilmallock area are buried.
It would be the biggest sculpture in the region and, according to Mr Parkinson, "it could be as big a tourist attraction as the Treaty Stone in Limerick".
He added: "We have made progress with the park and if we get the sculpture it will take 12 months to complete."
Limerick County Council, Irish Americans and Ballyhoura Failte have contributed funds towards the project, and the committee is also seeking Government funding.
Costing £100,000, the Memorial Park has received the support of two of Ireland's leading tenors. Frank Patterson performed in concert where £8,000 was raised, and on September 20th, Finbar Wright will perform in St Paul's Church in Kilmallock, where it is hoped to raise a further £10,000.