GLASGOW has unveiled its memorial to the Great Famine in Ireland and the Highlands.

The memorial, outside the People’s Palace in Glasgow Green, not only remembers those who died in the 1840s but also commemorates the significant role those who arrived in Glasgow, having fled hunger, played in the development of the city.

It is hoped the memorial will be seen and accepted as an inclusive symbol.

Irish Minister of State, Joe McHugh, joined David McDonald, Deputy Leader of Glasgow City Council, and historian Professor Sir Tom Devine at the unveiling and the planting of a tree.

The memorial is hoped to be inclusive, representing those of different faiths who suffered and who came to make Glasgow their home.

Professor Devine said: “This is an inclusive memorial to protestant Irish, catholic Irish and the Gaels, most of whom were of the Presbyterian persuasion.”

He added: “That is a potent reminder for today of how immigration, even of the displaced and distressed, can ultimately have a positive impact on the host society.”

Mr McHugh said divisions were healing in Ireland with a visit from the Queen and a state visit to the UK by Irish President Michael Higgins and he hoped the memorial could add to that process

He added: All that is part of reconciliation. We are moving into a space to understand the past and reflect where we are today.”

He said: “I am conscious of the impact the famine had on the city of Glasgow. They and their descendants played a huge part in making Glasgow what it is today.”

David McDonald, Deputy Leader of Glasgow City Council said: “Today, we acknowledge the part the Irish and the Gael played in shaping modern Glasgow.

He said the famine was a “defining and desperate episode” in Glasgow’s history.

The memorial which features plants and stone native to Ireland and the Highlands was funded by Glasgow City Council and Bord na Gadhlig.

Support by the Irish Heritage Foundation, Scottish Refugee Council the Loyal Orange Institute of Scotland and the Ulster Scots Agency among others is acknowledged in an exhibition inside the People Palace.

The Orange Order and the Ulster Scots Agency were also present at the ceremony.

Edward McGonnell, of the Ulster Scots Agency, said It is for all faiths and none. It is not for one side of a religious divide or another

Edward Hyde, Grand Secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, said: “In the Orange Order we worked hard to make this come to fruition.”