After an intense competition, narrowed to five finalists, the design concept of renowned artist Brian Tolle, was chosen. The Memorial represents a rural Irish landscape with an abandoned stone cottage, stone walls, fallow potato fields and the flora on the north Connacht wetlands. It is both a metaphor for the Great Irish Famine and a reminder that hunger today is often the result of lack of access to land. Moving beyond the fixed dates of the Great Irish Famine, the Memorial is a living site. Over time, the landscape will change; the text will be updated; the visitor will be encouraged to become actively engaged in meeting the challenge of world hunger.

The cottage that forms the centerpiece of the Memorial is a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Slack, and Mr. and Mrs. Chris Slack, relatives of the artist's partner, Brian Clyne. The cottage is a generous gesture between two families and a poignant gift between two nations.

The Slack family's occupancy of the cottage can be traced to 1820 when Slacks lived as tenant farmers on the land. The cottage was just one room through the famine years. In 1891, the Congested District Board provided support for upgrading rural housing. By 2001, the cottage had been abandoned. It was being used as a cow pen and was considered unsafe.