The cottage was disassembled in Ireland and rebuilt in New York in accordance with guidelines provided by the Irish Historic Trust. Nigel Copsey, a mason trained in traditional stone construction, supervised its reconstruction. Mr. Copsey prepared a traditional lime mortar, imported from France, which is flexible and does not break apart like the more rigid Portland cement.

Nearly two miles of text have been installed in illuminated an band that wrap around the base of the Memorial, and includes some 110 quotations, including autobiographies, letters, oral traditions, parliamentary reports, poems, recipes, songs and statistics. Backlit text panels are installed behind frosted glass sections that appear to the visitor as shadows. At night the light will function as a beacon to those on the river. The texts merge past and present accounts of famine and can be updated to respond to new hunger crises.

The audio installation in the passage provides another dimension to the Memorial as living site. The audio will be a medium for contemporary writers and musicians who have responded to the meaning of the Great Irish Famine and the challenge of hunger in the world today. The audio will capture the response of visitors to the Memorial, and will provide updated information about famine sites and conditions.

The Memorial cost approximately $5 million to build, and was a capital project of the Battery Park City Authority.

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