In 2019 Barnabas Kane of Consilium Design submitted the winning entry for the design competition sponsored by ‘Irish Network Colorado’ INCO. The Mission was to honor the nearly 1500 unmarked graves of the, mostly, Irish immigrants scattered through the woods of the Pauper section of Evergreen Cemetery in Leadville, CO. The Design vision is a mound with spiral walkways leading up to 8 glass panels with the names of the honored, encircling a flagstone plaza and plinth with a bronze sculpted centerpiece of a kneeling miner.
We’re excited to see the Irish Miners of Leadville getting highlighted in this St. Patrick’s Day segment from the Fox 31 News team. Click Here to read the original article.
DENVER (KWGN) – As you raise a toast on this Saint Patrick’s Day, we suggest you salute the Irish Miners Of Leadville. 150 years ago, at the height of the gold and silver rush, it was Irish immigrants who answered the call. Thousands made the trek to Leadville, Colorado. When they arrived to work the mines, they found low pay and harsh conditions. The mines could reach temperatures of 100 degrees below, and -20 degrees at the surface. Many of our Irish pioneers didn’t make it. And nearly 1,500 were buried in unmarked graves, too poor to afford a burial. Average age of a person in the paupers grave: just 23-years-old. But now, there’s an effort to honor the lost, remember their efforts, and celebrate their contributions. The Irish Miners Memorial set to open this fall.