The Taoiseach has been attending a famine commemoration in Roscommon this afternoon.
People around the country are being asked to hold a minute's silence to remember the one million victims.
The ceremony at Strokestown Park House has heard that the legacy of the famine includes a deep compassion amongst Irish people for those who suffer hunger around the world today.
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Minister for Arts Jimmy Deenihan said the famine was a watershed moment in Irish history:
