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.

Minister for Arts Jimmy Deenihan said the famine was a watershed moment in Irish history: