Health Service Executive boss Brendan Drumm laid a memorial wreath before a sealed tomb holding the skeletal remains. They included adults and children, some still cradled in their mothers' arms.

The remains were unearthed during construction of the multimillion euro HSE offices in Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim, in 2001. They were removed from the site for investigation by archaeologists in Limerick. But when the study was completed a year later there wasn't a suitable place for their reburial.

The remains were left in a container for five years as their fate was decided. They were returned earlier this year to Manorhamilton after a campaign led by a residents' association headed by former local Irish Countrywomen's Association chairperson Rose McPadden.

"The memorial is a fitting reminder of those who died during the famine. It is an important historical landmark for the community, " she said.