Mary Cunningham, a native of Carrick was working in a restaurant in New Hampshire when she caught the eye of the famous Irish sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. In 1905, the Dublin-born Saint-Gaudens had received a commission from President Theodore Roosevelt to redesign the ten and twenty dollar gold pieces. He decided it was time to redesign the US gold coinage which had remained unchanged for more than 50 years.
Saint-Gaudens was excited by the project but soon discovered he had a problem, he couldn't "see" the face he needed. One day the sculptor set off to lunch alone at a village inn near his studio at Cornish, New Hampshire. A waitress came over to take his order, Saint-Gaudens looked up at her and realised he had found his model. The "model" was Mary Cunningham, then 24 years old, and a native of Carrick, who had emigrated to the US with six of her brothers and one sister. The young woman's face with its straight classical nose and strong chin was exactly what Saint-Gaudens needed for his Miss Liberty.
The sculptor chose the 24-year-old Cunningham to dress in Native American headgear to become the face of “Liberty” on the most controversial gold coin ever minted in the US. The reason the 1907 coin was controversial was not due to the appropriation of Native American headgear but because she was an Irish immigrant, during a time when anti-Irish sentiment was high in America.
TG4 documentary about Mary Cunningham from 2021 you can view it here
The old signage and article from 2015..
**UPDATE** TG4 aired a documentary about Mary Cunningham on 29 September 2021 you can view it here
In 1907 a young woman from Carrick, who had emigrated to America was at the centre of a national controversy. Mary Cunningham worked as a domestic servant for the famous sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudins in New Hampshire. It was claimed that Saint-Gaudins used Mary as the model for the new ten-dollar gold coin. At the time when there was still prejudice against the Irish, this caused a national uproar. The critics seemed to have ignored the fact that Saint-Gaudins was himself an Irishman. The Saint-Gaudins family refused to reveal the model's identity. Another model, Hettie Anderson has also been linked to the coin. The truth may never been known but the episode has ensured that that Mary Cunningham's name will be forever associated with American numismatics." It has since been confirmed that it was indeed Mary that was on the coins from an archive newspaper article with an interview with Augustus Saint-Gaudins.
