The center was founded in 1997 as the Feinstein International Famine Center with an endowment from Alan Shawn Feinstein. The Center was originally set up as a tribute to the victims of the Irish famine (1840-1846) on its 150th anniversary. It was established as one of two centers of learning on famine, one at the Friedman School in Boston, USA, a city that has a large Irish immigrant population, and one at Cork University in Ireland. In 2006, the Center was renamed the Feinstein International Center (FIC).