Blog posts

Pour bien comprendre l'immigration irlandaise, il faut d'abord comprendre le contexte dans lequel les irlandais sont arrivés et se sont vus attribuer des terres.

Les terres en question étaient contrôlées par les Sulpiciens, une société française de prêtres diocésains, connus notemment pour leur statut d'élites, d'académiciens et de missionaires. Contrairement à d'autres institutions religieuses de l'époque (comme les Jésuites), les Sulpiciens ne prononcaient pas de vœux de pauvreté. Ils étaient avant tout des propriétaires terriens puissants et influents. Ils furent les Seigneurs de l'île de Montréal pendant près de 200 ans (de 1663 à 1854) en plus de la Seigneurie qu'ils administraient au Lac-des-Deux-Montagnes et la Seigneurie de Saint-Sulpice.

Entre 1821 et 1829, les irlandais aux côtés britaniques se sont installés dans la Seigneurie du Lac-des-Deux-Montagnes dans le cadre d'une initiative de la monarchie britannique pour peupler la région. Ils se sont établis au nord-ouest de la Seigneurie, dans ce qui deviendra plus tard St Colomban. A cette époque, la Rivière-du-Nord constituait une barrière naturelle entre les colonies anglophones et francophones.

La paroisse de St Colomban a vu le jour très rapidement : 28 000 acres ont été allouées en dix ans, de 1820 à 1829. Cette surface est à peu près équivalente à 21 200 terrains de football, le tout légèrement plus grand que l'actuelle municipalité d'Oka.

For the 67th time Our Lady of Knock Shrine at St Malachy's Church in Mayo Quebec, will be holding a pilgrimage to honour Our Lady's apparition.

The Eucharist will be celebrated in English by Bishop Jean-Louis Piouffe assisted by Father Greg Murray of St. Malachy's parish.

Visit Pilgrimage 2024 for more information

Location

Our Lady of Knock Shrine 3889 Route 315 Mayo, Quebec

Contact:

Mrs. Ellen Butler - 819-986-3860

Mrs. Virginia Sellers - 819-281-6490

mayopilgrimage@gmail.com

To fully understand Irish settlement, we must first understand the context in which they arrived and were granted land to live on. 

The land was controlled by the Sulpicians, a French society of diocesan priests, often remembered as wealthy, educated elites, academics, and missionaries. Contrary to other religious institutions at the time (like the Jesuites), the Sulpicians never took vows of poverty. They were first and foremost powerful and influential landowners. They held the island of Montreal for almost 200 years (1663 to 1854) in addition to the Seigneurie they administered in the Lac-des-Deux-Montagnes and the Seigneurie de Saint-Sulpice.

Between 1821 and 1829, Irish and British immigrants settled in the Seigneurie du Lac-des-Deux-Montagnes as part of the British monarchy's initiative to populate the area. They established themselves in the northwest of the Seigneurie, in what would later be known as St Colomban. At the time, the Rivière-du-Nord (North River) provided a natural buffer between the Anglophone and Francophone settlements.

The speed at which St Colomban was formed was remarkable—28,000 acres were allocated within ten years, from 1820 to 1829. This expanse is roughly equivalent to 21,200 football fields and slightly larger than the current municipality of Oka.

QAHN's 2024 Heritage Talks presents: "Stone by Stone: The Canadian Irish Migration Preservation Network and Irish Cemetery Restoration, Preservation, Education and Genealogical Research," with Kelley O'Rourke, Laurie McKeown, and Fergus Keyes

Tue, Feb 13 2024 , 7:00 - 8:00 pm

Note: For Zoom attendees, registration is required via the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qdOiqqzMpGNew6n_DDVtdn63YD9BSniTD#/registration

This presentation will shine a spotlight on The Canadian Irish Migration Preservation Network’s ongoing restoration efforts within the historic Saint-Colomban Cemetery. The meticulous work undertaken by volunteers and professionals to clean and revitalize these historic monuments, honours the memory of early Irish settlers. The first completed map of the historic section of the Saint-Colomban Cemetery will also be unveiled. This valuable resource will be available on the CIMPN website alongside historical narratives that bring to life the stories of these early Irish settlers.

On October 24, 2023 Kelley O'Rourke, President of the Canadian Irish Migration Preservation Network delivered an online presentation about the network, our vision and our recent work.

My great grandmother, Mary Agnes Dwyer Wallace, was the daughter of Michael Dwyer and Ann Elliott Dwyer. Both Michael (b. 28 September 1831)[1] and Ann (b. 14 July 1836)[2] were born in St. Colomban, Quebec, Canada, as was Mary Agnes (b. 8 July 1858)[3], and three of her siblings.

Between 1857 and 1864, four Dwyer children were born. In addition to Mary Agnes, two little boys, John and Thomas (b. 9 April 1857 and 15 December 1860)[4],[5], and another daughter, Delia Bridget, (b. 25 July 1862)[6] were baptized in the St. Colomban parish church. Sadly, the two little boys were also buried there; John in 1859 and Thomas in 1864.[7],[8] At some point after Thomas’s death, the family left St. Colomban. Another daughter, Margaret Jane Dwyer, was baptized in at St. Patrick’s Church in Montreal on 19 February 1865[9], and the family arrived in Chicago, Illinois soon after that, most likely in March or April 1865.

On 26 April 1877, Mary Agnes married John Dwyer Wallace whose family came to Kane County, Illinois from County Limerick, Ireland.[10] John was the youngest of seven Wallace children, and the only one to have been born in the United States.

By: Laurie McKeown

Where do you come from? Why did your ancestors move and why did they choose that particular place to live? How and when did they get there?  So many questions but too few answers. In 1825, James Skelly of County Westmeath was offered a land grant in the Seigneurie of Lake of Two Mountains from Father Jackson of the Sulpician Order of Montreal. Like many of his fellow countrymen, Skelly and his family suffered from severe poverty at this time in Ireland. Deciding to stay put in his homeland, Skelly’s three sons accepted the land grant and left for a better life in Quebec. A few years earlier in 1823, William McManus left his Irish home in County Tipperary for Lower Canada. Crossing the Atlantic for these Irish immigrants was a hazardous trip, a potential tragedy waiting to happen every day during those long seven-weeks. The ship went as far as Quebec City and from there they had to find their own way west along the St. Lawrence River. Steamboat companies bound for Montreal loaded up their boats with as many as two hundred men, women and children and at the end of this week-long voyage, they disembarked in Lachine to avoid the rapids and continued the rest of the way on foot. But, their arduous journey wasn’t over yet. Both the Skelly brothers and McManus would now have to find room on another steamer or large river raft to continue their journey up the Ottawa river.

The Skelly family were part of the many Irish migrants who left Ireland to escape poverty in the early 19th century. The tragic circumstances of the rural Irish – like those who began to settle in St. Colomban in the 1820’s and the promise of a better life in the States or the colonies gave hope to the Irish people. Despite the many difficulties and potential tragedies that lay ahead, storms, disease (cholera) and dysentery, they boarded the ship in quest for a better life. 

In Montreal about 1817, a member of the Gentlemen of St. Sulpice, Father Richard Jackson noticed the presence of the Irish at Notre-Dame de Bonsecours Church. He was an assistant at the Church at the time and quite astute to their needs. Not only did he open a school for the children of these Irish migrants in the Recollect Convent, Father Jackson offered these immigrants the opportunity to carve out a farming community in the Seigneurie of Lake of Two Mountains, which, like the island of Montreal, was held by the Sulpician Order. As early as 1819, a first group of Irish settlers, along with a few Scots and some French Canadians, settled on a Rivière du Nord concession. Two years later, in 1821, four Irishmen were allocated lots in the midst of the dense forest of the lower Laurentians. They were Hugh O’Reilly (spelled Hughes Reilly in the Quebec records), Andrew Cowan and John Mullin. They were the first Europeans to settle in what would soon become the Parish of St. Colomban. Four years later in 1825, a second wave of settlers, mainly from the South East of Ireland, began to arrive under the aegis of another Sulpician, Father Patrick Phelan from Ballyragget, Kilkenny. Until his departure for Upper Canada in 1842, Father Phelan was responsible for the Irish communities of both St. Colomban and Montreal.

This simple recipe never gets old.

By: Laurie McKeown

Do you know the history behind this classic Irish staple?  Irish soda bread was first crafted in the late 1830s when sodium bicarbonate (also known as baking soda or bread soda) was first introduced to Ireland. The Irish population at this time was experiencing extreme poverty and relied heavily on the potato as their main food source. This humble no yeast bread became an affordable necessity which required only four basic ingredients, flour, baking soda, salt and soured milk. Ireland’s climate is suitable for growing a soft variety of wheat, which does poorly with yeast but is perfect for non-leaven breads. Along with the lack of ovens in most Irish households, this bread recipe allowed the flexibility to be cooked in a cast iron pot or on a griddle over an open flame.

Different areas of Ireland have their own recipes for soda bread. Brown soda bread is made from whole flour. Whole flour in the 19th century was less refined and less expensive. The color of the flour lent its name to what is known as brown bread.

White Soda Bread was made with more refined, more expensive white flour and was originally only made for special occasions. Additives like seeds, raisins, nuts, and herbs can all be added to the bread recipe but are not considered traditional ingredients.

Before cooking, a deep cross is cut into the top of bread. While this cross enabled the bread to cook more evenly, it has acquired the folklore explanation of ‘blessing’ the bread but more importantly don’t forget to poke the 4 round corners to let the faeries out!

Soda bread stays fresh for up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. It can also be frozen up to 2 months.

Auntie Bunny's Irish Brown Bread (also known as Wheaten Bread)

March 17, 2022 - As you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day today, remember the reason for the season. While  raising your glass of Guinness or Jameson and amoung the many sláintes, remember the generations of Irish immigrants who laid the foundation for the celebrations of today. Even though it’s a day to celebrate Irish heritage, it is also a day to remember our historical past and the values of our migrant relatives. St. Patrick’s Day has recently been criticized for propagating Irish stereotypes, for promoting  excessive drinking and ignoring the cultural and religious significance of the day.

Irish immigration to Canada began as early as the 17th Century with the numbers increasing significantly in the wake of the Irish famine. The Great Potato Famine known as The Great Hunger- La Gorta Mor (1845-1852) resulted in one million Irish men, women and children perishing by starvation and disease while another one million emigrated to escape this fate.