Monday, March 20 at 19:30 – Irish Heritage Quebec will hold an activity in McMahon Hall, 1145 de Salaberry in Quebec City. Members and friends are invited to attend. Playwright Émile Proulx-Cloutier, author of the successful play “Grosse-Île, 1847 (Dans les mots de ceux qui l’ont vécu)” will be interviewed on his research and the creative process that led to the play. He will be interviewed by Sébastien Proulx, former Quebec minister of education. This activity is being held in association with the Défilé de la Saint-Patrick de Quebec. The conference will be in both English and French. We hope to see many of you there. Please arrive by 19:20 because we must lock the church door on de Salaberry at 19:30. Refreshments will be served and parking stubs for Îlot St-Patrick will be validated. For more information, please phone Irish Heritage Quebec at 418-704-3414
Monday, February 13 at 19:30 – Irish Heritage Quebec will hold an activity in McMahon Hall, 1145 de Salaberry in Quebec City. John Bertrand, Vice-President of Irish Heritage Quebec, will give a presentation entitled The Irish Tricolour explaining how it came to be the national flag. John Bertrand is a graduate of Laval University and a member of three different national vexillological associations. Members and friends are invited to attend. We hope to see many of you there. Please arrive by 19:20 because we must lock the church door on de Salaberry at 19:30. Refreshments will be served and parking stubs for Îlot St-Patrick will be validated. For more information, please phone Irish Heritage Quebec at 418-704-3404.
Irish Heritage will hold its first activity this year on January 16 at 19:30 hours in McMahon Hall, 1145 de Salaberry in Quebec City. Joe Lonergan will give a presentation on the history of the Sons of Ireland Hockey Club. Members and friends are invited to attend. We hope to see many of you there. Please arrive by 19:20 because we must lock the church door on de Salaberry at 19:30. Refreshments will be served and parking stubs from Îlot St-Patrick will be validated. For more information, phone Irish Heritage Quebec at 418-704-3404.
Monday, Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. – Irish Heritage Quebec held its Annual General Meeting in McMahon Hall at St. Patrick’s Church, 1145 Ave. De Salaberry. President Bryan O’Gallagher presented the annual report and Secretary/Treasurer John O’Connor gave the financial report. As five of the nine 2 yr mandates on the Board of Directors were due for election, these were filled by John Bertrand, Steve Cameron, Marc Hughes, Joe Lonergan and Anne Spratt. Upon the conclusion of business, refreshments and a festive cake were served. Twenty-five members and friends were in attendance. Parking stubs for Îlot St-Patrick were validated.
Monday November 14 at 19:30 – Irish Heritage Quebec will hold an activity in McMahon Hall, 1145 de Salaberry in Quebec City. Irish Heritage Quebec receives numerous requests for help with genealogy, grave sites and other services. There will be a collaborative presentation assembled by Bryan O’Gallagher, John O’Connor and Joe Lonergan. Each will present an example of the kind of service that Irish Heritage Quebec has provided. All are welcome to attend. We ask attendees to arrive by 7:20. Refreshments will be served and parking stubs from Îlot St-Patrick will be validated. For more information, phone Irish Heritage Quebec at 418-704-3404.
Monday October 10 at 19:30 – Irish Heritage Quebec will hold an activity in McMahon Hall, 1145 de Salaberry in Quebec City. Irish born Darragh Murphy and Sean Bannon will be interviewed by Joe Lonergan on their experiences as Irish immigrants living and working in Quebec City as well as on the success of their masonry business. Darragh Murphy, President and founder of Maçonnerie Murphy Inc. received his diploma as a mason from the City & Guilds of London Institute. Sean Bannon, Vice-President of Maçonnerie Murphy Inc. studied at Laval University. All are welcome to attend. We ask attendees to arrive by 7:20.Refreshments will be served and parking stubs from Îlot St-Patrick will be validated. For more information, phone Irish Heritage Quebec at 418-704-3404.
Monday, September 12 at 19:30 – Irish Heritage Quebec will hold an activity in McMahon Hall, 1145 de Salaberry in Quebec City. Professor David A Wilson, University of Toronto, will give a presentation on Canadian Fenians underlining their presence in Quebec City. His presentation derives from his recently published book, Canadian Spy Story: Irish Revolutionaries and the Secret Police. David Wilson is a native of the County Antrim, Ireland, has had a distinguished career as historian with many publications to his credit. All are welcome and admission is free. Copies of Canadian Spy Story: Irish Revolutionaries and the Secret Police should be on hand for purchase and the author’s signature. Refreshments will be served and parking stubs for Îlot St-Patrick will be validated. For more information, please phone Irish Heritage Quebec at 418-704-3404.
The summer of 1847 saw the arrival of 100,000 emigrants from Ireland who sailed to Quebec City in flight from tyranny and artificial famine. By 1848 20,000 of these had perished and of these over 5000 lie in a mass grave on Grosse Île.
Photo: Michael-James Noonan
Parks Canada held an official ceremony on Grosse Île commemorating the 175th anniversary of the tragedy of 1847. A group of twenty members of Irish Heritage Quebec were in attendance and met the Irish Ambassador Eamonn McKee who had been invited by Parks Canada. Other guests were federal Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos, Christine Loth-Bown, Vice-President, Indigenous Affairs and Cultural heritage, Parks Canada, and Bryan O’Gallagher, president of Irish Heritage Quebec. Each spoke in commemoration of the thousands of who lie buried beneath 47 crosses in the Irish cemetery. They spoke also of the survivors, their subsequent contribution to our history and the persistence of their Irish heritage. They placed floral arrangements honouring the memory of the victims and their attending doctors. Patrick McSweeney added poignancy and dignity to the occasion playing both lament and martial airs on the uilleann pipes.