Irish Quebecers (french: Irlando-Québécois, ga, Éireannaigh as Québec) are residents of the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nort ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...

who have Irish ancestry. In 2016, there were 446,215 Quebecers who identified themselves as having partial or exclusive Irish descent in Quebec, representing 5.46% of the population.

Demographics

As of the 2016 Census, there were 446,215 Quebecers who identified themselves as Irish representing 5.46% of the population. In the city of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, there are 92,145 people of declared Irish heritage. Irish culture and community organizations are mostly kept alive by the English-speaking population such as the United Irish Societies of Montreal. Many others have assimilated into the French-speaking majority population.

Saint Patrick's Day Parade

The longest-running

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost pat ...

parade in Canada is held each year in

. The parades have been held since 1824 and have been organized by the United Irish Societies of Montreal since 1929. However, St. Patrick's Day itself has been celebrated in Montreal as far back as 1759 by Irish soldiers in the Montreal Garrison during the British conquest of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to King ...

. File:Young Participants in Montreal's St Patrick's Parade.jpg, Young Participants in Montreal's St Patrick's Parade File:Montreal St Patrick parade marshal trying to stay warm.jpg, Montreal St Patrick parade marshal trying to stay warm

History

New France (1608–1763)

In the seventeenth century, Irish residing in France were among those sent to colonize the Saint Lawrence Valley in

. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

, Irish Catholic nobility, soldiers, and clergy would serve Catholic Monarchs in France,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, and the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. Nearly 35,000 Irish served in the French military in the seventeenth century. By 1700 there were approximately one hundred Irish-born families among the 2,500 families registered in New France, along with an additional thirty families of mixed Irish and French backgrounds. Only 10 colonists had arrived from Ireland directly. In the early eighteenth century, many Irish Catholics arrived from New England seeking to practice their religion more freely. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

, French authorities also encouraged desertion among the Irish serving in the British army in North America. In 1757, Governor Pierre Rigaud de Vaudreuil raised an Irish company consisting of deserters and prisoners of war who had served with the enemy British army; this company returned to France after the war. Most of these Irish soldiers, settlers, and deserters assimilated into French-Canadian society.

Lower Canada (early 1800s)

Overpopulation and the enclosure movement in Ireland along with established commercial shipping routes between Quebec City and ports in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

encouraged large waves of Irish emigration to

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec and ...

starting in 1815. Most of these emigrants would come to cities in

, establishing Irish communities in Montreal (1817) and Quebec City (1819). In Quebec, most Irish Catholics settled close to the harbour in the

Lower Town Lower Town (also spelled "Lowertown" (french: la Basse-Ville) is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Vanier Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to the east of downtown. It is the oldest part of the city. It is bounded by Rideau Street to the south ...

working in the shipyards and on the wharves. By 1830, they constituted 7,000 of 32,000 inhabitants. The Montreal population was more transient, attracted to labor in large construction projects such as the

Lachine Canal The Lachine Canal ( in French) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine, ...

before moving on to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. In 1825 Irish Catholics and Protestants constituted about 3,000 people out of a total city population of 25,000 and were about equal in number. Irish Catholics in formed distinctive neighbourhoods in the western portion of the city and later in

Griffintown Griffintown is a historic neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, southwest of downtown. The area existed as a functional neighbourhood from the 1820s until the 1960s, and was mainly populated by Irish immigrants and their descendants. Mostly depopulat ...

near the Lachine Canal works. Irish Catholic settlers also opened up new agricultural areas in the recently surveyed

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummond ...

, the

Ottawa valley The Ottawa Valley is the valley of the Ottawa River, along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield. Because of the surround ...

, and

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

and Pontiac counties. Irish from Quebec would also settle in communities such as Frampton, Saint Sylvestre, and Saint Patrick in the Beauce region of southeastern Quebec. Irish became heavily involved in political life and newspaper publishing in Montreal. Many Irish leaders were involved in the

Parti Canadien The Parti canadien () or Parti patriote () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal pro ...

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (french: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic asso ...

, and other French Canadian republican patriotic groups involved in the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now south ...

of 1837-1838. The Saint Patrick's Society of Montréal was founded in 1834 as an Irish patriotic organization with a political motive to counter the republican sentiments, with both Catholic and Protestant members sharing values of loyalty to the British Crown. The society vigorously defended the colonial government during the rebellion.

The Great Irish Famine and Confederation (1840s to 1870s)

Canada East saw a substantial increase in immigration from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

during the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849). In 1847 alone, close to 100 000 arrived in Grosse Isle, an island in present-day

which housed the immigration reception station. Thousands died or were treated in the hospital (equipped for fewer than one hundred patients); in fact, many boats that reached Grosse-Île had lost the bulk of their passengers and crew, and many more died in

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

on or near the island. From Grosse-Île, most survivors were sent to Montreal. In 1909, a Celtic cross was erected on the island to commemorate the tragedy. Orphaned children were adopted into Quebec families and accordingly became Québécois, both linguistically and culturally. Some of these children fought for their right to keep their Irish surnames, and were largely successful. Patrick Dowd

In the 1840s and 1850s, Irish immigrants laboured on the Victoria Bridge, living in a tent city at the foot of the bridge (see Goose Village, Montreal). Here, workers unearthed a mass grave of 6000 Irish immigrants who had died in an earlier typhus epidemic. The Irish Stone remains at the bridge entrance to commemorate the tragedy. The Irish would go on to settle permanently in the close-knit working-class neighbourhoods of

Pointe-Saint-Charles Pointe-Saint-Charles (also known in English as Point Saint Charles, and locally as The Point, or "PSC") is a neighbourhood in the borough of Le Sud-Ouest in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Historically a working-class area, the creation of m ...

and

, working in the nearby flour mills, factories, and sugar refineries. The famine hardened the attitude of Irish Catholics towards the British and Irish Protestants. Irish Catholics would fight fiercely to preserve a distinct identity from both Quebec Protestants and French Canadian Catholic populations. With the help of Quebec's Irish Catholic Church led by priests such as Father Patrick Dowd, they would establish their own churches, schools, and hospitals. St. Patrick's Basilica was founded in 1847 and served Montreal's English-speaking Catholics for over a century. The Saint Patrick's Society would be revived as a Catholic organization in 1856. Distinct English Catholic schools, affiliated with French Catholic school boards, developed in the 1840s and 1850s. ThomasDArcyMcGee

The famine also radicalized a portion of the Irish population. The

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated ...

movement in Ireland and the

sought to overthrow

British rule in Ireland British rule in Ireland spanned several centuries and involved British control of parts, or entirety, of the island of Ireland. British involvement in Ireland began with the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169. Most of Ireland gained indepen ...

. The

Fenian Brotherhood The Fenian Brotherhood () was an Irish republican organisation founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organisation to the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Me ...

in the United States organized raids across the border into Canada in an attempt to seize control of the British colony. Irish Protestants used the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots people, Ulster Sco ...

to assert British rule in Ireland and Canada, and espoused anti-Catholic views. D'Arcy McGee, an Irish Montrealer serving as a Cabinet Minister in the

Great Coalition The Great Coalition was a grand coalition of political parties that brought an end to political deadlock in the Province of Canada. It existed from May 1864 until Confederation in 1867. Prelude Four different ministries had failed in the pr ...

Government, strongly opposed both the Orange Order and Fenians. He worked as a Cabinet Minister within the

government to ensure that the rights of Catholics were protected in the new

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

of provinces in

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

in 1867. As a result, Catholic school boards became enshrined in the Canadian Constitution in 1867. They were abolished and merged with Protestant schools into English school boards after a Constitutional amendment in 2001. McGee was assassinated by Fenians as a traitor in 1868.

Post-Confederation and modern-day Quebec

English language Irish Catholic institutions continued to expand in the late 19th and early 20th century. Loyola College (Montreal) was founded by the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

to serve Montreal's mostly Irish English-speaking Catholic community in 1896. Saint Mary's Hospital was founded in the 1920s and continues to serve Montreal's present-day English-speaking population. One of the greatest influences the Irish had and still have on their new compatriots is within music. The

music of Quebec Like many cosmopolitan cities, Quebec is a home for all genres of music. From folk music to hip hop, music has always played an important role in Quebecer culture. In the 1920s and '30s singer/songwriter Madam Bolduc performed comedic songs in ...

has adopted, and adapted, the Irish

reel A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the end ...

as its own. The

parade of

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

is still the oldest organized large parade of its kind in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...

. On March 17, 2008, on the 175th anniversary of Montreal's St. Patrick Society, Quebec Premier

Jean Charest John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 and the fifth deputy prime minister of Canada in 1993. Charest was elected to the House o ...

announced the creation of the Johnson chair of Irish studies at

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

.Concordia Journal
20 March 2008

Famous Irish Quebecers

La Bolduc Mary Rose-Anne Bolduc, born Travers, (June 4, 1894 – February 20, 1941) was a musician and singer of French Canadian music. She was known as Madame Bolduc or La Bolduc. During the peak of her popularity in the 1930s, she was known as the ...

* Pat Burns * Patrice Bergeron-Cleary * Robin Burns *

* Jim Corcoran *

Georges Dor Georges Dor (March 10, 1931 – July 24, 2001) was a '' Québécois'' author, composer, playwright, singer, poet, translator, and theatrical producer and director. Early life Dor was born Georges-Henri Dore in Drummondville into a large family. A ...

*Sir Edmund Flynn * Frank Hanley * Emmett Johns * Daniel Johnson, Sr. * Daniel Johnson, Jr. *

Pierre-Marc Johnson Pierre-Marc Johnson (born July 5, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer, physician and politician. He was the 24th premier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985, making him the province's shortest-serving premier, and the first Baby Boomer to hold ...

* Patrick Kennedy *

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in '' SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in '' ...

(American-born) * Dr. Larkin Kerwin *

Joe Malone Maurice Joseph Malone (February 28, 1890 – May 15, 1969) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Bulldogs, Montreal Canadiens, and Hamil ...

* Paul Martin *

Kate McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010)Obituary at CBC ...

Anna McGarrigle Anna McGarrigle, CM (born December 4, 1944) is a Canadian folk music singer and songwriter who recorded and performed with her sister, Kate McGarrigle, who died in 2010. Early life Anna McGarrigle studied at the École des beaux-arts de Montr� ...

* Thomas Mulcair *

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...

* Emile Nelligan *

Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, (probably 27 February 1797 – 29 May 1880) was a doctor and journalist. Career Born in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland, he studied medicine in Paris and immigrated to Lower Canada in 1823 where he became involved i ...

* Marianna O'Gallagher * Claude Ryan *Robert Guy Scully * Kevin Tierney *

Georges Vanier Georges-Philias Vanier (23 April 1888 – 5 March 1967) was a Canadian military officer and diplomat who served as governor general of Canada, the first Quebecer and second Canadian-born person to hold the position. Vanier was born and ...

Notes

References

In French

* Jolivet, Simon (2014). "Les Irlandais : Une histoire de leur intégration", in Claube Corbo, ed., ''Histoires d'immigrations'', Montréal, Les Presses de l'Université du Québec, à paraître. * Jolivet, Simon, Linda Cardinal et Isabelle Matte, eds. (2014). ''Le Québec et l'Irlande. Culture, histoire, identité'', Sillery, Les Éditions du Septentrion, 298 p. * Jolivet, Simon (2011). ''Le vert et le bleu. Identité québécoise et identité irlandaise au tournant du XXe siècl'', Montréal, Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal, 294 p. * Jolivet, Simon, "Entre nationalismes irlandais et canadien-français: Les intrigues québécoises de la Self Determination for Ireland League of Canada and Newfoundland", in ''Canadian Historical Review'', Volume 92, Number 1, 2011, pp. 43–68. * Jolivet, Simon, et al., "Premier dossier : Le Québec, l’Irlande et la diaspora irlandaise", in ''Bulletin d'histoire politique'', vol. 18, no 3, 2010.

In English

* O'Brien, Kathleen. "Language, monuments, and the politics of memory in Quebec and Ireland", in ''Éire-Ireland: A Journal of Irish Studies'', March 22, 2003
online excerpt
* Burns, Patricia (1998). ''The Shamrock and the Shield : An Oral History of the Irish in Montreal'', Montreal: Véhicule Press, 202 p. * O'Gallagher, Marianna (1998). ''The Shamrock Trail: Tracing the Irish in Quebec City'', Livres Carraig Books, 35 p. * O'Gallagher, Marianna and Rose Masson Dompierre (1995). ''Eyewitness: Grosse Isle, 1847'', Livres Carraig Books, 432 p. * Toner, Peter.
Irish
, in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Historica Foundation, 2008 * Grace, Robert J. (1993). ''The Irish in Quebec, an introduction to the historiography. Followed by An Annotated Bibliography on the Irish in Quebec'', Institut québécois de recherche sur la culture, 265 p. * O'Driscoll, Robert and Lorna Reynolds (1988). ''The Untold Story. The Irish in Canada'', Toronto: Celtic Arts of Canada, 1041 p. * Fitzgerald, Margaret E. (1988). ''The Uncounted Irish in Canada and the United States'', Toronto: P.D. Meany Publishers, 377 p. * O'Gallagher, Marianna (1984). ''Grosse Île: Gateway to Canada, 1832-1937'', Carraig Books, 184 p. * O'Gallagher, Marianna (1981). ''Saint Patrick's Quebec'', Carraig Books, 124 p. * Guerin, Thomas (1946). ''The Gael in New France'', 134 pages * O'Farrell, John (1872). ''Irish Families in Ancient Quebec Records with some account of Soldiers from Irish Brigade Regiments of France serving with the Army of Montcalm'', 28 pages - Address delivered at the annual concert and ball of the St. Patrick's Society, Montreal, 15 January 1872 (reprinted 1908, 1967) * D'Arcy McGee, Thomas (1852). ''A History of the Irish Settlers in North America. From the Earliest Period to the Census of 1850'', Boston: P. Donahoe, 240 p.
online

External links

United Irish Societies of Montreal - Organizers of Montreal's St Patrick's parade

Being Irish O'Quebec
exhibition at McCord Museum * LAC.
The Shamrock and the Maple Leaf
, exhibition of Irish-Canadian documentary heritage held by ''

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...

'', updated March 10, 2006 * Gail, Walsh.
The Irish in Quebec
, in ''The Irish in Canada'' Web site * Roux, Maryse
À la St-Patrick, tout le monde est irlandais!
(in French) * McLane, Dennis
The Frampton Irish Website
* Aubry, Louis
Tec Cornelius: The First Irish Immigrant in Canada
Presentation to the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa, Conference, 2002

* ttp://www.montrealirishparade.com United Irish Societies of Montreal
St. Columban-Irish
* Whyte, Robert
The ocean plague; or, A voyage to Quebec in an Irish emigrant vessel, embracing a quarantine at Grosse Isle in 1847. With notes illustrative of the ship-pestilence of that fatal year
Boston : Coolidge & Wiley, 12 Water Street, 1848. Accessed July 18, 2012, in PDF format.
Constitution of the St. Patrick's Society of Quebec. Established in 1836. Incorporated by Act of Provincial Parliament
Quebec : Printed by E.S. Pooler, 1850. Accessed July 18, 2012, in PDF format. {{DEFAULTSORT:Quebecers, Irish + Culture of Quebec + *