Documentary about the Irish and Great Famine on YouTube

A new documentary tells the story of the Irish who fled poverty and the Great Famine of 1847 and travelled to Canada, and the master cut has been put on YouTube.

Written and directed by former Montrealer Kevin Moynihan, The Famine Irish and Canada’s First Responders, focuses on the Irish immigrants’ arrival at the quarantine station on Grosse Île and their experience in fever sheds in Montreal and Toronto and the response of early Canadian men and women — French and English, Catholic and Protestant — to Canada’s first refugee crisis.

Among those interviewed are members of the Grey Nuns of Montreal and Sisters of Providence, Professor Mark McGown of the Unviersity of Toronto, Dr. Michael Kenneally of  Concordia University, Professor Christine Kinealy of Quinnipiac University, Dr. Jason King, National University of Ireland, and Fergus Keyes of the Montreal Irish Monument Foundation.

The film is dedicated to the memory of the more than 12,000 Irish men, women and children who are buried on Grosse Île and in Montreal and Toronto, and to the first responders who welcomed them to Canada and cared for those suffering from typhus in 1847.

During the past year, Canadians welcomed more than 25,000 Syrian refugees. It’s what we do, have done in the past, and will continue to do in the future. Our country is richer because of the immigrants and refugees who have come here during the past four centuries.

If you have a quiet moment during the holidays, pour yourself an eggnog or a glass of chilled Chardonnay, put your feet up, and watch this film.

You can click on the image above or go to YouTube here. It is also available in French here.