The Embassy of Ireland yesterday unveiled and re-dedicated the new Celtic Cross monument to the more than 1,000 Irish workers who gave their lives digging out the Rideau Canal in Ottawa from 1826 to 1832.
Among those who attended the small ceremony were Michael Hurley, deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Ireland, Brian Daly, president of the Irish Society of the National Capital Region, and Ottawa and District Labour Council president Sean McKenny.
The original cross was erected in 2004, but it was knocked over and shattered into pieces by vandals last August.
A CBC news report outlines part of the history of the canal. “The Rideau Canal was originally built in response to the War of 1812 with the United States.
“During the war, ships travelling along the St. Lawrence River near the state of New York were vulnerable to attack, according to information from the Canadian Canal Society.
“So the canal was constructed to serve as an alternate transit route between Montreal and Kingston, keeping ships out of the line of fire.”
Mr. McKenny told CBC the canal-building workforce was made up in large part by Irish immigrants, French-Canadians, and Algonquin peoples.
