Last week, Ireland’s Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltach Heather Humphreys toured New Brunswick, making stops in Saint John, Miramichi and Moncton to pay tribute to the people of Canada who helped Irish immigrants escape the Famine of the 1840s. The tour was part of the 2015 International Famine Commemoration.
While in Saint John, Minister Humphreys unveiled a plaque at the Celtic Cross to commemorate those who left Newry and Warrenpoint in Co. Down to settle in New Brunswick and elsewhere in Canada.
In September, the Minister had attended a ceremony in Newry and later in nearby Warrenpoint unveiled a momument to commemorate those who left that port during the Famine for New Brunswick.
The connecction between the two Irish communities and New Brunswick includes a tragic story. On April 3, 1849, almost 200 citizens, mostly from the towns of Newry and Warrenpoint, set sail for Quebec aboard the brig, Hannah. Twenty-six days into her journey, the brig struck an iceberg in the Gulf of the St. Lawrencene and, abandoned by its captain and officers on the only lifeboat, sank with the loss of at least 49 lives.
In contrast to the fate of those on the Hannah, other voyages were more successful.
Easter Rising of 1916 events
Minister Humphreys also spoke at the unveiling in Saint John about the upcoming centenary of the Easter Rising of 1916. Commemorative events have been confirmed in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Halifax, and Toronto. She also said, “Our embassy in Ottawa is working closely with the Canadian schools of Irish/Celtic Studies, the Canadian Association of Irish Studies, and local historians on a series of conferences on 1916.”
Minister Humphreys’ entire speech can be read online.
Thanks to Fergus V. Keyes, director of the Montreal Irish Monument Park Foundation, for sharing this speech on Facebook.
