Two walking tours about the Irish in Montreal will take place this weekend and next. Both will last two hours and will be led by Donovan King, a professional actor, storyteller, and founder of Haunted Montreal ghost tours.
The first tour on Saturday, March 18 will focus on the impact of the Irish Famine on Montreal in 1847. It will begin a 9:00 a.m. at Pointe-à-Callière Museum at 350 Place Royale in Old Montreal. On the tour, participants will visit Montreal Famine sites, including forgotten cemeteries, religious institutions, the Lachine Canal, the ruins of a church, and Montreal’s Black Rock. To be revealed: Irish Monument Park Foundation’s plans to rescue a Famine cemetery “from industrial forces.”
The second tour on Sunday, March 26 will explore the history of the Irish in Montreal. It will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Old Dublin Pub, 636 Cathcart Street, in downtown Montreal, and end at Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Church, 400 rue Saint-Paul East, in Old Montreal. Participants will visit historic Montreal Irish sites, including churches, watering holes, the ruins of a refuge, and forgotten areas, such as Little Dublin and Paper Hill. To be revealed: the Bloomsday connection between James Joyce’s Ulysses and Montreal.
The fee for each tour is $20 per person, payable in cash upon arrival, with proceeds going to the Irish Monument Park Foundation. To reserve your place, send an email to irishmontrealexcursions@gmail.com. Visit the website here.
I’ve been to some of these sites, but not all. Wish I could be there. Of course, I wish I could be in Canada every day!