By Brian Roulston
Hey, Northenders! Let’s paint the town green and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style! Whether you’re Irish or not, it is our opportunity to embrace the vibrant Irish culture. With approximately 15.8% of our population proudly celebrating their Irish heritage, let’s all raise a glass and honour the colourful and diverse contributions of the Irish community to our nation and city. It’s a magical day of fun, laughter, and a whole lot of Irish spirit!
Tadhg Cornelius O’Brennan, a former soldier during the Cromwellian invasion, was the first documented Irish person to arrive in Canada in 1661 at the age of 29. He settled in Ville-Marie, now Montreal, and eventually became a well-established farmer at Pointe-Aux-Trembles outside the city. He passed away in 1687.
Before Tadhg, a group of fishermen and a few Irish women, possibly among the Norse explorers, had settled in what the Irish call “Talamh an Éisc” or “Land of Fish,” now known as Newfoundland and Labrador. Their names were unknown at the time, and unfortunately, they were not documented, leaving a void in the historical records as the first official Irish immigrants to Canada.
Like many other cultures, the Irish have played a significant role in building our great nation into what it is today through hard work and perseverance. By the 1830s, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I, Upper, and Lower Canada had significant populations of Irish settlers. Irish immigrant workers formed the largest labour pool in Ontario and Quebec. Many of these Irish workers travelled in large work gangs. Each of these gangs was identified as the region they were from, such as Corkmen, Munstermen, or Cannaughtmen. Armed with picks, shovels, axes, horses, and oxen, they helped build some of Canada’s most prominent infrastructure, such as the Rideau Canal, Lachine Canal, and Wellington Canal, often working 14-hour days, six days a week. They also contributed to building the railway across Canada and parts of the Grand Trunk Railway.
According to the Irish Club of Hamilton, St. Peter’s and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton were initially established by Irish clergymen to respond to the needs of Irish Immigrants, orphans, and the poor.
St. Patrick’s Day is a statutory holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador, and it holds a special place in the hearts of many Canadians. In Ontario and the rest of Canada, it is celebrated as a day of observance. Whether you enjoy a shamrock shake from McDonald’s, dress in green, drink green beer, or savour corned beef and cabbage, these traditions connect us to Irish heritage.
The first St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Canada was held in Montreal in 1759 by the Montreal Garrison Irish soldiers who, homesick, organized the event to remember their beloved homeland. The Irish soldiers attended religious services, which were followed by special dinners. This event came after The Conquest (La Conquête), the acquisition of Canada by Great Britain during the Seven Years’ War.
According to the United Irish Societies of Montreal (U.I.S), the first St. Patrick’s Day parade held in Canada was on March 17th, 1824. The parade was organized by Michael O’Sullivan, a lawyer and a member of the Parliament of Lower Canada. Since then, Irish parades have been held annually in many cities across Canada on this day.
Potatoes, the so-called “Irish Lumper,” were a staple food for people experiencing poverty in Ireland, particularly during the winter. Crops began to fail in 1845 due to Phytophthora infestans. Queen Victoria of England and parliament repealed the “Corn Laws” and their tariffs on grain, which made foods such as corn and bread prohibitively expensive. These changes did little to combat the growing hunger within Ireland. Thousands died from starvation, and hundreds of thousands more from disease caused by malnutrition. Potato crops didn’t recover until 1852. There are no firm numbers, but it is estimated that 1 million men, women and children died during the Great Famine, aka the Great Hunger; another 1 to 2 million left their Irish homeland for a better life in North America or Great Britain.
In the 1840s and 1850s, the Port town of Hamilton was one of the largest ports of immigration in Canada, behind Quebec City and Halifax. An estimated 38,000 Irish immigrants arrived on the piers. They were fleeing the devastation of the potato famine in their homeland caused by successive crop failures. Many of these immigrants settled in the Corktown District, named after the city of Cork in south Ireland. From 1871 to 1901, about 3500 Irish people settled in Hamilton yearly. Irish immigrants comprised 13.5% of Hamilton’s population by the turn of the twentieth Century. Thousands more Irish people passed through Hamilton to the United States.
On Friday, March 17th, 1876, The St. Patrick’s Benevolent & Literary Society, Father Mathew Temperance & Benevolent Society and the Emerald B. Association, Sarsfield Branch #1 from Guelph came together to hold the first St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Hamilton. It was a cold, miserable March morning with high winds blowing in from the east. Sleet fell for several hours that day, making the streets a slippery and muddy mess. Despite the weather, nothing could dampen the Irish spirit. At 9:00 am, Hamilton’s first St. Patrick’s Day participants from the above associations gathered in front of the old City Hall, where the former City Centre at Jackson Square is now, to organize their parade. A giant green banner hung outside the city hall’s window, blowing in the icy wind, celebrating the anniversary of Ireland’s Patron Saint.
At 9:30, The parade got underway with the St. Patrick’s band leading the procession while playing “The harp that once went through Tara’s hall, The soul of music shed.” Several onlookers commented that the young men of Sarsfield looked very imposing, presenting a military appearance and that they were a splendid group as they marched along to “The Wearing of the Green”. The children’s branch of the Temperance Society had put smiles on the people lining the parade route. Little children were marching proudly, wearing medals on their chests.
The parade went from the market square to St. Mary’s Cathedral via James, Vine, and Park Streets, where participants dispersed and attended church services. Following the services, the parade was reorganized on Park and Sheaffe Streets. The parade covered almost every street between Bay and Wellington, from Main to Burlington Street. The parade finished at St. Patrick’s Hall on James St. Later that afternoon, all three groups gathered at the Mechanic’s Hall (York and James St.), where representatives of each association gave congratulatory speeches.
That evening, a constant stream of people poured into the Mechanic’s Hall from every corner of the city to attend the St. Patrick’s Day Concert. The hall was maxed out, and many people left in frustration because there was no standing room. At 8:30, the concert began. The first musical piece was a waltz by Offenbach by the St. Patrick’s Band.
Dr. Filgiano sang, “The harp that once through Tara’s Hall, the soul of music shed.” His golden voice was flawless, and he hit every note. The audience gave him a standing ovation and an enthusiastic round of applause. Several more songs and vocals were also performed that evening. There wasn’t a dry eye among the Irish in the hall when the concert ended with “The Royal Irish” and the Irish National Anthem.
There are several versions of Saint Patrick’s early life. The common thread is that St. Patrick was born in 4th-century Britain, where the Romans ruled. He was kidnapped and brought to Ireland, where he was enslaved and tended flocks and herds. He eventually escaped, and after becoming a priest, he changed his name to Patricius (or Patrick), the Latin term for “father figure,” Patricius eventually returned to Ireland, where he brought Christianity to the Emerald Isle.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day Hamilton!!
