Black Rock: Commemorating the imprint of the Irish in Quebec society

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Montreal St. Patrick’s Day parade will take place Sunday — but there’s another reason why this year is significant.

Concrete plans are now in the works for a long-awaited memorial to honour the Irish community in Quebec.

Construction is set to begin in 2025 on a memorial park commemorating the imprint of the Irish in Quebec society.

The Point-Saint-Charles park will facilitate access to Black Rock, a stone monument commemorating Irish immigrants who died of typhus on their way to Canada

The monument, located near the Victoria Bridge, stands atop the burial grounds of roughly 6,000 of these immigrants, many of whom left their homeland to flee the potato famine in the 1800s.

The Irish Monument Park Foundation has spent more than a decade fighting for a proper memorial here.

“Much of the history has been lost, people aren’t that familiar with it,” said foundation representative Fergus Keyes.

Irish newcomers helped lay the foundations of Montreal, digging the Lachine canal, laying the bricks St. Patrick’s Basilica and building the Victoria Bridge.

It was during that last construction that Irish workers uncovered the bodies of their compatriots.

“Whenever I’d drive past this stone, my grandfather would say, ‘that’s yours, don’t forget it,’” said Victor Boyle, another representative for the Irish Monument Park Foundation.

He wants to honour his grandfather and his entire community by ensuring the memory lives on.

The city has pledged $15 million to make that a reality.