Are you feeling a little green around the
counted 3,823,000 respondents quoting
gills?
Irish ethnicity.
It is the day after St. Patrick’s Day, so
Thatcomesasquiteasurprise.Itseems
many of you must be recovering from a
thattheIrish,oratleasttheirdescendants,
hangover.
live among us. They are a distinct
Afterall,boozeisabigpartofcelebrating
minority in these parts. And once a year,
the saint who, legend has it, drove all the
they come out and wear their hearts on
snakes out of the Emerald Isle. And, of
their sleeves.
course, you no doubt chowed down on
So, whether you celebrated in your
potatoes and cabbage.
The Irish spirits
kitchen, in a bar, or in a street, here’s
If you partied in the proper fashion, you
hoping youhad a good St. Patrick’sDay.
should have also given yourself a good
Here’s hoping that the road always rises
St.Paddy’sprocessionlastyear.AHillparade
overall physical and emotional workout,
first big wave came following the War of
up to meet you, the rain falls softly on
may be the start of a grand tradition.
because,apartfromdrinking,theIrishlove
1812. In fact, from 1825 to 1845, more than
your fields, and you be half an hour in
Now, a true Irishman knows that any day
to laugh, cry, dance, sing, brawl and
half of all immigrants to Canada were Irish.
Heaven before the Devil knows you’re
is a good day to enjoy a pint, green or
reminisce, all at the same time.
In 1831 alone, no less than 34,000 landed in
dead.
otherwise.
Well, that is the theory, anyway.
Montréal.
However, a collective recognition of an
Stereotypes often define a culture but
Canadawasapopulardestinationforthe
important element of our special cultural
clichés rarely accurately reflect a people.
IrishCatholicsbecauseitwascheapertosail
mix is heartening and uplifting, because it is
But then, that is also just another theory,
here than to the United States or Australia.
a special shared experience.
isn’t it?
The distance was shorter and passage was
On another level, St. Patrick’s Day is a
For instance, green beer is a North
cheaper because the desperate refugees
great excuse to let down the hair, blow off
American thing – you will rarely find that
could be loaded into empty timber ships
some steam and rediscover the therapeutic
coloured brew in the Old Sod. Like many
that were bringing valuable material from
benefits of engaging in some good, old-
other customs, St. Patrick’s Day rites have
Canada to England’s shipyards. Many of
fashioned drinking songs.
evolved over the years.
the people who landed in the Hawkesbury
Before anyone gets upset, this is no way
However, some of the clichés are not far
region were part of this migration. They
meant to encourage alcohol consumption or
from the truth. For example, some of us
want to work in sawmills to hew the wood
exuberance. Celebrants must always
rememberthedayswhenchildrenwerefed
thatwouldbeusedinBritain’sfleetthatwas
remember that they must act responsibly
the lore and music of Ireland, along with
engaged in battle against Napoléon.
and obey all laws at all times. Fun is fun —
potatoes,fishonFridayandamistrustofall
About 1.2 million Irish immigrants
untilsomeonestartsseeingleprechauns,and
non-Catholics. A St. Patrick’s Day concert
arrived between 1825 and 1970, at least half
startsfollowingthemalongtherockyroadto
was a huge, almost sacred, event at the
of those in the period from 1831-1850. By
Dublin, to find the pot of gold at the end of
Roman Catholic school where all the little
1867, they were the second largest ethnic
the rainbow.
cherubs knew they were going straight to
group (after the French), and comprised 24
The pursuit of riches and/or freedom is
Heaven because they feared the nuns, the
per cent of Canada’s population.
older than the Blarney Stone. The green
parishpriest, the Pope and the Lord, in that
By 1931 there were 1,230,000 Canadians
movement has ebbed and flowed over the
order, and could recite every single word
of Irish descent, half of whom lived in
centuries.
from the hymn All Praise to Saint Patrick.
Ontario.
Ireland has given the world James Joyce,
Speaking of big eventsworthy of praise,
And they are not going away.
Oscar Wilde, Sinéad O’Connor, Van
we ought to give a tip of the shillelagh to
In fact, the 2006 census showed that the
Photo Richard Mahoney
Morrison, U2, Hothouse Flowers, River
PhilArber,amajormoverbehindVankleek
Irish were the fourth largest ethnic group
The organizer of the first St. Patrick'sDay
Dance, The Commitments, BobGeldoff, and
Hill activities, who this year decided to
with 4,354,000 Canadians, or 14 per cent of
parade in Vankleek Hill Sunday, Phil
amultitudeoffabulous,lesser-knownpeople.
organize the region’s first St. Patrick’s
thetotalpopulation,claimingtohavefullor
Arber, got a resounding "Yes!" when he
History books tell us that Irish roots in
parade May 13. Arber, who like everyone
partial Irish descent.
asked the crowd if the event should
Canada go back to 1536, when fishermen
elsemusthavesomeIrishroots,gottheidea
This figure represented a huge increase
become a tradition.
from Cork travelled to Newfoundland. The
foraHillbashafterhetookpartinHudson’s
of 531,495 since the 2001 census, which
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