Montreal's Ship Fever Monument: an Irish Famine Memorial in the Making Author(S): Colin Mcmahon Source: the Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, Vol

Canadian Journal of Irish Studies Canadian Association of Irish Studies

Montreal's Ship Fever Monument: An Irish Famine Memorial in the Making Author(s): Colin McMahon Source: The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, Vol. 33, No. 1, Ireland and Quebec / L'Irlande et le Québec (Spring, 2007), pp. 48-60 Published by: Canadian Journal of Irish Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25515660 . Accessed: 30/11/2014 10:58

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This content downloaded from 132.206.27.25 on Sun, 30 Nov 2014 10:58:43 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Colin McMAHON

Montreal's Fever Monument Ship An Irish Famine Memorial in the Making

The Famine migration, which brought close to one hundred to in their most forms."8 Fearful of "the conversion of thousand Irishmigrants British North America 1847, has revolting in as the seminal event in the a .into a virtual citi2en persisted public memory history populous city.. Quarantine Station," of the Irish in Canada. Despite the efforts of many historians groups and the Board of Health demanded that all incoming who have downplayed the significance of 1847 in relation to immigrants be quarantined outside city limits on one of the the wave of that Protestants and Boucherville islands.9 the larger migration brought However, city's Joint Emigrant to in and Easton Catholics from Ireland the Canadas the thirty years prior Commissioners Montreal's Mayor, John Mills, to the of Irish-Catholic to that Famine,1 images starving refugees who would eventually fall victim typhus, decided forced to embark on the trans-Adantic the best to was to construct an long and perilous way manage the epidemic to encounter a at on near in voyage only typhus epidemic quarantine additional twenty-two sheds land the riverbank stations on Island or Grosse-Ile have been Pointe one Partridge deeply Saint-Charles, just kilometre southeast of the in Canadian historical consciousness. new to ingrained popular original sheds.10 But the facilities did little alleviate Famine commemorations in the first or contain the as Large-scale organised suffering contagion, thousands stricken with and last decades of the twentieth on Grosse-Ile disease were in It was century overcrowded unsanitary conditions.11 such to a wide audience and ensured not until helped project images October 1847 that the epidemic finally abated, by the island's iconic status as Canada's Famine which time as as six most representative many thousand people had died, - site. was not the or of were Grosse-Ile, however, only significant them Irish-Catholic immigrants who hastily buried - even the first Famine site to be commemorated in Canada. in mass in graves the vicinity of the fever sheds in Pointe In Pointe Saint-Charles, Montreal, where "the horrors of Saint-Charles.12 had Grosse-Ile their counterpart," groups of Irish Catholics For many Irish Catholics in Montreal in the century the Famine as as 1870.2 this the began commemorating early Yet, following tragic episode, Famine migration while Grosse?lie has been the of a considerable a historical moment subject represented defining worthy of amount of with the of a commemoration. The focal of scholarly attention,3 exception point Famine remembrance recent overview of Famine in Canada Mark in the became the a memory by city Ship Fever Monument, boulder McGowan,4 historians of the Irish in Canada have yet to installed and inscribed in 1859 to mark the site of the examine how of the Famine burial to public memory migration reputed grounds adjacent the fever sheds in was contested and constructed in the Pointe Montreal, principal Saint-Charles.13 Inaugurated by representatives of Canadian of disembarkation in 1847.5 the a port Anglo-Protestant elite and group of workers involved While Irish Famine moved in the construction of many migrants eventually the Victoria Bridge, the monument's on to the United left a on was to States, they lasting impression original intent preserve from desecration the final a none more so number of Canadian port cities, but than resting place of all immigrants who died during the typhus Montreal. the summer of 1847 the thousand of 1847. over time a During city's fifty epidemic Only and through process residents had to contend with the arrival of that was often and at one it seventy-five contentious, point litigious, did thousand Irish who were off at the waterfront come to be as a to dropped widely recognised memorial victims of steamers sent the St. Lawrence from the the Famine by up quarantine migration. Analyzing commemorative events station on Grosse-Ile. the was "inundated with at By June city organised the Ship Fever Monument in 1897, 1913, and thousands of the most debilitated and wretched beings, 1942, this paper traces how groups of Irish Catholics laid ever thrown shores in a to upon [its] mostiy sickly, and many claim the boulder as Montreal's Famine memorial. in a state."6 Those to on dying healthy enough continue More specifically, I will examine how collective acts their to destinations in the United States or Canada of remembrance at the memorial site served as a journey staging West waited at Montreal's wharves for while for the transportation, ground negotiation and construction of Irish of were taken to the site Catholic in immigrants exhibiting signs typhus identities Montreal in changing socio-political of two lazarettos and three sheds on the south bank of the contexts the from late nineteenth century into the mid Lachine Canal near where one twentieth While was a Wellington Street,7 journalist century. there generally shared sense observed "all the marks of wretchedness and in of Irish to misery purpose among Catholics honour the memory of Famine who succumbed to migrants typhus in 1847 and 48 McMAHON Montreal's Ship Fever Monument

This content downloaded from 132.206.27.25 on Sun, 30 Nov 2014 10:58:43 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions to their at moments when To Preserve from Desecration the Remains of 6000 Immigrants Who safeguard gravesite, particularly or died of Ship Fever A.D. 1847-48 it was seen to be neglected by its Anglican caretakers violated incursive industrial in Pointe Saint by operations This Stone is erected by theWorkmen of Messrs. Peto, Brassey and the commemorative events at the Charles, organised Ship Betts Employed in the Construction of the Victoria Bridge A.D. a 1859 Fever Monument uncovered range of historical memories a of often and exposed variety competing political agendas. to the site and in their In the of the of Francis In their struggle preserve memorial presence Anglican Bishop Montreal, for rituals and rhetoric in Reverend Canon who had ministered to the search meaningful commemorative Fulford, Leach, in the fifteen years following the Famine jubilee, Irish Catholics small minority of Protestants the fever sheds twelve years were and and Reverend the current to the often confronted with the class ideological earlier, Ellegood, chaplain were Protestant construction the dedication differences that divided their community. They also workers, performed from the Fulford then addressed regularly reminded of the relatively disadvantaged economic atop pedestal. Bishop and that as a to the assembled crowd. in front of the monument political position they, group, continued Standing in near of erected a stone's throw from the entrance to the occupy in the city, reflected the absence Irish just - in constructed Victoria a of Catholic symbolic space Montreal's crowded memorial newly Bridge powerful symbol as the the Famine and industrial vowed landscape. However, centenary of neared, engineering ingenuity progress-Fulford an of Irish now that "the bodies of those here interred be increasing number Catholics, several lying preserved from irreverent that generations removed from Ireland and fully integrated into any usage." While recognising "the great were a of and destructive of 1847 denied a burial Canadian society, enjoying greater degree affluence pestilence" proper to and influence in Montreal. In this context, the embattled its victims, the Anglican Bishop brought the ceremony undertones and nationalist tenor that resonated in Famine to a close with the assurance that "the bodies of the faithful rest undisturbed until commemorations prior to the FirstWorld War gradually gave the day of resurrection."18 to a new to events of one the of Irish Catholics buried way approach recalling the 1847, Despite preponderance that to more on in the mass of the Roman Catholic tended focus celebrating Irish Catholics' graves, representatives to were not invited to the 1859 dedication considerable pioneering contributions Canada and their hierarchy ceremony historic in times of and thus denied the to consecrate the in resiliency adversity. opportunity ground of the Famine who which the bodies of their faithful. Their notable absence Though many migrants remained lay at the was of the in Montreal lived and worked in close proximity to the ceremony indicative growing animus that - burial site in the industrial milieu of Pointe Saint-Charles existed between Catholics and Protestants in Montreal, - and across the Lachine canal in Griffintown there was where religious bigotry was routinely preached from the no immediate effort made to create a memorial to their pulpit and propagated by the press. The same edition of the was Montreal a well known for its compatriots who died in 1847. It not until 1854 when Witness, paper anti-papist views, construction of the Victoria commenced that on the also featured Bridge that the reported dedicatory ceremony to attract an editorial Roman Catholicism as "a sect burial site began commemorative attention. Over characterising the next five thousands of which takes no care to conceal its treasonable years, labourers, including many designs."19 Such outbursts were to unskilled Irish Catholics, found themselves working at the inextricably linked rising sectarian at tensions in the since to be Irish in northern end of the Bridge the very spot where the typhus city where, mid-century, were in as Montreal was associated with Catholic.20 victims buried 1847. As many five hundred English increasingly being even next to In this of the and Irish workers took up residence the mass context, representatives Anglo-Protestant in the fever sheds establishment were not interested in graves which Peto, Brassey and Betts, clearly identifying the victims of as the British firm responsible for building the bridge, had typhus predominantly Irish-Catholic and risk converted into If a monument that lend credence to a housing. these formerly febrile environs inaugurating might were not the nascent movement of radical Irish unsettling enough, presence of "a small mound nationalism, which looked a to the Famine as evidence of and cross" outside their doors would have served as a British misgovernment and a even As dutiful further reminder that they lived and worked at "sacred genocide.21 Christians, they would do what As hurried to could to "treat the dead with reverence spot."14 they complete construction of the they and regard," in the autumn of were but would steer clear of memorial exercise into bridge 1859, workers purportedly any delving so the concerned that "the remains of their poor countrymen increasingly politicised history of the Famine, for fear would be to a of forgotten," that they "determined erect exacerbating strained relations between Irish Catholics monument the and in Montreal.22 upon spot."15 Anglo-Protestants The monument took the form of a Less than after the Irish granite boulder that twenty years influx into had either been Famine also had the dredged from the bed of the St. Lawrence Montreal, memory potential of the construction of the or taken out of a Irish-Catholic relations with their during bridge field fracturing francophone a few hundred from the On and even fissures within yards gravesite.16 December 1, coreligionists exposing the city's 1859, just three weeks before theVictoria Bridge opened for Irish-Catholic community itself. Unlike those who advocated a of workers under the a nationalist construction of an traffic, group supervision of chief radically the Famine, concluded influential cohort of engineer James Hodges, "the Herculean business," Irish Catholics in the city did not see a derrick to the of using hoist the thirty-ton rock and affix it upon advantage dredging up memories of the Famine, a six-foot stone On this massive and while were to pedestal.17 misshapen particularly they attempting maintain the tombstone the dedication was following engraved: CJIS/RCfil 33:1 49

This content downloaded from 132.206.27.25 on Sun, 30 Nov 2014 10:58:43 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions integrity of Irish parishes in the city. In 1866 when Bishop In their bid to gain ownership of the site, delegates from Ignace Bourget, in an attempt to allay Irish fears about the the Order approached Anglican Archdeacon Ker, promising of wrote a letter to construct a fence around the erect a realignment parish boundaries, pastoral monument, plain the Irish of the assistance were cross at the entrance to the and the reminding they offered cemetery, landscape plot by their French-speaking Catholics in 1847, many Irish with grass and flowers. However, Bishop Bond, speaking St. on on Catholics reacted with outrage. Patrick's congregation, behalf of the Archdeacon, denied their request the Father Thomas that "men of more one were represented by Patrick Dowd and D'Arcy grounds than denomination let it be known that were not interested in buried This to take of McGee, they there."29 scuttled attempt possession on as it the as an to dwelling the Famine experience, would only weaken burial site served unwelcome reminder the AOH their in Montreal. some that Fever was never to an already vulnerable position Clearly the Ship Monument intended be Irish those who were more established Irish-Catholic Famine trustees Catholics, particularly memorial and its Anglican and settled in the were to an were intent on it longer city, eager project image keeping that way. of respectability and preferred not to be pushed to recall the Though increasingly disillusioned with the monument destitute state inwhich the Irish arrived in 1847.23 and its caretakers, Irish societies were not deterred from In the wake of this a the to controversy, however, growing appropriating memorial site mark the Famine jubilee. of Irish in the On 1897 a event was number Catholics city, primarily those September 19, commemorative affiliated with St. Ann's in were on a scale "never seen in the parish Griffintown, beginning organised before history of to show interest in the Famine and to the Irish to remembering began Catholics of Montreal."30 In addition the five look the Fever Monument as an Irish thousand Irish Montrealers upon Ship important carrying banners and bunting Catholic landmark. The first collective, albeit informal, act who walked the two-kilometre route from St. Ann's church of remembrance Irish Catholics at the memorial site in Griffintown to the some by reputed burial grounds, twenty same took place in July 1870, ironically the year that tide to thousand spectators lined Wellington Street and followed the memorial site was transferred to the the to Anglican Bishop procession the commemorative site.31 As the united of Montreal in Father the of St. choirs of the a perpetuity. Hogan, pastor city sang requiem, the immense crowd led a small that Father M.B. a Ann's, group brought Buckley, gathered around platform erected for the occasion and a from on a tour of notable Irish the of honour took their on visiting priest Ireland, guests positions stage. After sites in the was to see city. Significandy, Buckley brought the Catholic Archbishop Bruchesi offered prayers, several of of land "where so of fellow so the most Irish-Catholic plot many [his] countrymen city's prominent leaders, including For his visit to the monument Father of St. Ann's Dr. miserably perished." Buckley, Strubbe, pastor parish, J.J. Guerin, was but he was the mention then of the St. Patrick's particularly moving, perplexed by president Society, Michael Quinn, of in the monument's M.P. for the of Ste. "6,000 immigrants" inscription.24 riding Anne, and Mr. Justice Frank he "did not "Why," wondered, they say Irish?"25 Despite Curran, Judge of the Superior Court of Montreal delivered this Irish claims to the monument were orations that drew glaring omission, upon familiar nationalist tropes. From further strengthened by the mid-1880s, when the Fathers their perspective, the Irish who were exiled in 1847 and of the assumed control of St. Ann's Church. on the Redemptorists perished shores of the St. Lawrence died as martyrs introduced the tradition of thememorial site to their They visiting preserving nationality and their faith. Their courage hold an annual service in "for the of was matched that of the Requiem June repose only by priests, nuns, and French the souls of the thousands of Irish Catholics whose bones Canadian families who took in to orphans and ministered are there interred."26 the needs of the Irish throughout that calamitous summer.32 These commemorative acts, were But the most insistent that came across however, infrequent message during the and small in the site unattended for much of the commemorative oscillated scale, leaving ceremony between self-flagellation year. The True Witness and Catholic the and 1847 not Chronicle, mouthpiece self-congratulation. Collectively remembering of Irish Catholics in the lamented the fact that "the an occasion to celebrate the to city tall, only presented degree which and the weed riot over the Montreal's Irish had overcome in tangled grass sturdy luxuriandy adversity the fifty years where man's feet neglected plot seldom stray."27 By 1895, since the Famine, it also served as a reminder of how derelict Montreal's of the Ancient Order of Hibernians had been in their to chapter they duty honour the memory of their formed three was (AOH), just years earlier, equally distressed predecessors. the desolate state of the burial As a Catholic Several at by grounds.28 speakers the commemorative event took fraternal with amandate to maintain a sense of the to organisation opportunity express their disappointment that Irish the and traditions of Ireland the the Catholics had to secure over history among diaspora, yet proprietary control the AOH took it itself to act as of the site role site from upon guardians (a Anglican authorities. For Father Strubbe, it was it continues to to the As the most play present day). militandy essential that the land upon which the monument stood be nationalist of the Irish societies in the AOH were transferred to the Catholic so Montreal, Church, that the cemetery could also interested in the memorial site for reasons. For be consecrated and political properly prayers for the dead performed nationalists of their the Famine was Under such circumstances ideological persuasion, regularly.33 that prevented Irish viewed as the most heinous of the historical Catholics from the many wrongs acquiring property, Strubbe and Justice committed the British Irish and was, Frank Curran by against Catholics, suggested transferring "the bones of the a therefore, powerfully symbolic historical event that could .to a more Cote des departed.. fitting place, namely, Neiges be invoked as of the for Irish This to part struggle independence. Cemetery."34 proposal relocate the remains is not that surprising considering that since the mid-nineteenth 50McMAHON Montreal's Ship Fever Monument

This content downloaded from 132.206.27.25 on Sun, 30 Nov 2014 10:58:43 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions century Catholic and Protestant Montrealers had looked to they would refrain from any desecration of the last resting the romantic of cemeteries on Mount as of at landscape Royal place the unfortunate Irish emigrants Point St. Charles for These sentiments were more formal respectable and dignified burial sites their dead.35When [sic]"40 given expression compared to the 365 picturesque acres of Cote des Neiges when representatives from Irish societies met in Hibernia on Cemetery, designed by surveyor and architect Henri-Maurice Hall November 29,1898 to protest the sale of the site to Perrault, the bleak, industrial milieu of Pointe Saint-Charles theGTR and pass a resolution objecting to "the desecration struck some at the commemorative as a of the of in ceremony highly remains 6,000 Irish immigrants...interred the even for Famine at Point St. Charles." "to inappropriate, sacrilegious, resting place cemetery Together they pledged means in their out migrants. prevent by every power the carrying of Irish-Catholic at the such a leaders jubilee commemorative project."41 even to seen as ceremony expressed greater disenchantment with the Determined have their resolution be Ship Fever Monument that marked the site of the burial representative of the views of all the Montreal Irish, the To the boulder crude in at to grounds. some, appeared comparison delegates Hibernia Hall attempted muffle dissent, to the bronze and marble that was as "unauthorized action polished statuary being denouncing and unworthy any by a erected at feverish pace inMontreal and cities throughout individuals presuming to act on behalf of Irish Catholics who North America and at the end of the nineteenth favour the desecration."42 As the Europe may proposed delegates In this context it is to see not to century. easy enough why Justice anticipated, however, it would be easy maintain the Curran referred to the 1859 memorial as of disparagingly "that appearance consensus, given that Irish Catholics in the rock" and recommended that a monument to not as one primitive city did speak regarding the proposed sale of the - the Famine Irish should be as of commemoration burial site to the While some worthy railway company. including as the monumental shaft built a earlier in one year Cote des renowned author Mary Anne Sadlier, of the few women the of the Neiges cemetery, honouring memory Patriotes whose voice registered in the commemorative discourse of and In to a - 1837 1838.36 addition petitioning for Famine did continue to look upon the boulder as "a holy and a memorial that was more in that not to be a appropriately dignified design, righteous object" ought moved, variety of there were voices that called for what would alternative memorial sites were as news they imagined suggested spread of be a more Irish monument to the victims of the sale.43 One monument authentically projected proposal assigned the one that would enhance "the of the Irish to a of on 1847, reputation piece property the dividing line of the Mount not of this and but of the Irish and Cote people, only city Dominion, Royal des Neiges cemeteries.44 Another, which race the world over."37 In its of the event The True soon was to coverage proved prescient, relocate the boulder to St. Witness and Catholic Chronicle pronounced that the Ship Fever Patrick's Square "in the heart of St. Ann's Ward [sic], the Monument "came from hands and is in no sense stranger greatest Irish-Catholic Parish in all Canada.. .where so many an Irish a sentiment that resonated survivors of the terrible still turn monument," echoing scourge worship."45 By the the of the throughout jubilee ceremony.38 century these varied responses by Irish Catholics in the lack of that a number Montreal led to Encouraged by regard considerable uncertainty about the fate of of Irish Catholics had for the Fever the monument and the burial prominent Ship surrounding ground. the Grand Trunk which Monument, Railway (GTR), since All of "the loud protestations and warmly debated 1852 had transform much of Pointe helped Saint-Charles opinions and resolutions" that had been put forth by Irish into Montreal's hub of and Catholics since 1898 industry transportation, began ultimately proved irrelevant, however, in 1898 to Bond and the Church to as the Fever Monument was lobby Bishop Anglican Ship unceremoniously moved sell the memorial site. Intent on the track land near several blocks west to St. Patrick's near the acquiring Square, Wellington the entrance of the the GTR viewed monument bridge, the Street Bridge.46 In the earlymorning of December 21,1900 as an to seven set to work a impediment development. Bishop Bond, though carpenters constructing platform.47 A few reluctant to of land that was hours later "the famous monument" was to relinquish ownership passed conveyed the to his in to a committee on a car run predecessor trust, agreed organise Square flat that was down the track on St. Patrick that would take statements from Street and set into After much people having personal quickly place.48 speculation of the memorial and a series of test about who was knowledge site, dig pits responsible for the sudden move, it came near the monument "to ascertain whether or not there were to that the light GTR, having failed to secure ownership remains in the from the bones of a of the site from its any vicinity."39 Apart dog, Anglican trustees, had gone ahead and no remains were discovered. The lack of evidence obtained taken the monument out of the path of progress and into by theAnglican committee persuaded Bishop Bond that the the heart of Griffintown. site was not a burial ground, increasing the likelihood that Though some Irish Catholics had themselves at one GTR would soon succeed in the monument and the monument or moving point contemplated moving constructing the land it was to one deemed more the acquiring designed protect. authentically Irish, railway's heist Irish Catholics were incensed the GTR's had the effect of an Many by generating unprecedented amount to the attempt violate sanctity of the memorial site. The of affection for the site and its stone memorial. With its possibility of this collective anger to violence was to St. Patrick's the boulder now not turning displacement Square, only to the M.P. Michael stood as a to put quite plainly railway's management by memorial the martyrs of 1847 but also came to Quinn and Father Strubbe, who insisted that "if the [theGTR] symbolise indignities suffered by their descendants living had any desire to serious trouble and inMontreal a half later. a prevent perhaps century Presenting united front in at violence the hands of the Irish people of Ste. Anne Ward CJIS/RO&I 33:1 51

This content downloaded from 132.206.27.25 on Sun, 30 Nov 2014 10:58:43 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions what as an act of in St. Patrick's In its new the condemning they perceived iconoclasm, fixture Square. setting boulder met on 1901 continued to attract its share of and representatives from Irish societies May 5, political controversy soon became of a to test in the basement of St. Gabriel's Church in Pointe Saint something touchstone by which a was Charles.49 Three weeks later larger meeting organised Irishness in Ste. Anne Ward.58 Rumours had circulated since in St. Patrick's this one that some Presbytery, including representatives 1900 prominent figures within the Irish-Catholic of Daniel then M.P. for Ste. from each of the Rvt Irish parishes Montreal.50 Together community, including Gallery, a as "a unanimous had the to the they formulated document described Anne, collaborated with GTR and "consented the of monument expression of the sentiment of Irish Catholics of removal the from the cemetery."59 When this Montreal" that was sent to issue was raised at a of Irish and societies newspapers, Anglican Archbishop meeting parishes and to Montreal's Council.51 to the in December it became even Bond, City Referring 1901, clear that being suspected various forms of in the Famine that of a persecution culminating maligning the memory of 1847 could ruin reputation the Irish had historically suffered "for Faith and Fatherland," within the Irish-Catholic community. As The TrueWitness and they insisted that "Irishmen to-day still look upon this burial Catholic Chronicle put it, "the desecration of the cemetery is as not because it is the so abhorrent to Irish sentiment that we would not place holy ground, only resting place forgive of but also for the reason that it is a one of our own a Christians, spot marking people who had allowed himself to be a sad but heroic in the of our race." to epoch history Expressing consenting party it."60Seizing the political opportunity, "bitter regret that the monument should have been removed Gallery's rivals in the 1905 municipal elections rekindled long from the old cemetery it was intended to preserve from simmering suspicions of Gallery by placarding the boulder the to force "with him with its In desecration," they urged Anglican Archbishop posters charging removal." celebrating the GTR to restore the monument to the site in Pointe their electoral his once win, opponents again made the Saint-Charles.52 monument the of their smear centrepiece campaign by While the theGTR came from itwith While an to protests against primarily covering crepe paper.61 still aide-memoire was a local Irish groups, there also concerted effort made the victims of 1847, the boulder had been ascribed political to cast the stone as "a national monument" cherished all and social constructed at a local level. An by meanings object Irish Canadians.53 The True Witness and Catholic a once meant to Chronicle, promising permanence, originally preserve newspaper that just three years earlier had looked askance the integrity of the Pointe Saint-Charles burial site, now at the monument, reported that "the Irish Catholic press of stood displaced in the centre of Irish-Catholic Montreal the has lent its voice to tell the Irishmen of Montreal as a of country symbol the cemetery's desecration and for some a and all whom itmay concern, that the Irish of Canada insist shameful reminder that Irish Catholics in the city had failed it that not to upon sacrilegious hands be allowed touch the to protect the graves of their forebears. last of the Irish victims of Famine As the monument resting place persecution, approached its ten-year anniversary and in 1847-48."54 Prominent in pestilence figures the Irish in St. Patrick's Square, it seemed unlikely that itwould be echoed these sentiments in the restored to its in community year following original position Pointe Saint-Charles, the removal of the "It was not monument, insisting, that the especially given that the attention of the city's Irish Catholics Irish of Montreal but the Irish was alone, throughout Canada, increasingly diverted from Montreal's Famine site to from Sarnia to Halifax [who] were indignant and protested Grosse-Ile. The movement to build an enormous Celtic cross this violent of the on the against spoliation graves."55 quarantine island generated interest from Montrealers, Whether to bowing pressure applied by Irish groups in particularly those affiliated with the AOH whose Quebec Montreal or from further the was afield, Anglican Archbishop, still City division spearheading the project. By 1908, when the official titieholder to the formal notification to it was announced at the annual land, gave banquet of the St. Patrick's the in it of in railway August 1901, accusing illegally trespassing Society Montreal that the Canadian government would and with the and demanded the return a free site on interfering property, provide atop Telegraph Hill Grosse-Ile to mark of the monument.56 But the which had GTR, laid down three the spot where thousands of Irish were buried, it looked like tracks and was of the as a the station had at railway using part plot dumping quarantine supplanted the site Pointe Saint had no intention of the and now Charles as the locus of Famine ground, replacing memorial, commemoration in Quebec publicly refuted the notion that the site was ever used as a and Canada. This notion was reflected in the official booklet Bond shared this in with the cemetery.57 Though Archbishop opinion, published conjunction large commemorative he did feel that the land should remain event held on Grosse-Ile on strongly undeveloped August 15, 1909. Reference a "because memorial stone been it to was made to the that the Famine [had] placed upon profound impact migration indicate a sad and event in the of the had had Montreal in very important history upon 1847, but the city's Ship Fever Irish did not told that the Monument that had once marked the burial was country." groups appreciate being grounds land considered sacred was a Famine burial dismissed as a "monument they spurious standing wide of the mark."62 For nor did relish to consult with the the site, they having Anglican organisers of the Grosse-Ile commemoration, an event trustees a of monument that looked which drew thousand "No other they increasingly upon eight participants, place as own. their Nonetheless, some solace was taken in was...more for a and learning appropriate proper lasting national of the shared determination to restore the memento of so an Archbishop's Ship grim episode in Irish and Canadian Fever Monument to its site. original history."63 This could not the While the on uneasy alliance, however, compel forty-six-foot Celtic cross Grosse-Ile GTR to reverse its and the monument remained a cast a over decision, long shadow Montreal's Famine memorial, the 1909 commemorative event eventually had the effect of 52McMAHON Montreal's Ship Fever Monument

This content downloaded from 132.206.27.25 on Sun, 30 Nov 2014 10:58:43 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions the movement to restore the Fever as a and that there was little in the fact that reinvigorating Ship place cemetery, to some went down to the and took in some Monument the burial site in Pointe Saint-Charles. The people place part was in kind of sorry state of the memorial site mentioned several ceremony."71 the on After two of to these speeches delivered during dedicatory ceremony days listening arguments, J.P. August 15.Most notably, radical Irish nationalist Matthew Mabee, the Chief Commissioner of the Railway Board, national of the condemned "A remained that the Monument Cummings, president AOH, unconvinced Ship Fever greedy corporation in the city of Montreal [that] dared to marked the precise location of the burial ground. He across To that bodies were in the lay tracks the graves." great applause, Cummings was, however, persuaded buried "Men never rest it is of the monument. In a to urged the of Canada [to] until replaced general vicinity ruling designed on the where it was taken from."64 With the accommodate the interests of both pedestal parties, Mabee granted commemorative event "still fresh in the memories of the the GTR to the entire of the permission expropriate site a citizens of Montreal," members of the AOH and St. Patrick's reputed burial ground except for thirty-foot plot of land seemed to take to heart.65 where the monument from Society Cummings' message would be returned, fifteen feet the of in where it stood to allow for the of Along with Irish parishes the city, they managed originally construction short order to several on a a road. The tide to the procure thousand signatures memorial plot remained in the petition urging the Railway Commission to deny the GTR's possession of the Anglican Bishop of Montreal, but by June application and preserve the historic burial site.66By the end 1912 the land surrounding the enclosed memorial site was of February 1910 Irish-Catholic societies had generated sold to theGTR for six thousand dollars, with the stipulation that two to considerable interest in this issue through the press and had the Railway retained thousand dollars maintain to enlist of which the Fever memorial managed the support City Council, agreed Ship site.72 to send a to a of the legal representative meeting Railway With the land transaction settled, the GTR returned Commissioners in Ottawa to the of the monument close to at protest expropriation its original spot the north end of the burial site.67 the Victoria Bridge, by that time a busy network of railroad Itwas not until 1911 matter was and tracks.73 January that the finally yards, sheds, Although representatives of Irish adjudicated by the Railway Board of Commissioners. The societies were initially disheartened with the decision of central issue debated the session was whether the "as to during two-day Railway Commissioners, they hoped prevent the the of land in was a plot question cemetery and therefore railway acquiring any part of the property,"74 by 1913 the or whether the property could be bought expropriated for GTR had done enough to improve the appearance of the commercial Charles M.P. for Ste. memorial an iron to purposes. Doherty, Anne, site, including installing fence, appease and who evidence on behalf of those who had return Henry Kavanagh, presented fought for the of the monument.75 the interests of Irish Catholics in cited a number On after a the Ancient Montreal, August 17, 1913, year's delay, of affidavits time residents of Order of Hibernians were at to oversee a given by long Pointe Saint last ready Charles in 1901 after the monument had been removed. rededication as in as one ceremony, almost grand scale the These one Sister to affidavits, including given by ninety-year-old organised sixteen years earlier commemorate the Famine of the Sisters of were Reed, Charity, stated that bodies buried jubilee.76An assemblage of Montreal Irish Catholics, led by in 1847 in the monument was spot marked by the and that it representatives of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and St. common in the area that the site was a Patrick's a knowledge cemetery.68 Society, accompanied by number of guests from and also called Doherty Kavanagh representatives of the Quebec City, Ottawa, and the United States, gathered at St. Catholic and churches to the witness box to define Ann's Church. In a Anglican procession they followed route decorated what constituted a Father with streamers and to a precisely cemetery. Callaghan, flags the memorial site, where curate at St. asserted that a is had been erected for the Anthony's, cemetery any plot platform occasion. Standing in front a were of ground where number of Catholics known to of the Irish flag bearing the harp and sunburst, T.M. Quigley, be of whether records were AOH buried, regardless kept. While County President, gave a short historical account of Canon to the workers in the that "the Ellegood, Anglican chaplain Bridge memorial, proclaiming Ship Fever Monument 1859, who could not recall if the land had been consecrated was now in its for all time." proper resting place J.J. Regan, as a maintained that "it was understood that national of the cemetery, [the president AOH, reiterated his colleague's was never to be used for secular to the boulder and "As site] purposes."69 message by pointing promising, long In the WH. as Irishmen live will not be response, GTR, represented by Biggar, they forgotten." The memorial, that the was not a in the and for would as a argued property cemetery past Regan, forever stand potent reminder of the at was essential to the present railway "for the extension Famine, particularly the "fidelity shown by [its] victims" of their and to avoid to his and the "callousness yards congestion." Referring unparalleled displayed by authority." own witness which statements, confirmed that burials of Departing from this nationalist reading, Charles Doherty in 1847 took in various sites amore immigrants place throughout adopted conciliatory tone in his speech, paying tribute Pointe the GTR's that the main to the of Saint-Charles, lawyer argued people Montreal, "Catholic and Protestant, French cemetery was located next to the old sheds located and and who succoured the immigrant English, Irish, immigrants." near the Basin some distance from the Wellington plot of Having represented Irish Catholics in front of the Railway land in Either or unaware of evidence to Commissioners two chose to question.70 ignoring years earlier, Doherty bring the contrary, even called into the the rededication to a close on a note Biggar question significance ceremony cheery by that the site in Pointe-St-Charles had had for that the the monument traditionally observing controversy surrounding Irish that "no Catholics, contending person regarded the CJIS/RC?l 33:1 53

This content downloaded from 132.206.27.25 on Sun, 30 Nov 2014 10:58:43 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions "had produced the good effect of awakening in the breasts people."83 This call to arms inspired the Montreal Irish in a a of Irishmen duty that had perhaps grown dormant in the 1914 to establish the Irish Canadian Rangers, regiment lapse of years."77 that would eventually form the 199th Battalion of the such the movement Canadian Force. in the wake of the Despite commemorative rhetoric, Expeditionary However, to return the Fever to Pointe Saint-Charles Easter Rebellion of 1916 the over Ship Monument and growing controversy was not motivated a sense of to set in in simply by duty straight conscription Ireland and Quebec, enlistment the Irish the of it was also a were historical record 1847, political struggle battalion dropped off and the Rangers disbanded. For to come as an some protect what had to be viewed Irish landmark: Irish Montrealers the decision to break up the battalion a if of in the cultural was seen as a and a of the distrust rare, rudimentary, symbol power betrayal sign persistent landscape of Montreal. By the beginning of the twentieth of the Irish at home and abroad.84 The AOH inMontreal, the was crowded with historic and in war century, city plaques which the early days of the had distanced itself from monuments the two ethnic the anti-British in promoting dominant groups' sentiment of its parent organisation the notions of national Irish a more stance competing identity, leaving United States, had by 1917 adopted militant Catholics excluded in "the contest to and to the of largely public shape began reject symbols and rhetoric Empire the city's collective memories."78 Though the reinstallation and challenge many of their fellow Irish Catholics who of the Fever Monument affirmed Irish claims remained committed to and the cause of Ship publicly conscription war.85 to the memorial it did not a shift in The ideas over how the war should site, immediately signal competing be waged and the of the elites who decided what was agendas heritage how Irish independence could be achieved indicate that the in the of assimilation into Canadian was historically significant city. process society ongoing The absence of Irish sites in Montreal's memorial and with even complex, many Irish Catholics in the city, was in some a of Irish those several removed landscape ways consequence generations from Ireland, struggling Catholics' longstanding position as a politically marginalised to reconcile their dual national identities. and in In economically disadvantaged group the city. The exigencies of wartime left the Ship Fever one Griffintown, where they comprised third of the Monument largely neglected, but by the early 1920s groups and in other class in of Irish Catholics in the were once to population, working neighbourhoods city again drawn the Montreal's industrial heardand such as Irish memorial as a Verdun, Victoriatown, powerful reminder of nineteenth century and to was Pointe Saint-Charles, many Irish Catholics lived in Irish migration Montreal. It at this time that annual overcrowded slums and worked as unskilled labourers.79 walks to the Stone that to (a practice continues this day) Irish Catholics cannot be became ritualised. on However, fairly lumped together Every year the last Sunday of May and as a underclass inMontreal. members of the AOH and its Ladies' regarded powerless Despite Auxiliary, St. Patrick's the adverse conditions in the southwest the Gaelic St. Ann's experienced by many Society, League, Young Men's Society, of the to region city, they managed exercise considerable and representatives of the Catholic hierarchy