Irish Culture In Canada

Irish Culture in Atlantic Canada

In Canada, the Irish have played an important role. From early settlements in Newfoundland, to large quantities of migrations in the 19th century and the present, the Irish have always been present in the Canadian culture. Irish Canadians played a huge role in contributing to the Canadian society and its economy, and the Irish Canadian continue to demonstrate their contributions to Canada.

Many Irish immigrants entered Atlantic Canada through Halifax, Nova Scotia.

For over 350 years, the Irish has established history in Atlantic Canada. The Irish contributed a great deal in helping build and shape Atlantic Canada. During the mid-1600’s, Irish fisherman fished in Atlantic Canada's coastline, when poor, mistreated,

The Irish were at Louisbourg and at the founding of Halifax, and many Irish were employed in the summer fishery along the province's Atlantic coastline that was known to them for centuries as Talimh An Eisc ('The Land of the Fish'). In most communities, the Irish were the first settlers in this province, however the majority of Irish settlers came to Nova Scotia in the mid-1700s or between 1815 and 1845. The Irish came to Nova Scotia because Ireland was mainly a country of farmers and labourers, with an economy that depended on Great Britain. These reasons, plus the idea of owning their own land in North America, led many Irish to emigrate, particularly from the northern counties of Londonderry, Donegal, Tyrone and Antrim. Soon other Irish settlers came joined by others who had previously emigrated from Northern Ireland and were living in New Hampshire. During the 1750s and 1760s, most of the northern Irish who came to Nova Scotia were third and fourth-generation descendants of Lowland Scots, who moved to the northern Irish province of Ulster. They are called 'Scots from Ireland' or 'Ulster Scots,' since few of them had native Irish ancestry. These immigrants founded Truro and Londonderry in Nova Scotia. Others settled at Chignecto and in Granville, New Dublin, New Donegal (Pictou) and in parts of Hants County. Some common Irish family names: Archibald, Allison, Parks, Fulton and Creelman. The 'Ulster Scots' are often considered part of the larger New England Planter settlement of Nova Scotia, which occurred at the same time. The people of the Kingdom of Ireland, met at Halifax's Golden Ball Tavern, which was maintained by John O'Brien, to establish “The Charitable Irish Society” in 1786. These Gentlemen, Merchants, and others had such a huge love and compassionate concern for the Irish Nation, who became sick, succumb to old age, shipwreck, or other misfortune. For over 225 years they kept their