Article about Canadian/Irish History
Jul. 19th, 2003 11:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kallistiiHere is an article I wrote for the Clan McGovern website about Father Benard McGauran, his last name being one of many bad anglicizations of the original last name, McSamhain. It also concerns the Irish Famine, the Irish Disproria, and one of the major arrival points in Canada, Grosse Isle in the St Lawrence River.
p.s. I am posting this to both CR_R, and my personal site, So I appologize if you see this twice.
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During the Famine, Irish coming to Canada would be dropped off on an island in the St Lawrence, Grosse Isle, a combination immigration and quarantine site. Canada's Ellis Island as it were at the time.
During the year of 1847, the place was dealing with numbers of immigrants that far, far exceeded the capacity of the facilities and available manpower. Conditions on the island went from bad to worse quickly. And still they came. At times, 20 or more ships were anchored in the St Lawrence waiting to unload their human cargo...and as conditions grew worse on the ships, one person was quoted as saying it would be kinder to bring up the guns form Quebec City and end their suffering quickly rather than make them wait to be dropped off. Some didn't wait and jumped ship. Few of those survived.
Although conditions on the island were bad, and if it had not been for the leadership of Father McGauran, it could have been far, far worse. He succeeded in uniting Catholic and Protestant, English and French, rich and poor, and with this combined effort, did a great deal to ease the suffering of those arriving on the island, those who passed beyond, and those left behind.
There are 6,000 whose names we know who died, but they estimate at least twice that number died, not counting those who died during the wait on the ships, and on the trip over. This led to a tremendous number of orphans, which caused Father McGauran to later found St Brigit's Home, a refuge for the Irish elderly, orphans and destitute, and it is still in existence today. During the year of 1847, over 100,000 Irish passed through the hell-hole of Grosse Isle, and it should be commented that Canada did allow all who came to enter the country and settle at a time the United States was closing their doors to the Irish.
The courage of Father Bernard McGauran and those he rallied was an inspiration to many who passed through that hell-hole, and in 1909, a Celtic Cross from Ireland was set up on Grosse Isle on a cliff overlooking the river, with the following inscription in Gaelic:
Tugadh Samhradh an Bhróin air. In 1847, theith inimireigh Éireannacha ina mílte ón nGorta Mór agus shroich siad, marbh is ag fáil báis, stáisiún coraintín Oileán na nGael i g Ceibeac. Is mór an clú do Cheanada é gur ligeadh asteach iad agus thug imimirceach Éireannach, an tAthair Bearnárd Mag Shambráin, sólás is ábhar dóchais dóibh. Tugann an déantóir-seannán Lindalee Ni Threasaigh, léi sinn tri uafás an mhatalaing dhaonna is measa i gCeanada agus feicimid iarrachtaf cróga an ghaiscigh gan aithne seo ag cruinniú buíne tarrthála ilchultúrtha is ilteangaí.
I am looking for a translation of this..., but obviously, the Father is mentioned in the inscription)
A wonderful site to start looking into this member of the McGoverns is the website for the documentary "THE FORCE OF HOPE:The Legacy of Father McGauran". http://www.whitepinepictures.com/seeds/series1/episode-0121/ As well, a search of Grosse Isle or Bernard McGauran will show up a great deal of information...but alas, not a translation of the above Gaelic inscription.
p.s. I am posting this to both CR_R, and my personal site, So I appologize if you see this twice.
----------------------------------------cut----------------------------------------
During the Famine, Irish coming to Canada would be dropped off on an island in the St Lawrence, Grosse Isle, a combination immigration and quarantine site. Canada's Ellis Island as it were at the time.
During the year of 1847, the place was dealing with numbers of immigrants that far, far exceeded the capacity of the facilities and available manpower. Conditions on the island went from bad to worse quickly. And still they came. At times, 20 or more ships were anchored in the St Lawrence waiting to unload their human cargo...and as conditions grew worse on the ships, one person was quoted as saying it would be kinder to bring up the guns form Quebec City and end their suffering quickly rather than make them wait to be dropped off. Some didn't wait and jumped ship. Few of those survived.
Although conditions on the island were bad, and if it had not been for the leadership of Father McGauran, it could have been far, far worse. He succeeded in uniting Catholic and Protestant, English and French, rich and poor, and with this combined effort, did a great deal to ease the suffering of those arriving on the island, those who passed beyond, and those left behind.
There are 6,000 whose names we know who died, but they estimate at least twice that number died, not counting those who died during the wait on the ships, and on the trip over. This led to a tremendous number of orphans, which caused Father McGauran to later found St Brigit's Home, a refuge for the Irish elderly, orphans and destitute, and it is still in existence today. During the year of 1847, over 100,000 Irish passed through the hell-hole of Grosse Isle, and it should be commented that Canada did allow all who came to enter the country and settle at a time the United States was closing their doors to the Irish.
The courage of Father Bernard McGauran and those he rallied was an inspiration to many who passed through that hell-hole, and in 1909, a Celtic Cross from Ireland was set up on Grosse Isle on a cliff overlooking the river, with the following inscription in Gaelic:
Tugadh Samhradh an Bhróin air. In 1847, theith inimireigh Éireannacha ina mílte ón nGorta Mór agus shroich siad, marbh is ag fáil báis, stáisiún coraintín Oileán na nGael i g Ceibeac. Is mór an clú do Cheanada é gur ligeadh asteach iad agus thug imimirceach Éireannach, an tAthair Bearnárd Mag Shambráin, sólás is ábhar dóchais dóibh. Tugann an déantóir-seannán Lindalee Ni Threasaigh, léi sinn tri uafás an mhatalaing dhaonna is measa i gCeanada agus feicimid iarrachtaf cróga an ghaiscigh gan aithne seo ag cruinniú buíne tarrthála ilchultúrtha is ilteangaí.
I am looking for a translation of this..., but obviously, the Father is mentioned in the inscription)
A wonderful site to start looking into this member of the McGoverns is the website for the documentary "THE FORCE OF HOPE:The Legacy of Father McGauran". http://www.whitepinepictures.com/seeds/series1/episode-0121/ As well, a search of Grosse Isle or Bernard McGauran will show up a great deal of information...but alas, not a translation of the above Gaelic inscription.
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Date: 2003-07-19 11:31 pm (UTC)Thanx
Date: 2003-07-27 04:04 am (UTC)