By Allen Brown
On May 14, the City of Ottawa’s Built Heritage Committee approved a motion to erect a monument to commemorate the Irish Famine of 1847-52 at a former cemetery where Irish Famine victims were buried, in what is now Macdonald Gardens Park. The monument is one of several being erected in Canada this year as part of the Global Irish Famine Way project.
Representatives of the Friends of Macdonald Gardens Park and the Lowertown Community Association (LCA), while enthusiastic about the monument, had expressed concern about the lack of consultation with the Lowertown residents who use the park, and proposed other locations including: the Irish debarkation point at the Rideau Locks, Elizabeth Bruyère Hospital where Irish immigrants sick with typhus were treated, or St. Brigid’s Centre for the Arts – a former church, built by the resilient descendants of the Irish Famine survivors.
In the end, Ottawa Council voted to support the motion to place the monument in Macdonald Gardens Park. The next step is for an application to be made under the Heritage Act for city heritage and park staff to review, the finalization of installation details, and issuing of a permit. The monument is expected to be erected in Macdonald Gardens Park this summer. The LCA looks forward to joining the Irish Community at the unveiling ceremony to commemorate this very important and moving episode from Ottawa’s past.
