Montreal & the Irish

     As the city of Montreal celebrates its 375th anniversary, it is important to both look back and reflect on the city’s long and storied history. From its simple beginnings as a ‘trading post’, Montreal has developed into one of Canada’s largest cities. Throughout the city’s transformation, there has almost always been a strong Irish community and presence within the city. The purpose of this site is to demonstrate the history of the city of Montreal in relation to “the role of the Irish immigrants as one of the five founding peoples” of Montreal. Through the demonstration of my research, I hope to paint a picture of the Irish community in Montreal between the sixteenth and the twenty-first century. In order to properly to do to this, this site will begin with a quick contextualization of the development of the the city of Montreal in relation to people of Ireland and their descendants. This will lead me into an analysis of the growth of both the city and its Irish population, as well as a recognition of the factors which contributed to the high influxes of Irish immigrants. I will then describe the social climate in Montreal between the end of the 19th century as it developed into what it is today. I will conclude by exploring the relationship of the established Irish community and the rest of the city. I hope to demonstrate the overall development of the Irish community in Montreal. While the relationship between the Irish and the rest of Montreal has not always been as friendly as it is today, I will be focusing on the positive aspects associated with the development of the Irish community in Montreal.