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www.celtic-connection.com
SEPTEMBER 2010
FR. THOMAS GERARD O'MALLEY Congregation of the Holy Spirit January 22, 1920 - June 11, 2009
History must not be forgotten or rewritten on the Pioneer Cemetery in Martindale, Quebec
"They will be remembered as long as love and music last"
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
In a small rural community in Martindale, Quebec (about 40 minutes north of Ottawa), a magnificent limestone Celtic cross stands guard over a triple cenotaph. The names of a number of survivors of Ireland's Great Famine are engraved front and back on the memorial.
The cross is inscribed in Irish, English and French with these words: "May the light of heaven shine on the souls of the Gaels who left Ireland in the years of the Great Famine to find eternal rest in this soil. They will be remembered as long as love and music last."
Despite the tragic circumstances of their arrival, these Famine survivors overcame many hardships to build a new life in a new land in a sometimes unforgiving climate. They found a new home and a peaceful final resting place in the green hills of the Gatineau Valley.
Today, people come from far and wide to visit the monument - and it is a mystery to many how this memorial came to be located here. The history and background on this important memorial are now in danger of being lost in the annals of time.
There is a long history to the Martindale Pioneer Cemetery and I was directly involved in establishing this memorial along with the late Martin Brown and Eddie McLaughlin in the 1970s. Our ancestors are buried in this consecrated ground.
Recently, inaccurate information about this site was published in a book about burial sites in the Gatineau Valley.
Since I am the last remaining survivor of the monument committee, it is my responsibility to ensure that accurate information is recorded for posterity.
The work was never completed and a permanent marker must still be erected on the site giving background information for researchers.
DECLAN KELLY, the former Irish Ambassador to Canada, is shown above on his visit to the Martindale Pioneer Cemetery in May 2009.
descendants, and anyone interested in the history of the area.
I have looked into the cost and an estimate to place a permanent marker at the site is approximately $10,000.
There was never really a fundraising campaign for either the monument or the Celtic cross as they were both made possible through the generosity of a few private individuals.
It is now my intention to set up a trust fund to raise the necessary funds for the markers. The fund will be called the "Martindale Pioneer Cemetery Fund." Donations can be made by cheque or money order and mailed to: Catholine Butler, c/o The Celtic Connection, #452 - 4111 Hastings Street, Burnaby, B.C. V5C 6T7
[This article will be of particular interest to anyone born in Martindale, Venosta or Low, Quebec and anyone who has ancestors buried in the Martindale Pioneer Cemetery. For more information about the memorial, visit: www.celtic-connection.com, or call me at (604) 434-3747.]
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
Father Tom O'Malley, passed away peacefully on June 11,2009 in Marian House, Kimmage, Ireland.
Father Tom was born in Cleggan, Clifden, County Galway, a place he loved so well. It was in 1920 that his life's journey led him through St. Jarlath's College, Tuam, where among other things he was a high jumper.
He entered the novitiate in Kilshane in 1940 and was professed on October 4, 1941. He completed a B.A. (Hons) degree in 1944 and while prefecting in Willow Park, he did the higher diploma in education in 1945.
He studied theology in Kimmage between 1945 and 1949 and was ordained to the priesthood on July 11, 1948. Making his Consecration to the Apostolateinl949.
Tom's mission appointment was to Mauritius in 1949, where he taught in College St. Esprit. While there he was loved by the students and gladly forgiven for his Galway-inspired pronunciation of the French language.
When he became ill, he returned to Ireland in 1960. Later that same year, when he was well enough, he was both teacher and bursar in Willow Park until 1975.
In 1975 to 1976, Father Tom went to Toronto and received a Master's Degree in Divinity. Upon his return to Ireland, he was the Assistant Dean and Bursar at Blackrock College.
In 1981, he returned to Canada and was Associate Pastor in Guelph, Ontario until 1984. Following his return to Ireland in 1984, he was appointed Bursar at St. Mchael's College, Dublin until 2000.
CATHOLINE BUTLER of The Celtic Connection stands beside the 12-foot Celtic cross at Martindale Pioneer Cemetery in western Quebec. She was instrumental in erecting this monument and cross in memory of the survivors of the Irish Famine.
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FR. O'MALLEY celebrated Mass in Irish at the dedication ceremony for the Celtic Cross at Martindale, Quebec in 1982.
FR. TOM O'MALLEY
Tom's interests stretched beyond the bounds of formal education. He represented Irish Scouting at many World Scout Conferences: Mexico City, Seattle, Nairobi, Copenhagen, and Montreal. In 1978, Tom was awarded the silver Wolfhound, the Chief Scout Supreme Award for outstanding service to scouting.
In 2001, Father O'Malley wrote a book entitled, Tales without Reason. He had visited Australia and wrote about the forgotten heroes of the apostolate in the 1840s in Australia. It was an adventure story about the depiction of life in the very early days of Western Australia.
I first met Father Tom O'Malley, in September 1982, when he came from Guelph, Ontario to say the Mass in Irish at the dedication of the Celtic Cross in the Martindale Pioneer Cemetery in Martindale, Quebec. Through the following years, we kept in touch up until the time of his death.
For extensive information and photos about the Martindale Pioneer Cemetery and Father O'Malley saying Mass and blessing the Celtic cross, visit: www.celtic-connection.com and click on Gatineau.
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THE CELTIC CONNECTION
ISSUE 19 VOLUME 7
#452 - 4111 Hastings Street, Burnaby, B.C. V5C 6T7 Tel: (604) 434-3747 • Fax: (604) 438-8419 Website: www.celtic-connection.com Maura De Freitas - Publisher • E-Mail: maura@telus.net Catholine Butler - Advertising • E-Mail: cbutler@telus.net Colleen Carpenter - Copy Editor • Christine Burke - Ad Production Distribution: Arlyn Lingat* Kevin Boggan • Angie Park • Linda Robb • Kathy Griffin and Frank Dudfield in Surrey • James Carbin & Joanne Long in Mission • Bill Duncan in Maple Ridge • Bill Carracher in White Rock • Nanci Spieker and Heather Murphy in Seattle • Oliver Grealish in Edmonton.
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