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the celtic connection • may 1994
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Parks Canada Latest Effort in the Grosse He Saga
By ALICIA MARTIN
In March of last year, I attended and reported on Parks Canada's
?ublic meetings on Grosse He. hese meetings, and ones like them across Canada, were informationgathering sessions for the Parks Board and a chance for Canada's Irish to express their opinions on this controversial island.
Grosse He is the burial ground for thousands of Irish immigrants who had fled during the famine years. Many died en route to Canada and countless others died while quarantined there. In the early Eighties, a committee was formed to look into possible development of the district.
In 1984, the island was declared a National Historic Site. It was the proposed development concept of this site which lead to an uproar heard across Canada and the eventual two sets of public hearings. Now, Parks Canada has published a "Report on the Public Consultation Program".
to Vancouver's Saoirse Eireann radio show, from the Celtic Studies Department of the University of Prince Edward Island to the Tara Golf Association.
Their words show the passion emitted on this topic and cover all matters related to Grosse He. On the subject of Grosse He as a "garden of remembrance", the Celtic Arts of Canada group advocated that "Grosse He's significance should be seen in North American and European, not just Canadian, terms."
The Ontario Genealogical Society stated that "Cemetaries are
money spent on opinion sharing? At this point, any decision made is out of the public's hands.
It is now up to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to make recommendations to Parks Canada, at which time the government will announce its position "regarding future orientations of the project". Bureaucracy at its finest.
However, not wanting to end on a sour note, I must reiterate that the strength of Irish Canadians in bringing attention to this issue cannot be undermined. The people have spoken and their
much more than repositories of words are moving — hopefully, the dead. For those who mourn moving enough to sway a gov-they are initially a place to grieve ernment. but as time goes by, they become a place for remembrance and reflection. Cemeteries are a rich historical resource."
Regarding the reluctance to supj-
?ort the "immigration theme", adraig O'Siadhail says, "If the special Irish connection — in the past and to the present day — The amount of interest generated with Grosse He is not to be aeon this topic is impressive. Thou- knowledged in a comprehensive, sands of people either attended historically balanced and sensi-the meetings, wrote briefs and or tive manner, it would be better if letters, signed petitions or called the Plan_ to develop Grosse He the 1-800 number. This 80-page was withdrawn entirely, document contains, among other This report is a fine testament to things, samples of the many form irisn voices in Canada, however, letters sent to the Parks Board, as j can't help but wonder — so well as sample petitions. what? This beautifully presented
But the bulk of the booklet is document, with its array of comprised of quotes pulled from touching quotes warns us that the multitude of comments com- the reader has not' m,thlS re" municated to the board. These Port/ round answers to the many quotes are representative of Irish questions, concerns and recom-interest groups of every kind and mendations submitted." from nearly every province, from ThiS iS indeed true. Just what is the Ancient Order of Hibernians t0 become of all the time and
Dance Appeal Gathers Fans 'Round the Vogues
By ALICIA MARTIN
The Pogues have been called a group of "punk-folk messiahs", their music defies categorization. Are they rogue-folk, ethnic sound (read Celtic), or post-punk
sea of swinging arms and rolling heads was mesmerizing and seemed to epitomize the Pogues' hold over their audience. Funny to see people go so crazy over the sounds of trad instruments such
dance? However you may want as the mandolin, accordion and to define them, their popularity banjo! and ability to make a vast room „ . . .
turn into one heaving, bouncing ?Plder Stacv' who $as replaced body is undeniable. McGowan on vocals, carried it
off. Any missing of McGowan's Many wondered if they would gravelly voice was more of a be able to maintain their reputa- wistfulness than a lack on tion as a raucous, loud, manic Spider's part. His initial threat
YEAR-LONG ARMAGH TOGETHER
By JOY ROISTON
ARMAGH — Reconciliation is the theme of a major cross-community festival conceived in Northern Ireland. Armagh Together will be launched by the two primates, Cardinal Canal Daly and Archbishop Robin Eames, in St. Patrick's Trian — the latest of the ancient city's tourist attractions.
The year-long celebration marks the 1,550th anniversary of the foundation by St. Patrick of his first Christian church in Ireland. A "pascal" flame to herald the start of the festival will be lit by the church leaders and candles will burn in both cathedrals throughout the year. A permanent exhibition of St. Patrick entitled "The Least of all the Faithful" will also be opened in the trian.
dance band without Shane McGowan at the helm, but their latest CD, Waiting for Herb and recent tour blew any doubts out of the water.
These guys have been around for a decade and their long-term popularity was evident at their
to leave the stage when some obnoxious beer-drinking party animals insisted on sharing their drink in his face, only made the crowd scream louder and slam harder.
Of course, the big complaint here was the length of the show. These
Upwards of a quarter of a million people are expected to visit Ireland's ecclesiastical capital to take part in the diverse program.
Alan Hill, director of Armagh Together, says the festival centres on reconciliation but is also aimed at portraying the city as an exciting place to live, work
show here last month. Their mix- guys wereon for"lust over"an and invest. The objectives range ture of standard classics like hour and with a known reper- from lob. creation to improving Dirty Old Town and Yeah Yeah toire like theirs, could have eas- community relations and from Yeah Yeah (which had everyone ily played twice that. With the achieving the granting of citvsta-singing along) with cuts from adrenaline rush of their pump- tus to establishing a calendar of Waiting washed well over the ap- ing music, their quick departure *ven*s unequalled throughout preciative audience. made us feel jilted. Maybe it's Northern Ireland.
The mosh pit (a usually confined Pj**8 «M 'iJ!"?"6,- ?e (Jescribes *h.e programme as area in front of the stacJp for «lam because I, for one, will be first in "ambitious and innovative" add-
aSS^^S^SS^ "ne next time thgy P1^ :» «uld be the initiative over half the length of the ifloor. Vancouver. which will fan the present spark
To watch from the balcony, the of des're to ,llve,and work to;
3 gether into a longlasting flame.