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AOH to celebrate centenary of Celtic cross on 'Canada's Ellis Island'

100th anniversary of unveiling of the Celtic cross at Grosse Ile

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In August of this year, Grosse Ile, Canada’s Ellis Island, will celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the unveiling of one of the largest Celtic crosses in the world to commemorate the thousands of Irish immigrants whose final resting place was the Canadian island.

In 1909, in a ceremony that drew thousands, the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America unveiled a 46-foot-high Celtic cross on Grosse Île atop Telegraph Hill, the highest point on the Island.

On August 14, 15 and 16, 2009, the Ancient Order of Hibernians from across Canada, the U.S., Ireland and Europe will host a three day celebration of the Centenary of the Cross, featuring a variety of entertainment, tours of Grosse Ile, and a rededication ceremony.

The locals in Quebec would come to call Grosse Ile "L'Ile des Irlandais." Translated, it means the Island of the Irish, but for thousands of Irish immigrants the Canadian island would be the first - and final -resting place in their new home.

In the spring of 1847, the quarantine station at Grosse Île Quebec was ready to receive 32,000 immigrants to its shores. The hospitals were equipped to handle 200 ill.

Just 3 miles long and 1 mile wide, at one point there was reportedly a chain of 40 ships matching the Island in length with more 13,000 emigrants aboard.

By the end of 1847, over 98,000 souls arrived. Most were sick and dying, needing immediate medical attention. The immigrant ships from Ireland carried throngs of malnourished, dispirited people who were ravaged by hunger and disease.

Government and private measures to feed these people in Ireland were inadequate, creating a mass exodus. While many voluntarily left in search of new horizons, others were forcibly "assisted" by pressures from landlords eager to be rid of unprofitable tenants.

The "coffin ships" were in fact cargo vessels, not passenger ships, carrying wood from Quebec City and Saint John's each summer. The owners did not want their vessels returning to Canada empty.

These poor Irish emigrants endured this passage of several weeks living below deck in cramped bunks, eating little more than moldy ship biscuits and dirty water, ideal conditions for the spread of Typhus.

British laws called for the ships to provide seven pounds of food a week for each passenger, often these laws were ignored. Many ships bought used casks for the passengers' drinking water as they were less expensive, but these often leaked or stored wines, making the water undrinkable.

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