During the 1859 Irish Commemorative Stone ceremony Reverend Canon Leach, who performed the dedication from atop the pedestal, reassured those assembled that the monument would endure, as “its enormous bulk and weight are a security for its permanence.” He urged those in attendance to take some solace from the fact that “this durable monument was erected to preserve from desecration the spot where those immigrants sleep.” Bishop Francis Fulford picked up on this theme of permanence amidst change vowing that “the bodies of those lying here interred be preserved from any irreverent usage.” While recognizing that “the great and destructive pestilence” of 1847 denied a proper burial to its victims, the Anglican Bishop brought the ceremony to a close with the assurance that “the bodies of the faithful rest undisturbed until the day of resurrection.” They could not have been more wrong…….

In 2012, the Ancient Order of Hibernians Canada resurrected its 117-year-old attempt to purchase the land surrounding the “Irish Commemorative Stone” and to correct, to its everlasting shame, its acquiescence to the 1964 “split solution” of allowing the reconfiguration of Bridge Street to run directly over the Cemetery, by finally removing and redirecting Bridge Street.

In 1964, in preparation for Expo ’67 it was thought that Bridge Street needed to be widened to accommodate higher traffic volumes. The Irish Commemorative Stone was again standing in the way of progress.  A hastily assembled “Irish Stone Committee” (ISC) to represent the Irish announced that the feeling was that if the city had no choice but to relocate the monument, the ISC was determined to see that it was “done in a respectful manner.” (The Montreal Star, 15 October 1965).  Only the AOH and ISC member Don Pigeon objected.

In 1895, after more than 20 years as the protectors of the “Irish Commemorative Stone” and the more than 6,000 souls resting uneasily beneath it, the Ancient Order of Hibernians made its first attempt to purchase the Irish Cemetery and surrounding land.  The offer came with a commitment to surround the Cemetery with a stone wall, Celtic Cross adorned entrance and perpetual care.   With little or no support from the Catholic Church or so-called prominent Irish, the Anglican Church refused the offer. 

In December of 1900 the grass roots Irish Community awoke to find that the Grand Trunk Railway had used the cover of darkness to abduct the Stone from its sacred post.  A more than 10-year legal battle headed by the AOH and St. Patrick’s Society of Montreal ensued.  While The Railway Board of Canada stated in their 1911 ruling on the return of the Stone that, “there was enough space in Canada to lay track without desecrating a cemetery”, it stopped well short of staying all desecration anywhere in the Cemetery grounds!  The Stone was returned, albeit 17 feet from its original position and facing East instead of West.   But it was too late.  Despite a Canada wide campaign by the AOH objecting to the use of the Cemetery land the GTR had begun laying tracks through the Cemetery.

The AOH plan in 2012 was to prevent ongoing desecration and protect the sanctity of the Cemetery by purchasing and developing the surrounding 10.5 acres into a Memorial to the story of 1847 Montreal that focused on the generosity and selflessness of the heroes who came to the aid of the sick and dying Irish. We met with 45 members of the community, researched natural water purification, various building techniques, designed plans, worked with UNESCO, and met with City of Montreal officials and potential investors.

On February 18, 2014, the Ancient Order of Hibernians Canada created the Black Rock Montreal Irish Monument Park Foundation to allow for greater community participation in the expansion of the Irish Commemorative Stone Memorial.  Our first step was to introduce the “Park Foundation” to a wide audience by hosting/organizing: 

• 2016 – Trial of D’Arcy McGee: A play by Irish playwright Anthony Russell
• 2016 – “Saving the Famine Irish: The Grey Nuns and the Great Hunger,”
• 2016 – St. Gabriel’s Elementary Student’s field trip to the Grey Nun’s Motherhouse
• 2017 – Trial of the Orange Order: A play by Irish playwright Anthony Russell
• 2017 – Irish Famine Victims Roadshow (Montreal)
• 2017 Trial of Pádraig Pearse: A play by Irish playwright Anthony Russell
• 2018 – Irish Famine Victims Roadshow (New York)
• 2019 – The blessing of the Cemetery
• 2020 – Ceremony and reception to recognize the effort of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM)

Perhaps our most ambitious goal was to submit an application to the Digital Museums Canada (then the Virtual Museums of Canada) for investment in our virtual exhibit, “Remembering Montreal’s Famine Irish”.  Acceptance of our proposal would move the importance of creating a Memorial for protect the 1847Cemetery onto the world stage by telling the story of Montreal in 1847 complete with fully researched facts by world renowned historians.