Talk:Irish Quebecers

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[edit] Some very early Irish immigrants

Prior to 1763, a number of Irish left Ireland to escape the British. They settled in New France to create a new life. In the wars between the France and Britain fought in New France, some (many?) of these Irish fought on the side of the French. Since they would have been considered traitors by the British, if caught, they would be executed rather than taken prisoner of war. As such, they used French names when they enlisted and have not been recognized adequately for their contributions to Quebec's history. Michael Daly 03:10, 27 August 2007 (UTC) (who's great uncle, Fr. James O'Toole, pastor of St. Aloysius parish, was Grand Marshall of the St. Patrick's Day Parade back in the '60s :-)

You are correct. Some were refugees from the Thirteen colonies. Others were prisoners who decided to stay in our country in the end. I have read about this, but I cannot recall much details. At the time, some Irish and Scots who were Catholics fought on the side of the French because France was a Catholic Kingdom. I'll have to borrow those books from the library again. I'd also like to see the documents of the United Irish Societies of Montréal to which the historian Louis-Guy Lemieux refers in the article Les Irlandais du Québec : à la croisée de deux cultures (English translation here). -- Mathieugp 13:02, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

I found back something related to what I had read on the Irish before the fall of New France. According the the research of the Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH), out of 8527 "founding" colonists (those who remained in Quebec and had children here), 7656 (89.8%) where from French provinces. Among those not from France, there were settlers from Belgium (48), Germany (34), Switzerland (23), Italy (14) and Ireland (10). This is from La Nouvelle-France (1534-1760) - L'implantation du français au Canada. -- Mathieugp 17:59, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

Only 10! Based on what I'd read before, I'd gotten the feeling that there were hundreds - a significant fraction of the total population. I guess their contribution may have been important but not significant in terms of numbers.Michael Daly 15:49, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

That is 10 who stayed here and became the ancestors of many of today's Quebecers, but not 10 people who emigrated in total. Can you try to find what you've read before? This interests me very much even. Most French-speaking Quebecers who can claim Irish genealogy would have ancestors who landed and settled here after the Conquest, but most likely between 1800 and 1870. -- Mathieugp 18:42, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I couldn't begin to find the specific source I read. It was at least 20 years ago and I believe it was a magazine article. I'd have to find another source... I'll see what I can dig up. Michael Daly 05:28, 1 September 2007 (UTC)