Proposals for a new venture which aims to mark the significant historical connections between Atlantic Canada and Ireland were presented to the Canadian ambassador to Ireland, Mr Mark Moher, earlier this week.
The project, entitled CAINAN (Canada and Ireland - North Atlantic Neighbours), aims to develop Canadian-Irish relations, compile a directory of resources for Canadians living in Ireland, organise events which will celebrate Irish-Canadian links and develop a website.
Celebrating our shared culture such as Canada Day celebrations, Canadian-Irish music and a literature event will also be key to the project.
The official launch of the project will take place on June 26th at the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, Co Tyrone.
Dr Paddy Fitzgerald, from the Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster American Folk Park, presented plans for the venture to the ambassador on Wednesday. In attendance was Ms Hazel McIntyre, co-ordinator of the project, her husband Mr Charles Clarke and Ms Penny Burchill, a Canadian living in Ireland.
Although the United States has featured very strongly in Irish history for the last 200 years, the part played by Canada in our history has been "neglected", according to Ms McIntyre. The idea behind CAINAN is to promote recognition of the contribution Canada has made to Irish history, she said.
Areas in Atlantic Canada such as Halifax, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were major points of entry for the Irish. Some moved on to the United States, but many stayed, according to Ms McIntyre.
"Hundreds of thousands of Canadians can trace their roots back to Ireland. Unfortunately Canadians know far more about Ireland than we do about Canada," she explained.
"We know that for over two centuries, there has been mass emigration to Canada from the northwest of Ireland. Presently several thousands Canadians make Ireland their home, but the family ties actually go back to the days of the sailing ships. In fact, Ireland and Canada have shared a common geography, a dramatic history, a woven culture.
"The Canadian embassy and representatives of the High Commission have given their support to our venture, as has John Hume, and I hope that this will be the beginning of the development of a relationship between Ireland and Canada equitable to the one we have with the United States.
"The project could also aim to chronicle, for possibly the first time, this rich and varied culture of both nations by linking present day peoples on both sides of the Atlantic back to the very town lands of their cultural roots."
The daughter of a French-Canadian mother and an Irish father, Donegal-based Ms McIntyre has campaigned for years for the strengthening of relations between the two countries. One of her novels, set during the Famine, has inspired a pilot film project at the Ulster American Folk Park.