2025-02-10

New "Histories of Saint-Colomban Cemetery" Atlas

The Histories of Saint-Colomban Cemetery Atlas presents the results of a deep exploration of this cemetery in Québec (Canada). While the first settlers arrived from Ireland as early as 1819, this project focuses on the years 1836–1847, mirroring the establishment of Saint-Colomban Parish and Cemetery in 1836. This research goes beyond the surface, to uncover the missing monuments, their hidden stories and their forgotten memories, as way to reflect on the Irish diaspora in Canada in the mid-19th century. Multiple sources of information have been compiled and cross-referenced to identify missing graves such as parish records, field exploration of broken gravestones, as well as interviews with descendants and researchers. 20 of these interviews have been mapped with Atlascine, offering the possibility of listening to these stories, connecting tombstones in Saint-Colomban with villages in Ireland and contributing to a better understanding of the early Irish diaspora in Quebec. [...]