Ireland Park

Today I took a stroll along the waterfront for a breath of fresh air. Along the way, I stumbled upon a new discovery at the foot of Bathurst Street: Ireland Park. I thought the timing was ironic, considering St. Patrick's Day was just this past Tuesday.

Ireland Park is dedicated to the 38,000 Irish immigrants who arrived in Toronto during the summer of 1847, as they fled the famine in their homeland. The sculptor, Rowan Gillespie, has created "The Arrival" here in Toronto, as the North American counterpart to his work in Ireland, "Departure".

The Arrival

The Jubilant Man

Pregnant Woman
(The Apprehensive Man behind)

The Orphan Boy

The rock forming the craggy wall was lifted from limestone beds in the hills of Kilkenny.


More than 1,100 Irish immigrants died upon arrival in Toronto. Of those, 675 names are known, and have been engraved in the crevasses of the limestone wall.


To find out more about Ireland Park, visit the website:
www.irelandparkfoundation.com