Projet Montréal promises to set up a commemorative park in memory of the 6,000 Irish who died of typhus at the beginning of the 19the century, near Bridge Street, near Victoria Bridge.
The monument Black rock is currently erected on a median located between four lanes of Bridge Street, a development that is not safe for people who want to meditate there.
Valérie Plante’s party wants to invest $ 15 million to move Bridge Street to create the homage park. The work will begin “at the latest in 2025”, promises the party, and will be spread over two years.
“The Irish community has participated for centuries in the dynamism of Montreal. It was time for a memorial park honoring them to be erected in the southwest, an area of the city where the Irish have settled in large numbers and which they have profoundly transformed over the generations, ”said in a statement Craig Sauvé, candidate for the position of councilor in the Saint-Henri-Est-Petite-Bourgogne-Pointe-Saint-Charles-Griffintown Sud-Ouest sector.
Hydro-Québec will also build a new electrical substation nearby, in order to provide space for the creation of the park. The Montreal Irish Park Foundation will complete the development of the site.
“I am therefore very happy to underline the immense contribution of women and men of Irish origin to the history of Montreal. And I hope that this new place of commemoration will make this part of our history better known to all Montrealers, ”said the outgoing mayor, Valérie Plante, in a press release.