Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations in Rawdon, Quebec
Since 1978, the town of Rawdon has been celebrating its Irish ancestors with a parade and various activities.
With everyone clad in green and holding a glass, the masses of real or imaginary Irish descendants flood the sidewalks of Queen Street.
Proudly led by the Grand Marshall, the parade features a plethora of local organizations, with obviously the colour green as the common denominator.
The Grand Marshall is a Rawdon dignitary named once a year. He or she symbolizes honour, and his or her dignity adds a ceremonial touch to the parade.
Who was Saint Patrick?
Born Maewyn Succat in Great Britain, Saint Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.
Never officially canonized by Rome, he is the patron saint of the Irish, engineers and snake charmers.
He used the three-leaf clover to illustrate the Holy Trinity.
According to legend, he drove all the snakes out of Ireland during a blessing.
Irish family names
Some of the Irish chose to change their names to French ones.
Sullivan and O’Sullivan became Sylvain.
O’Reilly became Riel.
Marone became Morin.
Carter became Chartier.
McGee became Mainguy.
But many kept their names.
Lane, Redmond, Blagrave, Copping, Parkinson, Marlin, Jones, Fitzpatrick, Hamilton, O’Connor, McMahon, Rourke, Tinkler…
The most common Irish given names for boys are Patrick, Liam, Nolan, Lean, John, Oran and Owen and for girls, Kate, Una, Noreen, Erin, Lana, Mary…
Famous descendants of the Irish
Louis Riel (1844-1885)
Claude Ryan (1925-2004)
Brian Mulroney (1939-2024)
Jean Charest (1958 – )
La Bolduc, Mary Travers (1894-1941)
Émile Nelligan (1879-1941)
Sources
L’Action populaire, September 26, 1956
McQuillan, Aidan. Des chemins divergents : les Irlandais et les Canadiens français au XIX siècle
Municipality of Rawdon
O’Gallagher, Marianna, Grosse Île – Gateway to Canada 1832-1937
Concordia University, The Irish in Quebec
Wikipedia.