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u | : Day pe ae ee oe eee SS ee en aan BEY PARKING LOTS WALKWAYS & CURBS THE NEW TANNER Thought the Vikings and- Christopher Columbus "dis- covered" America? Think again. Persuasive Irish historians have placed the date their ancestors landed in Canada centuries before the Norse- men, Columbus and the French. They say St. Brendan, an Irish monk and navigator, arrived in what is now Canada in 545 A.D., stayed here for seven years in the company of 12 other monks. Unconvinced? St. Brendan's voyage is pre- served in Irish legend song and story, particularly in County Kerry, his birthplace. Evidence has been uncovered that show Irish settlements existed in the St. Lawrence valley between 875 and 900 AD. Dr. Gustav Lanctont of Montreal, a retired Canadian ASPHALT PAVING archivist. reported peaceful Irish Celts living in Iceland INTERLOCKING : : were driven from their homes CONCRETE by Norsemen in the 10" cen- DRIVEWAYS tury. They sailed west until RURAL PAVING prevailing winds blew them along the coast of Labrador and into the Gulf of St. Law- rence. It is believed they THURSDAY. MARCH 16. 2000 Forget the Norsemen, Columbus --the Irish found America first ea ae in Acton and area earlier but the first recorded history of large scale settlement was in Little Dublin, the area south of Acton bounded by what was Highway 25, 25 Sideroad, the Town Line and 15 Sideroad. Scottish settlers had settled on land further south, below Speyside, in what became known as the Scotch Block. The more rocky.. less attractive land on the E: ment was deeded to the Irish, Families with names like Gibbons, Kennedy, Dunn, O Callaghan, O'Hara, Curren, Dalton, Mulloney, McPhee, Foley, Lamb, Flynn, Cummins, Fitzpatrick, Donnelly, Kelly, Mulley, McCann, Mulholland, Carty, Kinsella, Monahan, McGuire and Kaley carved farms out of a stubborn Esquesing wilder- ness. By 1857 they had built a frame church on two acres of land given to the Catholic Corporation of the Diocese of Hamilton by Matthew McCann and John Mulholland. Work started on the church on March 18, 1857. one hundred and forty-three years ago, a day after St. Patrick's Day and a day be- fore the feast of St. Joseph. The church was called St. Joseph's perhaps at the be- hest of the parish priest. a Jesuit of French origin. The adjoining burial ground, rough, stone strewn on the side of the hill on the Dublin Line (First Line) tell a story of privation. diptheria and cholera epidemics which raged through the middle of the 19" century. Sometimes whole families were wiped out. Meanwhile, quite a few Irish families had come to Acton with the railway in 1856. It wasn't until 1887, 30 years later, that the parish moved into Acton into the present church on Church St. It had been erected by Congregationalists who couldn't handle the expense. The Irish families weren't easily persuaded the move was in their interest. Some of the pioneer families with deep roots in the soil refused to move. It wasn't Se were removed from the little frame church and it was torn down that the move to Acton was completed. A monument on the Dublin Line cemetery marks the site of that frame church. Northern Protestant Irish had settled in Acton, took, and became pillars of the com- Continued on Page 9 GARAGE FLOORS landed in the Magdalen Is- EXCAVATING I jands and later moved to Cape GRADING I Breton. I But it was not until the 1820s that the first Irish came ACTON & AREA I tothis part of Canada, It was | __ after the Irish rebellion of 1798 TOLL FREE 1-888-965-PAVE (7283) andthe great faminco 1822 OAKVILLE (905) 337-PAVE 1 and the north - Ceitolicand a" rotestant - immigrated to TORONTO (905) 783-PAVE Conds Bithe Wabane, QUALITY & SERVICE I eh century Irish in ; j 'anada outnumberd both the We use heavy-duty equipment for better compaction | English and Scottish. In the All work undertaken carries a written warranty I later nineteenth century and ; twentieth century, a higher References are proudly available © oistincl Irish omiacnion Coupon valid only at time of estimate. I went to the United States and 3 I the percentage declined in v3} Members of Consumers Protection Bureau a3 3 Canada. ee There may have been Irish Kerry Gold Coach Tour May to October Departures * 8 day First Class Coach Tour *7 nights First Class Hotels * Full Irish Breakfast Daily * 6 three-course evening meals * visit Kilkenny, Tralee, Dingle, Killarney, Ulster Gold Coach Tour * 6 day First Class Coach Tour * 5 nights First Class Hotels * full Irish breakfast daily * 5 evening three-course meals * visit Dublin, Belfast, Derry & Donegal Talk to the Ireland experts! 'Taxes are additional. For full terms & ction with our present ireland speci Shamrock Gold Coach Tour All Ireland Tour May-October departures * 15 day First Class Coach Tour * 14 nights First Class Hotels * full Irish breakfast daily * 12 evening three-course meals + visit Kilkenny, Tralee, Killarney, Dublin, Belfast, Derry, Donegal, Galway, Pry Celtic Gold Coach Tour * 8 day First Class Coach Tour *7 nights First Class Hotels * full Irish breakfast daily * 6 evening three-course meals * visit Dublin, Belfast, Donegal, Galway & to our Travelpack 2000 Ireland brochure. Above prices are per person based on double occupancy in con- 9 jo #04255535. 2975246 Canada inc. O/A Ti pact keting | ---- ahi g and Leisure Services. 02/21/00. Se We are fully licensed and offer an enjoyable, a Who was St. Patrick? Who was this St. Patrick whose feast day is celebrated vey March 17 and who has been called the "Apostle of Ire- land?" There's some controversy about where he was born. Some claim his birthplace was a village called Bannavem Taberniae, near Dunbarton-on-the-Clyde, that's Scotland isn't it? Or at the mouth of the Severn River in England. Others maintain he was born in Brittany which is the Celtic part of France. We know ofa certainty that Patrick was of Romano-British origin and was born in 389 A.D. His full name was probably Patricius Magonus Sucatus, obviously a Roman name. As a young man, according to his brief "Confession," he commit- ted some fault and although he was born into a Christian fam- ily - his father Calpurnius was a deacon - he apparently lived a dissolute life. At age 16 Patrick and some others were seized and carried off by sea raiders to become slaves in Ireland. Research now indicates he was a swineherd in County Mayo for six years before escaping back home. During his stay in Ireland he re- formed his life, and ed constantly and returning home studied and was ordained a priest. Around the year 442 Patrick went to Rome and met Pope Leo who took a special interest in the Irish church. The Pope sent him to Ireland to evangelize and unify the church. He is credited with converting thousand of Irish to Christianity. % The Academy % of Rockwood 295 Alma St., #3 Rockwood 856-0195 Open 7 Days A Week ¢ LLBO Come out and Join us at the Academy for our St. Patrick's Day Party Friday Night March 17 Green Beer and Lots of Cheer Do you love playing pool and want to learn to play better? We offer lessons! ss Somotable blend experience fa ab.