2. Irishtown
1 sound
For clarification on elements of the audio, please see the below footnotes:
By “cathedral” Honora is referring to St. Mary’s Basilica. The Basilica was granted the honoured title of basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
The current version of the Halifax Citadel was built between 1828 and 1856. It is the fourth version. There has been a fort on Citadel Hill since 1749.
The Citadel was used from 1 October 1914 to 3 October 1916 as an internment camp, and also served as military offices. It is now a National Historic Site of Canada. The Maritime Museum of Canada (a previous incarnation of the current Maritime Museum of the Atlantic) was previously located in the walls of the fort.
Although the exact demographics for 1917 would be tricky to calculate because of the war, in 1884 at least, 40% of Haligonians were Irish or of Irish descent. (see: Terrence Punch. “Historic Background of Irishtown: There Were Two,” (Peninsula Community Council Report, Halifax Regional Municipality, 2012): p. 3.)
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While the events depicted in this walk are true, and we have endeavoured to represent them as factually as possible, it is important to note that the characters are fictional. As such, small details about their personal lives may not be accurate. These characters have been created from the remembrances of real people, and drawn from the communities present in Halifax in December of 1917.
