La vague celtique, Cultural Heritage, and the Creative Economy in Rural Southern Québec

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
La vague celtique, Cultural Heritage, and the Creative Economy in Rural Southern Québec
Abstract
The author notes that as Quebec has moved to strengthen its creative economy in recent years, both English-speaking communities and rural areas have become areas of concern. He points out that surprisingly under-examined has been the multiplication of Irish commemorations, memorials, and related heritage attractions in the overwhelmingly French-speaking Appalachian foothills of southern Quebec. Irish migration there occurred largely between the 1810s and mid-1840s (before the Great Famine) after the opening of several roads that completed overland connections between Québec City and Boston: the Kennebec Road along the Chaudière River (and the Etchemin Road branching off it) that existed in rudimentary form by 1810; the Craig Road, constructed in 1810; and the Gosford Road, begun in the late 1830s as a winter spur off the Craig. The author points out that these routes drew Irish migrants into the townships. Their traditions and memories of pioneer life and sectarian tensions have lived on among the area’s dwindling English-speaking communities. Some of their members have rallied to preserve this Irish heritage before it is lost. He points out that bolstered by regional and provincial tourism offices, local businesses, and many Francophone descendants of Irish settlers – and also by greater acceptance of pluralism in a more culturally self-confident Quebec – they have been building an ecumenical, authentic, and visible Irish presence. So far, they have also avoided the negative aspects of creative-cultural tourism.
Publication
Québec Studies
Date
2023
Volume
Vol. 75
Issue
no. 1
Pages
199-222
URL
Citation
Ireland, Patrick R. “La Vague Celtique, Cultural Heritage, and the Creative Economy in Rural Southern Québec.” Québec Studies Vol. 75, no. 1 (2023): 199–222. https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/qs.2023.12.
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