Sud-Ouest DistrictGriffintown
Irish people arrived in Canada and in Griffintown because of The Great Famine of 1847. Two million died, 500,000 left Ireland. The majority preferred the United States, but several came to Canada. They arrived by boat and Griffintown is close to the old port. My great-grand-father Michael Barry arrived in one of those boats. In those days, Montreal was badly in need of cheap labour and the then penniless Irish immigrants were looking for jobs, any job. We owe them, they built the Lachine Canal, the Victoria Bridge and the railroads. My grand-father John Barry, for instance, worked for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Installed hardly a few meters above the river, they piled up in makeshift houses with no toilets and no sewers. The living was not easy. Large families had to undergo regular floods and fires, including the great fire of 1852 that left more than 500 families homeless. In 1870, the area was a major industrial hub, and home to more than 20,000 residents, predominantly Irish. Manufactures, metal shops, print shops and breweries flourished during the 19th century. 
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were still tens of thousands of residents. During the first half of the 20th century however, the neighbourhood experienced darker times. An industrial decline and the closing of the Lachine Canal in 1970 left the vicinity littered with abandoned factories and open-air parking lots. The construction of the Bonaventure Highway inaugurated on April 21st 1967 displaced many families. There are now only about 2,000 people living in this part of the Sud-Ouest. The vicinity offers an interesting growth potential however, especially since several patrimonial buildings have been preserved. While most of the territory is zoned for industrial and commercial use developers hope to open part of the area to new housing Secteur de planification détaillée (PDF). Thank you for your visit to the land of my ancestors! Sud-Ouest District / Sud-Ouest Borough Web Sites We Like
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