[Docere]

Originally Posted by Laceoflight

What's interesting about the Irish diaspora in Canada, is that not only did they flee discrimination in Upper Canada (Ontario), but being catholic in Montreal at that time wasn't the best option either. In fact, a significant portion of the Irish newcomers blended, even assimilated, with the French catholic population of Lower Canada, where they were welcomed. They settled in the rural areas of Bas-Canada. An entire swath of territory, known today as les Bois-Francs, in Centre-du-Québec, was cleared by them. Well-established French-speaking families are Irish (think of the Nelligans, Flynns, Handfields, Cannons, Johnsons, Nelsons, Ryans, D'Arcy and McGees, Travers, etc.). Also, most of the Irish children whose parents unfortunately died in quarantine, on Grosse Île, were raised by French canadian families. Hence, most of French-speaking Québécois have Irish blood today, too.

And in Ontario, mixed Irish Catholic/Franco-Ontarian is very common.