ST. MARY’S CEMETERY CELTIC CROSS
By Fred Hazel
Located at St. Mary’s Cemetery, just beside the Irving Oil Refinery on Loch Lomond Road in Saint John, this striking, 10-foot high Celtic cross was unveiled on a golden summer day, Thursday, July 14, 1994. It was something the Saint John Chapter of the Irish-Canadian Cultural Association had been thinking about ever since its organizational meeting 10 years earlier, in 1984.
St Mary’s Cemetery Celtic Cross
The marker, visible from the road, stands on a central path inside the cemetery’s main gate. It is dedicated to the estimated 15,000 Irish immigrants who are buried in one of Canada’s oldest Irish cemeteries, many in unmarked graves.
Local historian and schoolteacher Mary Kilfoyle McDevitt, whose 1990 book “We Hardly Knew Ye,” was one of the inspirations for the memorial, selected this inscription for the front of the monument:
“Nineteenth Century Saint John was utterly transformed by the arrival, during the first half of the century, of tens of thousands of Irish immigrants. Though many merely passed through, the impact of the thousands who stayed and put down roots in the community was profound.
“We remember and we celebrate the 15,000 who lie buried here – many of them nameless and forgotten, many of them once prominent citizens, but for the most part, ordinary men and women with no particular claim to fame, but whose offsprings still comprise a major portion of the population of modern day Saint John.
“The enduring Irish presence in the city is a testament to the courage and the tenacity of the immigrant generation and to the commitment of their descendants in preserving their legacy.”
A memorial stone at the foot of the monument’s base reads: “In memory of some early Priests of the Diocese of Saint John whose names are known but to God.”
Rev. Brian Sheehan was master of ceremonies for the dedication, and other speakers included Margaret Norrie McCain, in one of her first official functions since her appointment as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick; Most. Rev. Edward J. Troy, Bishop of Saint John; Saint John Mayor Thomas Higgins; MP Elsie Wayne and MLA Shirley Dysart.
The cross was unveiled by Alma Hazel, president of the Saint John I.C.C.A. and her husband Fred. Musical accompaniment was provided by Pipe Major James Patterson and soloist Joe Donahue. Following wreath-layings, a large crowd assembled for a reception at St. Joachim’s Church Hall across the road.
The monument was designed and constructed by Nelson Monuments. The Saint John Branch Irish-Canadian Cultural Association provided all funding for the project. Co-chairs were Dr. Daniel Britt and Donna Blanchard.