Willam Jenkins, professor in the Department of History, has edited a new book exploring the wave of Irish immigration to Canada during the Great Famine. The book, Canada and the Great Irish Famine, highlights the experiences of tens of thousands of resilient Irish refugees who resettled in Canada and their contributions to the country’s development.
“This volume has been several years in the making. My hope is that it honours the memory of the Irish men, women and children who came to Canada under harrowing circumstances in the late 1840s – many of whom did not survive long enough to build new lives here,” said Jenkins. “I also hope it also does justice to those in Canada who worked to alleviate and manage the distress they witnessed in communities from Quebec City to the Niagara Peninsula once the immigration of 1847 was underway. This includes remembering the frontline workers, clergy and public officials who lost their lives in the process.”
The book has received several positive reviews. Kevin James, professor of history and Scottish Studies Foundation Chair (endowed chair) from the University of Guelph said, “Canada and the Great Irish Famine provides a rich and long-overdue reassessment, offering yardsticks with which to measure the Atlantic Canadian and Western experiences.”
Jenkins received his PhD from the University of Toronto. He is a social and economic historian whose primary research interest lies in the immigration of Irish men, women and children to Canada and the United States between 1815 and 1914. His other research interests include Irish history in the 19th and 20th centuries, urban history, historical geography, global and transnational history.
A book launch, which will include a talk and signing, will take place on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. at the Charbonnel Lounge, St Michael's College, University of Toronto.