Ireland Park, Toronto (10M) - 12 July 2018

An Experience of Wealth

I regard Ireland Park, Toronto as one of the hidden gems of a great city. It has, according to the National Post, been difficult to access for much of the time since its opening in 2007. This was due to various projects including the construction of the tunnel to Billy Bishop (Toronto City) Airport and the partial demolition of the Canada Malting Silos.

The park, designed by Jonathan Kearns is a memorial to Irish immigrants and features a 14-column wall of Kilkenny limestone and five bronze statues by Rowan Gillespie. It stands on Eireann Quay in the shadow of the wonderful but crumbling Canada Malting Silos. The statues complement a similar memorial in Dublin where the figures represent 'The Departure', those in Toronto being 'The Arrival'.

The Toronto figures are brilliantly haunting and I have chosen compositions which, I hope, reflect the turmoil into which these desperate people were thrown. Such is the success of Gillespie's work that the modern setting and backgrounds only serve to emphasise the plight of these immigrants in an era when immigration is, worldwide, an unfortunate subject of political and social debate.

In this image, featuring one of Gillespie's figures, I have juxtaposed the tortured soul of the refugee from 19th century Ireland with the opulence of the modern day Toronto lake front.

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