MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 17, 2023

Smiths Falls Heritage House Museum to host Irish Connection Event

Smiths Falls, ON – The Town of Smiths Falls invites community members in Smiths Falls and surrounding areas to the Heritage House Museum on Sunday, August 20th from 1:30pm – 3pm to connect with Smiths Falls’ Irish roots by exploring the Coollattin Canadian Connection and sharing their Irish family stories at the drop-in event.

In 2017, the Town of Smiths Falls launched a formal twinning with the town of Carnew in County Wicklow, Ireland; the location of the Coollattin Estate. The connection had been brought to the attention of the Town by Irish historian Kevin Lee, project leader of the Canadian Coollattin Connection. Mr. Lee’s information included details about the exodus of over 6,000 Irish immigrants from the Estate, of which a number of them settled in Smiths Falls and surrounding areas including Burgess, Kitley, Lombardy, Montague, North Elmsley, South Elmsley Wolford, North Crosby, South Crosby and Younge.

“Immigrants from Ireland who represented half of our citizens in the latter half of the 1800s, played a vital role in the early development of our community. Many arrived in Canada with a farming background and settled in the townships surrounding Smiths Falls. According to the 1881 Census, almost 63% of people living in and around Smiths Falls identified as Irish”, said Mayor Shawn Pankow. “The Town of Smiths Falls is proud of our Irish heritage and grateful to Kevin and Eleanor Lee for recognizing the close relationship between the Coollattin Estate in Ireland and Smiths Falls, and for helping rekindle some of the long-forgotten connections. I'm sure Sunday's event will be deeply meaningful to those interested in learning more about their Irish heritage and may help them connect with others who share that common bond."

Some of the family names that are linked to the Coollattin Estate descendants include but are not limited to:

• Balfe
• Byrne
• Dagg
• Doyle
• Eagers
• Jackson
• Kelly
• Kenny
• Murphy
• Pearson
• Pierce
• Rickby
• Tallant
• Tallon
• Timmons
• Whelan