April 2026
The southern Ontario city of Hamilton is known as a centre for steel production, with Stelco and Dofasco being fixtures on the shore of Hamilton Harbour since the early part of the 20th Century. In the 1840s, the Hamilton waterfront served as a final stop for more than 16, 000 Irish immigrants escaping the Great Famine in Ireland.
The Great Famine, or Irish Potato Famine, struck Ireland between 1845 and 1852. Ireland was ravaged by widespread starvation, disease, and economic collapse, leaving more than one million dead and causing two million to emigrate to America and pre-Confederation Canada.
On 10 September 2025, a monument was unveiled at Copps Pier-Pier 8 in the West Harbour, an area once filled with warehouses for the storage of goods coming and going out the harbour. Formerly known as Falkner’s Wharf, at the foot of Catharine and John streets, this was a crucial point of entry for destitute Irish seeking a better life in Upper Canada. Alongside the docking facilities stood a hospital and isolation sheds. Hundreds died there, tragically after surviving a harrowing six-week ocean crossing on “coffin ships,” and were buried in local cemeteries.
Nothing remains of Falkner’s Wharf or the facilities that welcomed the Irish immigrants to Hamilton. It’s a largely forgotten event in the history of Hamilton. No photos are known to exist, as photography was an emerging technology at the time.
The memorial features a bronze casting of a pair of battered children’s shoes, modelled on footwear once worn by a child survivor of the famine and set on a rectangular stone plinth atop a concrete base.
The dedication ceremony featured speakers from the Irish community, locally and nationally, along with Irish music.
Sources: Monument a remembrance of Irish who arrived on waterfront, Hamilton, Ontario | The National Famine Way, Stelco – Wikipedia, Dofasco – Wikipedia.
