This page was exported from Caledon Citizen [ https://caledoncitizen.com ] Export date:Sat May 23 21:40:45 2026 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: Town of Caledon marks Irish Heritage Month --------------------------------------------------- By Riley Murphy Local Journalism Initiative Reporter March in Caledon is recognized as Irish Heritage Month, and Caledon Council kicked off the month-long celebration with a flag-raising on Tuesday. Just a week before St Patrick's Day, a mighty crowd gathered outside of Caledon Town Hall to raise the Irish Flag. “The Town of Caledon is proud of its Irish heritage,” said Mayor Annette Groves. “These families endured hardships, and survived under challenging conditions and greatly contributed to the story of Caledon, but not just Caledon, they greatly contributed to our country and our province.” “Their perseverance in the face of adversity helped to shape our Town for what it is today.” Many villages in Caledon still bear Irish names and traditions, she continued, and “today we join together to honour this heritage.” Councillor Lynn Kiernan plays a big part in the celebration in Caledon, but it began with MP Maloney. In 2021, MP James Maloney introduced a motion in the House of Commons that led to the official designation of March as Irish Heritage Month in Canada.  “Then I brought it forward to the members of this Council that Caledon should declare March as Irish heritage month,” said Kiernan. “I'm very proud today as we raise the flag of Irish heritage, and we will do that every March going forward,” she added. Kiernan spoke to the history of Irish heritage in Caledon. “Our communities were settled by the Irish, who were fleeing Ireland due to hunger and oppression and seeking a better life. They came here and created communities,” she said Community names many may recognize, such as Tullamore. MPP for Dufferin-Caledon Sylvia Jones attended the event and read aloud an Irish blessing, laughing that she has a lot of fun on this day as she gets to spend the time picking one. “There's many street signs, many small hamlets across Caledon and in Dufferin that have Irish history,” added Jones. Irish immigrants began settling in the hills of North West Albion Township, also known as Irish Town, around 1825, said Groves.  Irish Town referred to the general areas around Palgrave, the Hamlet of Cedar Mills, Sleswick, and Sligo. “Despite the challenging terrain of these areas, the Irish settlers still managed to create a sense of permanent community out of isolated farm steads and became an important influence in Caledon's farming history and identity,” said Groves. “Today, many descendants of the original Irish Settlers still live in the area, farm the land, and preserve and restore the heritage on the town's history.” --------------------------------------------------- Images: --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2026-03-12 11:48:20 Post date GMT: 2026-03-12 15:48:20 Post modified date: 2026-03-12 11:48:21 Post modified date GMT: 2026-03-12 15:48:21 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.com