Ireland Park

Officially opened in 2007, the making of Ireland Park dates back to 1995, when Robert G. Kearns first viewed Rowan Gillespie’s ‘Departure’ series of famine sculptures in Dublin. These sculptures were donated by Norma Smurfit of the Smurfit Foundation to the people of Ireland and the citizens of Dublin in 1997 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the famine. These seven sculptures Customs House Quay on the north side of the River Liffey and depict Irish Famine migrants making their way to embark upon their journey to a new land. Deeply moved by the sculptures in Dublin, Robert Kearns invited Rowan Gillespie to create a new group of sculptures for the Toronto waterfront, depicting their arrival in Canada. An historic and artistic link was thereby created between the waterfront of Toronto and the waterfront of Dublin.

Ireland Park is located on the shores of Lake Ontario on Éireann Quay, adjoining the Canada Malting Silos, at the foot of Bathurst Street