The Consulate General of Ireland would like to congratulate the Irish Women’s Network (IWN) of British Columbia and particularly Eilis Courtney, President of the IWN, for their excellent work on the Irish Community Mapping Project which this website represents. The Consulate commissioned the project with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2018 in order to examine and take stock of the Irish Community in British Columbia (BC) as it currently stands. We hope that this is the first step on the road to a deeper understanding of the past, present and future of the Irish in BC.

The Government of Ireland recognises that Ireland has a unique and important relationship with its diaspora that must be nurtured and developed. The Consulate of Ireland in Vancouver therefore has a strong mandate to engage with and support the Irish Community in BC. We would like Irish citizens and anyone with Irish ancestry to embrace and promote Irish culture and heritage in all its forms. Most importantly, in doing this, we encourage Irish people in BC to support, help and care for each other. This website is a place to learn about the Irish Community, find out how to engage with Irish culture, and discover how to connect with other Irish people living in British Columbia. We hope that it makes you feel closer to home.

Irish Women’s Network (IWN) of BC
Ireland – Canada Chamber Of Commerce Vancouver

This project and website were made possible with the generous support of the Consulate General of Ireland in Vancouver and by the work of members of the Irish Women’s Network of BC, specifically Eilis Courtney (lead), Geraldine Megannety, Jackie Parsonage, Rhonda McDowell and Leanne Ardley.

Thank you also to the following people from The University of British Columbia: 4th Year Geography student Archie Rea for his initial research and project work; Geography Graduate Student Micheal Jerowsky for website design;  Prof. Brian Klinkenberg and Prof. Rima Wilkes for their oversight and advice.

*We acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional territories of many different Aboriginal communities stretching across this beautiful land we now call home.