Canadian Ambassador to Ireland comes from the Newfoundland Irish Circuit

As a former Minister of Education in the Newfoundland government and later Canada’s MP and Minister of Fisheries, Loyola Hearn has been a household name to the Canadian public for almost twenty years. Now, the Newfoundland-born retired politician has been appointed Canada’s ambassador to Ireland. Political pundits can debate the pros and cons of the appointment.

However, the obvious connection between Hearn and Ireland is unmistakable from any point of view. With Irish roots and born, raised and keeping a home in the Irish Loop in Newfoundland and Labrador, Hearn has a definite Irish connection. Hailing from Renews on the Irish Loop, Hearn can trace his roots back to well-known surnames in Ireland.

As early as the 1700s and later during the potato blight in Ireland in the 19th century, many Irish people made their way into a new world. They settled on the island of Newfoundland. The Irish Loop, a scenic area that winds around the Avalon Peninsula, has a strong Irish heritage.

The people of the region cling to Irish culture, traditions and music. You can even hear an Irish touch in their voices. The picturesque landscape itself reminds one of Ireland. In fact, the Irish Loop has been described as “the most Irish place in the world outside of Ireland”.

In her book “An Irish Heart”, Sharon Doyle Driedger lists ten historic Irish sites in Canada and includes the ‘Mass Rock’ (the only one in North America) in Hearn’s hometown of Renews. A religious grotto now lies within sight of ‘Mass Rock’ where Irish Catholics used to secretly gather at midnight to celebrate mass and practice their faith. The penal law of the time prohibited Irish Catholics from celebrating Mass.

The link between Ireland and the southern coast of Newfoundland has grown stronger over time. Connection has always been in the hearts and emotions of the Irish on both sides of the Atlantic. Indeed, in recent years, Ireland and the southern coast of Newfoundland have made a concerted effort to continue to build these ties.

An annual festival of Ireland and Newfoundland is an event that alternates annually between southeastern Ireland and southeastern Newfoundland. The 2010 festival was a celebration of the people and culture of the Irish Loop and the southeastern counties of Waterford, Kilkenny and Wexford in Ireland. In 2011, the festival will be held in South Avalon in Newfoundland.

Irish visitors will have no trouble finding great accommodation on the south coast. They can choose from Atlantic Canadian cabins and hotels in nearby St. John’s and other larger centers. Plus, they can enjoy Newfoundland hospitality with an Irish twist at bed and breakfasts around the Loop. Every community, including the childhood home of the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, has at least one (or more) bed and breakfast.

Whether Irish or not, everyone is always captivated by the spectacular beauty and distinctive culture of Newfoundland’s south coast. It won’t be hard to see why the new Ambassador to Ireland might feel at home in his new role. No doubt future collaborations at all levels will take place between Ireland and Canada. The Ireland/Irish Loop connection is summed up in the following words from a popular tune performed by Kevin Collins, a Newfoundland artist.

“From island to island, from green to green, they left their homes to settle in a place they had never seen. They traded the hills of Newfoundland for the ones they left behind, and the green of clover for the green of pine.”