Canada Ireland Foundation: New Urban Toronto Park Honours Healthcare Workers' Historic Sacrifice

Virtual Opening Dedication Ceremony of Grasett Park Friday, July 16, 2021

On Friday, July 16^th, the Canada Ireland Foundation (CIF), in partnership with The City of Toronto, will host a virtual opening and dedication of Grasett Park. The new park commemorates the brave doctors, nurses and other caregivers who gave their lives providing care to the Irish emigrants who arrived on Toronto's shores in 1847, sickened with typhus. The July 16^th date coincides with the 174^th anniversary of Dr. George Robert Grasett's death from typhus, less than a month after his appointment as Chief Attending Surgeon of the newly repurposed Emigrant Hospital, then located at the site of the new park.

Situated at 303 Adelaide Street West, the site housed the Hospital's fever sheds which were hastily erected to treat the thousands of sick and dying men, women, and children newly arrived in Toronto. Designed by award-winning Toronto Architectural Studio Denegri Bessai, the park, which was in early planning stages in 2008, features a black granite surface etched with an 1842 map of Toronto, as well as 30-foot tall, laminated glass plates illuminated and imprinted with a pattern recalling the panels of cheesecloth that were hung in the fever sheds to protect the patients for flies.

Due to COVID-19, the Canada Ireland Foundation will host a virtual ceremony to mark the park's opening. The Foundation also marks this occasion to recognize the relevance of the ongoing sacrifices of the medical community who have put themselves at great risk to help the sick and dying in Toronto throughout the pandemic, just as they did in 1847.

The online ceremony will include messages from Irish and Canadian dignitaries, original music composed for the occasion, and a tribute to our healthcare workers, past and present.

Event Details

			What:		Opening and Dedication of Grasett Park,
					including a tribute to the healthcare workers of 1847 and today
			When:		Friday July 16, 2021 at 12:00 noon EDT (approximately 35 minutes)
			Where:		Virtual online ceremony
					Register in advance at https://www.canadairelandfoundation.com/grasett/

Media Availability: Robert Kearns, Chair and Founder of the Canada Ireland Foundation, will be available for interviews. An electronic press kit, including photos and images of the park is also available upon request.

For more information, contact:
Richard Gasee, Marketing Manager
Canada Ireland Foundation
Email: [e-mail] Phone: [phone]

About Canada Ireland Foundation
Founded in 1997, Canada Ireland Foundation is dedicated to celebrating and commemorating the relationship between Ireland and Canada through arts, culture, and heritage. In 2007, the Foundation completed Ireland Park on Toronto's Eireann Quay and, in autumn 2021, will commence rehabilitation of an adjacent historic property, renamed The Corleck Building. The Foundation has also created Grasett Park, opening July 16, 2021, to commemorate the service and sacrifice of healthcare workers who gave their lives while caring for Irish migrants during the 1847 typhus epidemic.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005351/en/

Contacts:

Richard Gasee, Marketing Manager
Canada Ireland Foundation
Email: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]