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Anonymous
Apr 13, 2026
Fabulous article.
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--°C|Friday, June 12, 2026
The shamrock has been on Montreal's coat of arms since 1832, and the pub culture that followed has been here just as long.
March 14, 2026 · 7 min read
The shamrock has been on Montreal's coat of arms since 1832, and the pub culture that followed has been here just as long.
March 14, 2026 · 7 min read
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Fabulous article.
There's a shamrock on Montreal's coat of arms. It's been there since 1833 alongside the English rose, a beaver for French-Canadians (which eventually became the fleur-de-lis) , and the Scottish thistle, reminding us that this city was built, in no small part, by Irish hands that dug the Lachine Canal, raised the railways, buried the dead during the typhus epidemic of 1847, and—perhaps most consequentially for the city's social life—opened the taverns.
By 1851, inn- and tavern-keeping was the second most common occupation among Montreal's Irish, with a Montreal city directory listing 26 Irish-owned inns and taverns in total (only grocers and spirits dealers ranked higher). The Irish pub, in other words, wasn't so much imported to Montreal as it was grown here out of necessity and community.
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There's a shamrock on Montreal's coat of arms. It's been there since 1833 alongside the English rose, a beaver for French-Canadians (which eventually became the fleur-de-lis) , and the Scottish thistle, reminding us that this city was built, in no small part, by Irish hands that dug the Lachine Canal, raised the railways, buried the dead during the typhus epidemic of 1847, and—perhaps most consequentially for the city's social life—opened the taverns.
By 1851, inn- and tavern-keeping was the second most common occupation among Montreal's Irish, with a Montreal city directory listing 26 Irish-owned inns and taverns in total (only grocers and spirits dealers ranked higher). The Irish pub, in other words, wasn't so much imported to Montreal as it was grown here out of necessity and community.
Create a free account to read this story and access 3 articles per month, plus our weekly Bulletin.
As Mount Royal Park turns 150, the story of its creation reveals how Olmsted's vision for the mountain was compromised almost from the very beginning.
You may not recognize the name, but the Montreal architect’s curved facades, vanished theatres, churches, and landmark apartment buildings remain woven into the city’s everyday landscape.
Once known as the historic Mount Royal Hotel, the Les Cours Mont-Royal is seeing renewed demand as its overlooked office spaces fill up and tenants move in.
What began as a complaint about grading bias escalated into a two-week occupation, a fire, and one of the most consequential reckonings with institutional racism in Canadian higher education.
In the summer of 1930, a British airship the length of two and a half Boeing 747s locked onto a mooring mast on the South Shore. Nearly a million people came to watch.
A backstage encounter at a Montreal theatre, a few punches, a death six weeks later. The cause remains disputed.
As Mount Royal Park turns 150, the story of its creation reveals how Olmsted's vision for the mountain was compromised almost from the very beginning.
You may not recognize the name, but the Montreal architect’s curved facades, vanished theatres, churches, and landmark apartment buildings remain woven into the city’s everyday landscape.
Once known as the historic Mount Royal Hotel, the Les Cours Mont-Royal is seeing renewed demand as its overlooked office spaces fill up and tenants move in.
What began as a complaint about grading bias escalated into a two-week occupation, a fire, and one of the most consequential reckonings with institutional racism in Canadian higher education.
In the summer of 1930, a British airship the length of two and a half Boeing 747s locked onto a mooring mast on the South Shore. Nearly a million people came to watch.
A backstage encounter at a Montreal theatre, a few punches, a death six weeks later. The cause remains disputed.
From our archive.
From its 1945 opening to a 1984 closure and its present-day hotel, the Décarie Boulevard institution was where Montreal went to see and be seen.
The law demanded they learn anatomy but made dissection illegal, so for nearly a century, stolen corpses were tobogganed down Mount Royal to a folk hero janitor who paid cash, no questions asked.
How a Bulgarian immigrant's billiard hall became one of Montreal's most enduring institutions, from pimp steaks to late night eats infamy.
For decades, Sabor Latino's been the gravitational centre for Montreal's Latino communities.
A century-long story of how a neighbourhood grew from railroad workers to family legacies everywhere you look today.
When Kon Tiki brought post-war escapism and Hollywood's idea of the South Pacific to Peel Street, it created an exotic escape unlike any other.
From our archive.
From its 1945 opening to a 1984 closure and its present-day hotel, the Décarie Boulevard institution was where Montreal went to see and be seen.
The law demanded they learn anatomy but made dissection illegal, so for nearly a century, stolen corpses were tobogganed down Mount Royal to a folk hero janitor who paid cash, no questions asked.
How a Bulgarian immigrant's billiard hall became one of Montreal's most enduring institutions, from pimp steaks to late night eats infamy.
For decades, Sabor Latino's been the gravitational centre for Montreal's Latino communities.
A century-long story of how a neighbourhood grew from railroad workers to family legacies everywhere you look today.
When Kon Tiki brought post-war escapism and Hollywood's idea of the South Pacific to Peel Street, it created an exotic escape unlike any other.
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Fabulous article.