The Irish have had a long history in Montreal. Griffintown is the name given to the former south-western downtown part of Montreal comprised of Notre Dame St. to the north, McGill to the east, Guy to the west and the Lachine Canal to the south.

The name Griffintown came from Mary Griffin who illegally obtained the lease on the land in 1799 from a business associate of Thomas McCord. In the early nineteenth century Griffintown was first settled by Irish immigrants and as the century progressed these Irish Catholics were supplemented with French Canadians as well as Anglo Protestants . Griffintown's Irish Catholics were primarily unskilled labourers who were responsible for building the original Lachine Canal (1821-25), the Victoria Bridge (± late 1850s), various railways and the Montreal harbour expansions of the nineteenth century. In addition, they found employment in industry that was developing in Griffintown and along the Lachine Canal in the late 1840s and 50s.

Griffintown was also home to a growing Jewish and Italian population by the early twentieth century as the Irish were moving out. By 1941 the Irish were no longer the largest group in "the Griff" and by 1968 comprised a mere one-fourteenth of the population.

The Irish around the world, as well as all the "Irish wanna-bes"  will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day on March 17. In honour of this celebration, I have created a St. Patty's Irish Martini and Toasted Shamrock Appetizer.

Image source: Flickr

St. Patty's Irish Martini

Ice

50 ml Baileys Irish Cream           

20 ml Irish Whiskey*

10 ml strong cold Coffee                       

Drop some ice cubes into a shaker 

Pour Baileys over the ice

Add Bushmills 

Add strong cold coffee 

Shake vigorously 

Serve in a chilled Martini glass

* Substitute Johnnie Walker Scotch Whiskey. It will mingle perfectly with the smooth creamy Baileys

174 Calories      71 Calories from Fat     7.8g Total Fat     4.7g Saturated Fat

45 mg Sodium   184 mg Cholesterol      10.g Sugars        10g Carbohydrates

Toasted Shamrock Appetizers

Adult supervision required.

2       English Muffins, split in halves

120g Cheddar Cheese, grated

1       small Green Pepper, 3 or 4 lobe, cut into 6.5mm slices

Slice the bottom end of the pepper crosswise into 5 slices.  Using the extra slice, cut into small pieces to create stems.

For each English Muffin half you will need 1 slice of Green Pepper and 30g grated cheese.

Toast the English Muffin halves. Arrange on a foil covered baking sheet. Sprinkle each muffin half with cheese. Top with a slice of green pepper remembering that a 4-lobe pepper makes it a lucky four-leaf clover! Take one of the small pieces and place it at the base of one of the lobes to make a stem.

Broil until the cheese has melted. Serve warm as an appetizer or snack.

Serves 4

192 Calories                 94 Calories from Fat     10.5g Total Fat     6.6g Saturated Fat       308g Sodium     320mg Cholesterol       10.3g Protein            14.2g Carbohydrates      1.7g Sugars                  1.3g Dietary Fibre