Irish at Ingonish - 1860 to 1870
X.114.09
This mural depicts Ingonish, or Niganish, in the 1860s. Ingonish is located on the east coast of Cape Breton Island, and was an important fishing village from 1612 through 1880. The artist shows a stylized, commemorative coin in the centre, which celebrates the French occupation of Ingonish during the 1700s and the importance of fishing to the region.
The Irish from Newfoundland began to settle in Ingonish to fish and farm in the early 1800s. The mural presents these dual sources of livelihood by mirroring them into each half of the mural. On the right the artist depicts the catching, hauling, drying and stacking of fish during the summer months. Once the fishing season ended they would desert their settlements and migrate inland to take up agriculture. This movement is depicted across the top of the mural. In the left half, the artist represents the agricultural pursuits that would have occupied communities outside of the fishing season: tilling soil, shearing sheep and harvesting grain and potatoes. To show this duality we can see a woman in the centre holding two baskets, one filled with potatoes and the other with clams. If viewers look closely they can see that the two men in the foreground are actually the same person. This doubling motif was done to emphasise the twin roles of the community and how it adapts to its environment. These central figures are based upon Ingonish natives Ken and Barbara Donovan and their children. Ken was an historian with Parks Canada at Louisbourg and also served as an historical consultant on these very murals.
On either side of the painting, the artist offers us two views of Middle Head, where the Keltic Lodge Resort is today. On the right is the peninsula as seen from the water, and on the left we see the same body from the land jutting out into the sea.