REM station will be named Griffintown-Bernard Landry, to disappointment of Irish community
Some in Irish community say they are frustrated and angered by the decision
The Peel Basin station for Montreal's light-rail network will be named Griffintown-Bernard Landry, announced Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante on Monday.
"Both names will be there, and for us it was so important to do so," said Plante. She said the name was a "very strong connection honouring both the historically Irish Griffintown and the Cité du Multimédia.
The station will be located near Peel Street between Ottawa and Willam streets. In front of the station, there will be a park honouring the memory of Mary Griffin, the Irish businesswoman from the 19th century whom the neighbourhood was named after.
Former Quebec premier Bernard Landry helped create Cité du Multimédia, a neighbourhood meant to attract technology companies to the area when he was finance minister in the 1980s.
Naming the station after Landry would honour the contribution that he had on that neighbourhood, Plante said.
Plante suggested the name to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which is financing the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) project, in November. All 26 REM stations now have an official name.
"The hyphen is very important in the name, and we're starting with Griffintown," Plante said.
"The fact that there's one entry on Cité du Multimédia and one in Griffintown, I feel it represents this city so well"
Irish Montrealers unhappy with choice
But Irish Montrealers say they feel left out of the conversation.
"Really frustrated, totally disappointed, a little bit dumbfounded by what she did and, to some extent, a little bit angry about it also," is how Fergus Keyes reacts to the decision.
He organized a petition in 2018, calling for the REM station to be named after the Irish community, to commemorate their contribution and history in Griffintown and in Montreal.
He said there is no reason to add Landry's name to this location, because Landry did not live or work in the neighbourhood, nor was he elected to represent those living there.
"If it was just Griffintown, it would be acceptable to us," he said.
Keyes says he's not giving up.
"If she thinks it's over, then really she's dreaming in Technicolor," said Keyes. "We refuse to have that station have Mr. Landry's name on it."
With files from Antoni Nerestant