Ballad of James Collins pays homage to Irish doctor who died on Partridge Island in N.B.
The tragic tale of a 19th century Irish doctor who made it his mission to help sick and suffering immigrants stranded on Partridge Island's quarantine station during the typhus epidemic, has been immortalized in a new song written by a musician from the Emerald Island.
The musician, by the name of Danny Dineen, has written a song about the doomed doctor, who would contract and die from typhus not long after arriving to help. The song is called The Ballad of James Collins.
"(Dr. James Collins) he was really wanting to help his fellow Irish over there, so he was going to Partridge Island to help out," says president of the Saint John chapter of the Irish Canadian Cultural Association, who is also named Danny Dineen.
"His wife begged him not go, she was pregnant for their first child, but feeling the way he did, he figured he had to go and help and that makes him a real hero. You're willing to give your life up to help others."
The song was written after Dineen of Saint John, himself a big fan of traditional Irish music, travelled to Ireland on a family trip back in July of 2019.
They met with the musician's family in Cork – and although Danny was away at the time playing music – the two were able to connect online later on, and it was then that they started to discuss writing a song about Partridge Island.
"The pandemic hit, and I was kind of stuck at home with nothing to do, so I said alright, we're in a pandemic now, I'm going to write about a pandemic that was nearly 200 years ago," says Dineen in an interview over Zoom from Limerick, Ireland.
Partridge Island is connected to the west side of Saint John by breakwater, and is off-limits to visitors.
It is a designated National Historic Site of Canada, due to its role in immigration to Canada, and specifically New Brunswick – along with the quarantine station that was established on the island in 1830, to try and prevent the spread of disease to the mainland.
According to local historian Harold E. Wright, over 33,000 immigrants arrived in New Brunswick between the years of 1840 to 1845 with 88 per cent of those being Irish. In 1938 it was scaled down and formally closed in 1942 – it's estimated that nearly 3-million people were subject to quarantine inspection.
For the performer of the song – the experience of researching and writing The Ballad of James Collins – was a meaningful experience.
"Where I live in Cork, it wouldn't be far from Cobh which would have been where an awful lot, if not most, of the immigrants who left during the famine would have sailed out from," says Dineen.
"To learn about the experience of what happened to the people when they got to the other side … and they were kind of met, fleeing from famine at the other side of the ocean, being planted in an island in the middle of another epidemic."
You can listen to the Ballad of James Collins by going to Danny Dineen's Facebook page or by going to his Spotify page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.