Lecture: Preserving A Working-Class Irish House in Ingonish, Cape Breton: A Social and Architectura

Located at the base of Franey Mountain, the James and Catherine Donovan home has overlooked the Clyburn River estuary for approximately 200 years. The house testifies to the pioneering struggles of early Irish settlers in an isolated environment. By 1990, the house was in a dilapidated state. The presenter and his wife purchased and restored the house over the next 27 years. This lecture will 1) focus on the five generations that lived in the house from 1823 to 1990 within the historical context of Ingonish and Northern Cape Breton, and 2) describe the vernacular architecture and material culture of the house. Few 19th-century working-class houses from Nova Scotia have survived because they were not part of the high or elegant style and therefore were not considered worthy of preservation.