As the biographies in this collection attest, Irish-born Canadians and their descendants have made significant contributions to all aspects of Canadian life. Today 4.4 million (12%) of Canadians can claim Irish birth or descent. They stand on the shoulders of giants who have made enormous contributions to Canadian society and the countrys reputation globally. The prominent Irish could only achieve their pre-eminence from within the communities of ordinary Irish whose own lives as immigrants were extraordinary in themselves. Without those generations, neither the Canada of today nor the Irish community of Canada would have been possible. The Fifty Irish Lives in Canada project is a modest but important beginning, bringing some of these Irish Canadian stories to light.Eamonn McKee, Mark G. McGowan