The official grand re-opening of Edward J. Kirwan Park in Côte Saint-Luc took place on October 1. The park is located at 5732 Wentworth Ave.,at the  corner of Kildare Road. I grew up at 5730 Wentworth Ave. so this facility has special meaning to me. I played baseball in the summer and hockey in the winter. It was the hub of sports activity in the city until Trudeau (originally Centennial) Park was born. Last May my brother Chuck dedicated a bench in the memory of our late father, Lawrence Frederick Cohen (aka Larry Fredericks), who would literally stand on our back balcony and introduce people as they entered the premises.

The official ribbon cutting ceremony.

Renovations into Kirwan Park and the adjacent Allan J. Levine Playground totaled approximately $7 million and was funded in part through a grant from the Government of Quebec for $1,972,050, and a grant from the Government of Canada for $1,972,050.

The project includes a new playground for two- to five-year-olds, an upgraded playground for six- to 12-year-olds, new water games, a new athletics track, the installation of exercise equipment, a wide walking path with new lighting surrounding the entire park, the construction of a new, universally accessible main chalet and secondary bathroom block, a new ice rink, upgraded basketball courts, and an outdoor dance floor.

Mitch Kujavsky speaks.

The process to renovate included place making exercises, and a public consultation meeting in December 2017 to get feedback to better understand what our residents wanted. Funding from the governments of Quebec and Canada was announced in April 2021.

Kirwan Park is named for Edward J. Kirwan, who was a city councillor from 1923 to 1973. The original park name was Wentworth Park. It was renamed Edward J. Kirwan Park in 1976. Until the creation of Centennial Park (now Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park), Kirwan Park was the city’s largest and most important greenspace. It was here in 1967 that thousands of people gathered following a Canadian Centennial parade through our streets. The late Johnny Elias ran his Grand Slam baseball school also operated from here and that is where Montreal Expo greats like Gary Carter and Steve Rogers visited with the kids.

“Thank you to the public who shared their ideas, our local MP Anthony Housefather and then-MNA David Birnbaum and his successor Elisabeth Prass who helped secure the grants, and our staff who managed the project from start to finish,” said Mayor Mitchell Brownstein. “District Councillor Mitch Kujavsky was instrumental in listening to concerns from neighbours during the project and helping to find solutions. I also want to thank former Councillor Allan J. Levine who advocated for this renovation around the council table. The park and playground have so many fun features like a bike path for children, beautiful new playground equipment, a bathroom at the playground, and more at the chalet. I hope residents will spends many hours here as there is something for every age group.”

It was nice to also see former Mayor Robert Libman at the inauguration.

Kirwan Park has memories for so many people like Roy Salomon. “I moved to Montreal from New York in 1960 and someone asked if I had played any baseball or softball,” he told me. “My answer was in the affirmative and I was invited to a tryout. As a complete stranger to the area, all of a sudden I knew 120 people, a few of whom became my closest friends. They were wonderful days. People gathered at Kirwan Park, then called Wentworth, to watch the games. There was lots of banter all around, and then a trip to Delly Boys for a smoked meat sandwich and a coke. Perhaps we tend to glorify the past, but they seemed like simpler days. There were no computers or cell phones, no video games; just being together with friends and neighbors enjoying ourselves in a very special way."

Former Parks and Recreation Department stalwart Harold Cammy also grew up hanging out ar the park. “I see your dad sitting on the back balcony telling me he'll keep his eyes open at night to make sure we keep those rowdy teenagers out after 11 pm,” Harold laughed. “He was my 'undercover' security agent. Let's not forget Côte Saint Luc won a provincial football championship under the leadership of former McGill head football coach Vaughn McVeigh. My late father in law use to walk over from his Davies Avenue home to watch the Slo Pitch games every night. And of course this was home for rge Avengers, where Côte Saint Luc first started its inter-city baseball program. This is also  where I first met my wife Beverly.”

The granddaughters of the late Edward J. Kirwan, Janice Cullen, Jill Kirwan, and Jo-Anne Kirwan Clark, issued this statement: “Our grandfather Ed Kirwan was only five years when his father died in 1899. He was sent to College Notre Dame where he was educated in French. Reading, writing, arithmetic and religion were mandatory but it soon became apparent that Ed Kirwan’s passion in life was sports…especially baseball. In fact, he was the star pitcher (twirler) for the Montreal Monarchs’ in 1916. He became the first English-speaking alderman in Côte Saint-Luc in the early 1930’s because he was completely at home in both languages. He devoted hours of patience and work to provide the young people with facilities to play baseball and hockey. In 1935 and 1936 in the field behind one of the homes on Wolsey Avenue, our grandfather with the help of other interested people, created the first usable playing field for softball in Cote St. Luc. Alderman Kirwan loved kids and he loved sports. It was his pleasure to see young people using the facilities instead of hanging out in parks or on street corners. He sponsored The Golden Boys in Slo Pitch and the Kankees in the Little League. Any softball team that needed equipment would call on Mr. Ed—as he was known in those days. I know our Grandfather, Edward James Kirwan, would be honored and delighted with the ongoing investment in these park facilities and we look forward to seeing them ourselves next time we are in Montreal. “

There are a lot of people to thank for the hard work they did to make this long awaited project a reality. It starts with those who took part in the placemaking exercise at the very start. This included staff from general management, Recreation, Public Works, Urban Development, Purchasing, Public Safety and Finance and Communications. We also had citizens kuje Christine Latreille who runs the Stroller Mom site, and Tamar Hertz who runs the Côte Saint-Luc Families Facebook page.

Members of the public attended the two public consultations. There were internal and external consultants, Marianne Zalzal and Gérald Pau. The contractor, Les Entreprises Ventec Inc. Dr. Mehrnoosh Movahed and Dr. Keiko Shikako-Thomas from the McGill University School of Physical and Occupational Therapy prepared a report on accessibility and choice of equipment.

Parks and Recreation Department Director Cornelia Ziga helped select the equipment at the park. Hats off as well to the artist of the art sculptures, Michel de Broin of Atelier M-D-B. Our City Council approved the project, including District Councillor Kujavsky who advocated for it as did his predecessor Levine. Liberal MP for Mount Royal and former Mayor Anthony Housefather and  D'Arcy McGee Liberal MNA David Birnbaum helped direct us on how to apply for the grants that we eventually received and current MNA Elisabeth Prass  picked up the dossier when she succeeded David.

Watch the video of the ceremony here