SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Father Duffy's Well

Honourable senators, today I am pleased to present Chapter 93 of “Telling Our Story.”

In 1834, Father James Duffy, a Catholic priest from Ireland, arrived in Newfoundland and was appointed parish priest in the town of St. Mary’s, with his first order of business being the construction of a new church.

He selected a piece of beachfront property which as long as anyone could remember had been treated as common ground. Local fishermen would haul up their boats and repair their fishing gear at this site. It was also used as a footpath to the nearby community of Riverhead.

Everyone agreed that this piece of land was the ideal location for the new church. It was everyone except John Martin, the local government representative and agent for the merchant firm of Slade, Elson and Company. Martin claimed the piece of land belonged to the merchant.

Acting in good faith, Father Duffy approached Martin to obtain his agreement to build the church on the chosen site. Martin refused, and Father Duffy took that as an insult, and with the help of several of his parishioners, much of the church was prefabricated in secret. Then, within a day, without Martin’s knowledge, the church was erected on the beachfront property.

Martin was furious with Father Duffy and those who had helped him, and he accused them all of trespassing and vowed to lay criminal charges. A short time later, Father Duffy was arrested and taken into custody and charged with inciting a riot and rebellion. He was released on bail to appear in court at a later date. Criminal charges were laid against nine of his parishioners as well.

To get to the courtroom in St. John’s, Father Duffy and his parishioners had to endure a long and weary walk through bogs, barrens and dense forest in their search for justice. It was said that combining all their trips together, they walked about 1,500 miles in total. The case dragged on for three years.

It was on one of those long and weary walks while deep in the woods and all hands feeling very thirsty that some say a miracle happened. Exhausted from walking for hours, Father Duffy and the other men stopped at a clearing on Salmonier Line, but they could not find a drop of water to make a warm cup of tea. They were all about to give up when Father Duffy walked over and broke a small branch from a nearby tree. He then walked up to a large stone and tapped the rock a couple of times and then knelt at its base and scratched a shallow hollow in the earth. From the dry ground, a trickle of water emerged slowly at first, and then a steady flow of cool, refreshing and clean water appeared. The kettle was filled, the men’s spirits were lifted and the legend was born.

Since that time, thousands of people have stopped by to enjoy a taste of the cool and refreshing water at a place that is now called Father Duffy’s Well. It is located about a 40-minute drive from St. John’s.

I must admit that I have done so myself on numerous occasions. The site has become a major tourist attraction, and visitors from far and near have experienced this very unique and special place.

Now let’s go back to the courtroom. After months of delaying the case, the charges against Father Duffy and his nine parishioners were dismissed in 1837 when no witnesses appeared for the prosecution.

As a footnote, Father Duffy died in 1860 and was buried in Kelly’s Cross, Prince Edward Island, where he was serving as the parish priest at the time.

Colleagues, if you visit Newfoundland and Labrador, I encourage you to come and taste the miracle of the water at Father Duffy’s Well.

When you look at myself and Senators White, Petten, Marshall, Wells and Ravalia, who have all drank from the well, it is easy to believe it could also be the fountain of youth.