Irlande is a municipality in the Municipalité régionale de comté des Appalaches in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is part of the Chaudière-Appalaches

Chaudière-Appalaches

Chaudière-Appalaches is an administrative region in Quebec, Canada. It comprises most of what is historically known as the "Beauce" |the electoral district of Beauce]]). It is named for the Chaudière River and the Appalachian Mountains....

 region and the population is 948 as of 2009.

Irlande does not have a town or village centre, but the hamlet of Maple Grove, at the intersection of Chemins Craig

Chemin Craig

The Chemin Craig Road was a road created in the early 19th century at the order of James Henry Craig, Governor of British North America. It was intended to connect Quebec City with the United States and to promote settlement of the Eastern Townships.-History:...

 and Gosford, constitutes the only notable urban agglomeration. This is where the Holy Trinity Anglican Church

Holy Trinity Anglican Church (Maple Grove, Quebec)

Holy Trinity Anglican Church is a large historic Carpenter Gothic style Anglican church building located at 173 Gosford Road in the in village of Maple Grove in Irlande , near Thetford Mines in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada...

 and the rectory

Rectory

A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...

 are located.

Name

The township of Ireland was first colonized by Irish settlers, who called the area "New Ireland." The municipality kept the English spelling until 1987, when it took the French "Irlande."

Sources

• Commission de toponymie du Québec
• Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire