While studies on nations and nationalism have brilliantly demonstrated the influence of collective memory on national development, few studies have examined the reciprocity of this relationship. This article is therefore concerned with the laborious processes of memorizing the founding myths of both the Irish and Québécois nations. Indeed, while today the rebellion of 1798 in Ireland and those of 1837–1838 in Québec are central to their respective processes of identity-building, it has not been a calm process; the 1798 rebellion was buried in collective amnesia for almost a century and in Québec, the