At Home and Abroad

The Bicentennial of the Peter Robinson Irish Emigration to the Peterborough region in 1825 was a landmark event in our community, and was commemorated enthusiastically by many community groups throughout Peterborough City, County, and the City of Kawartha Lakes in 2025. At the heart of all this activity, Nine Ships 1825 tirelessly spent the year raising awareness of the significance of the Bicentennial. Developed as a lasting tribute to everything the community accomplished to honour those 2,024 courageous Irish emigrants who made the trip across the Atlantic in 1825, Bicentennial Reflections, a new book produced by Nine Ships 1825, captures not only the many events and activities of the year, but also the deeper conversations the commemoration sparked and how the community’s understanding of its own history changed, broadened and matured. The book opens with a brief history on the Peter Robinson experiment, which recruited 2,024 people in 307 families to prove that it was worthwhile for the British Government of the day to fully finance an 18-month emigration from a volatile area of Ireland to a fertile area of Upper Canada, ultimately known as the Peterborough area. It then delves into a summary of the events that occurred to mark this historic occasion in both the Peterborough area in Canada and the Ballyhoura Region in Ireland. This summary is enhanced by the contributions of the many community partners who worked with Nine Ships 1825 to commemorate the emigration in their communities, with each one writing about their activities throughout the year. It is also enhanced by a photograph section featuring 80 full-colour photographs taken at events throughout the year, and speeches made at many of these events. The launch of this 120+ page, beautifully designed book will take place at the Trent Valley Archives (567 Carnegie Avenue in Peterborough) on Monday, July 6 from 10am to 12pm. At the launch, you'll have the opportunity to be one of the first to purchase a copy of the book and listen to Bicentennial Reflections Editor Elwood Jones and Nine Ships 1825 Chair Brendan Moher talk about the book and the lasting legacy it will leave behind for future generations. Light refreshments will be provided! https://trentvalleyarchives.com/ https://nineships1825.com/