EIGHTY community representatives came together with members of Ballyhoura Development in Kildorrery, representing the origin communities of the Peter Robinson Emigrants of 200 years ago.
Areas represented included Mitchelstown, Doneraile, Kildorrery, Churchtown, Liscarroll, Charleville, Croom, Kilfinane, Kilbehenny, and Colmanswell.
The Ballyhoura team will be working with communities across the coming weeks to build a meaningful programme for the homecoming festival for descendants of these Irish pioneers of the 1820s, set to take place September 15 to 21.
A weeklong event celebrating the links between families in Canada and their forbears who left County Limerick generations ago is planned, with hundreds expected to arrive on Shannonside to find their roots.
Uncovering the exciting, treacherous, and complex story of the Peter Robinson Settlers has long been a labour of love for Ballyhoura Development, and follows on from the groups’ successful involvement in The Gathering, Ireland Reaching Out, and the Historic Graves initiatives.
This year will be a celebration of 200 years of Irish-Canadian connections, bringing people and places together to share experiences and build diaspora connections.
Between 1823 and 1825, over 2,000 Irish people from the Ballyhoura area and across Munster set sail from Cobh to the Ottowa and Ontario regions of Canada as part of the Peter Robinson Assisted Emigration Programme – also referred to as the Peter Robinson Experiment.
For the past decade, Ballyhoura Development has collaborated with communities across north Cork, east Limerick, and Canada to trace hundreds of local families who left the area full of expectation of a better life.
The Peter Robinson scheme was one of the largest assisted emigration schemes of its time and marked a significant chapter in both Irish and Canadian history.
However, settler families moved from one complex economic and political crisis to another.
Their stories of resilience and courage – along with the culture and traditions handed down through generations – have been remembered and shared through the diaspora, creating a deep yearning to return to their ancestral lands. These links have held strong for over 200 years.
With over a decade of dedicated research and documentation, Ballyhoura Development has collaborated with genealogists, historians, and descendants of the settlers to connect communities worldwide.
Ballyhoura Development took the opportunity to bring communities up to date on plans and programmes and was enthused by the level of support and engagement from locals and businesses across the region.
With over a decade of connections with descendants across Canada and the United States, 2025 marks the bicentennial and for the first time sees a commemoration on Irish soil.
