Photo via Nine Ships 1825
The Lakefield Legion will host a special presentation tomorrow that highlights the Irish origins of the Peter Robinson settlers who arrived in the Peterborough area 200 years ago.
Guest speaker Verling Fitzgerald of Mitchelstown, County Cork, will speak about the Ballyhoura Region, where many of the emigrants came from in 1825. The free event is organized by Nine Ships 1825 and begins at 7 p.m.
Fitzgerald is Vice Chair of the Mitchelstown Community Council and works at Forrest Hall Community Centre, which supports adult education, community groups and economic development. He is also a firefighter and a founding member of the Mitchelstown Allotment Centre, a program similar to the community gardens in Peterborough.
His visit aims to strengthen connections between the two regions ahead of the Ballyhoura Homecoming 2025, scheduled for September 15 to 21 in Ireland. After his stop in Lakefield, Fitzgerald will travel to Vancouver to run the marathon with his daughter before continuing on to China and Thailand.
(Written by: Scott Arnold)
