Cobh to mark 200th anniversary of settler scheme that saw 2,000 leave for Canada
A 200th anniversary commemoration event will focus on 11 ships which set sail from Cobh with more than 2,000 'peasants', mainly from North Cork but some from South Limerick, who were chosen to settle in the Ontario wilderness.
Known as the 'Peter Robinson Settler Emigration Scheme', named after the British colonial administrator in Canada, it is estimated there are now more than 100,000 descendants of these first settlers living in Ontario.
The aim of the scheme was to help alleviate the severe poverty of the Irish families who travelled, while also promoting settlements in Canada.
Most of those who made the journey were part of family groups, and nobody over the age of 45 was eligible.
HISTORY HUB
If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading
Each emigrant was given 70 acres on arrival for which they would pay the Canadian government rent of 2p per acre twice a year.
Around 500 descendants of the settlers are to make a special pilgrimage to Ireland later this year to find their roots in places such as Doneraile, Mitchelstown, and several villages along the Blackwater Valley. That trip is being organised with the help of the Ballyhoura Development group.
On May 9, Ballyhoura Development in collaboration with Cobh Heritage Centre will host a ceremony in memory of the settler families.
It will start with a wreath laying at Cobh pier at 2.30pm which will be attended by some of the settlers' descendants, representatives from the Canadian Embassy, and Irish Ambassador to Canada John Concannon.
After that a special exhibition will be unveiled at the Queenstown Heritage Centre detailing the Robinson scheme.
It is the first of a number of key events to be held this year, with the larger Ireland-Canada Homecoming to run from September 15 to 21, welcoming descendants of the Robinson settlers back to the region to reconnect with the communities of origin. Amanda Slattery of Ballyhoura Development said:
'We're delighted to collaborate with Cobh to honour the 200th anniversary of this emigration.
It plays a vital part in the story, the last departure point for hundreds of families and we look forward to welcoming the public to commemorate with us.
Meanwhile, the 110th anniversary of the Lusitania sinking by a German U-boat will be held in Cobh on May 11.
Organised by Cobh Tourism, it will commence at 2.30pm a solemn parade of Defence Forces veterans, Royal Naval Association representatives and other maritime and historical groups who will assemble at the Lusitania Peace Memorial in Casement Square.
Following prayers, musical honours by the Commodore Male Voice Choir and the laying of wreaths it'll conclude with the Last Post.
Proceedings then move to the town's Old Church Cemetery where 170 of the victims were buried mainly in three mass graves.
Read More
Canadian 'experiment' descendants set for North Cork return
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irishman's massive swimming challenge in World Record bid and fundraising effort
He has lost count of the number of times he has been stung by jellyfish. But Daragh Morgan won't be stopped in his bid to enter the Guinness Book of World Records by becoming the first person to swim around the entire island of Ireland. The Dubliner, who now lives in Galway, began his tidal-assisted stage swim on May 31 and is now over the halfway mark, averaging close to 20km per day. When we spoke on Monday, he had completed 868km of an approximately 1,600km long fundraising swim, which began from Blackrock Diving Tower in his adopted hometown. 'We passed the halfway point, which was Dublin. That was a great milestone for us as a team,' he told Fitter Happier. You can check on his progress via his Swim Éire socials, his website and a live tracker. Morgan, an endurance swimmer, tends to be in the water for six hours, then rests for six, a schedule that helps him take advantage of the tides. Even so, the 26-year-old is battling more than just the painful whip of a lion's mane's tentacle; challenging weather and shifting currents also conspire to try to knock him off course. 'We always talked about Ireland in quarters. What we realised was the first quarter was probably going to be the most challenging,' he said. 'Starting off is hard, whatever you are doing. That's the stage when you haven't really put the miles in. 'But on top of that, the first quarter of the country is very tough, not just to swim, but to navigate a boat around the likes of Slyne Head in Galway and different places like Donegal Bay, that was the most challenging part.' Daragh Morgan swimming along the Irish coast Even more challenging than the jellyfish stings? 'We had a few tough night swims,' he said. 'One of the night swims, we were going around a place called Macehead, and that was quite challenging because it was one of the first swims, and the weather was tricky as well. 'You feel jellyfish on your face at night. You can't see them. Usually it's bad enough during the day because you can see them a lot and you can try to dodge them. 'But at night you have to release whatever tiny level of control you had and you just have to keep swimming. 'The stretch from Skerries to Howth and then Dublin Bay was the worst out of the whole lot. 'Now, there are loads (of jellyfish) up the north, but they were quite a bit deeper. 'I just found Dublin, from Skerries down to pretty much Dun Laoghaire was littered with lion's mains, and they are the worst because their tentacles go everywhere. It's like hair everywhere in the water. You are getting stung a lot. 'The worst thing about them is, it gets worse when you get out. You can't sleep and you are kind of twitching with the itchiness and pain of it. 'But I try to use that to be hyperfocused. I try to anchor myself in that, to be focused. It is what it is - you can't really go swimming and not get wet.' Daragh Morgan on the Naomh Cronan Morgan, who works in sales for Innocent drinks, first came up with the idea of circumnavigating Ireland six years ago - and thoughts of achieving it 'just would not leave me.' He usually swims between one and two miles off the coast. 'We've seen great wildlife, a lot of dolphins, porpoises, lots of different diversity on the west coast. We've seen dolphins there by Skerries as well,' he says. 'No basking sharks or bigger mammals. I haven't seen any of them so far, but I can imagine there have been a few underneath me. 'We've seen a lot of seals as well. Sometimes when you are swimming you are in a flow. People have said to me from the boat, this and that was following you, and I didn't realise, because I was just in the zone. 'I know they are checking me out, but I am just firing away.' He couldn't undertake such a challenge without a support crew. After each swim, he climbs on board the Naomh Cronan, a traditional Galway hooker built in Clondalkin and gifted to Badoiri an Cladaig (the Claddagh Boatmen), to recover, refuel and sleep. 'It's been great to carry a cultural flag as well around Ireland, which this boat is,' Morgan said. On board are captain Dara Bailey, pilots Cillin and Padraic Mac Donnacha and Peter Connolly, all from The Claddagh Boatmen Group. Padraic is also a marine scientist and in collaboration with ATU and university of Galway has undertaken to collect a water sample every 20 nautical miles and filter it. The filters will then be analysed for E-DNA (environmental DNA) in order to determine the species of animals (fish, marine mammals ect) which swim in the coastal waters of Ireland. This research could provide an important baseline for monitoring species migration due to climate change and the warming of the oceans. How much longer does Morgan think his swim will take? 'That's the big question,' he says. 'I can't tell you that and it's not like I don't want to tell you, it's just based on so many factors. I couldn't tell you where we'll be at the end of the week. 'It's very hard, because you are dealing with so many factors out of our control. Really, all we kind of know about is today and tomorrow.' # Daragh Morgan is aiming to raise money for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) and Simon Community. Search for Swim Éire on gofundme to donate.
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Irish Examiner
'They rescued me too': Meath man scales Carrauntoohil 15 times to help rescue dogs
Meath man Daniel Cooney is celebrating a significant milestone of raising €19,500 for rescue dogs in Ireland after completing his toughest challenge yet - scaling Ireland's highest peak 15 times. Cooney, who has a special love of dogs, is particularly passionate about bringing people and dogs together to help find new homes for rescue dogs. Having climbed all 275 Irish mountains over 600 metres (known as the Vandeleur Lynams list) last year and carried a door strapped to his back up Carrauntoohil earlier this year, Cooney wanted to challenge himself even further by testing himself physically and mentally. That's where the idea to scale Carrauntoohil 15 times to match the elevation of Mount Everest (8,848 metres) came from, naming the challenge 'Everest for Second Chances'. Over 42 hours, the avid hiker climbed to the top of Carrauntoohil 15 times in a row, which he described as 'a different type of challenge'. Daniel Cooney at the summit of Ireland's highest peak, Carrauntoohill, which he summited 15 times to match the same elevation gain as Mount Everest for his 'Everest for Second Chances' fundraiser supporting dog charities in Ireland. Speaking to the Irish Examiner about how he prepared for the challenge, he said: 'I am in the process of trying to complete every mountain in Ireland. There are 532, and I am currently on 363, so I spend a lot of time in the mountains. 'This gives me plenty of time to get ready for bigger challenges. There was no real way of preparing myself mentally. Just on the day, I knew what I was getting myself in for, so I just made sure to keep my mind focused on one climb at a time, rather than thinking of how many times I had left to go.' Speaking about how he found the challenge, he said: 'One thing I signed myself up for was to try and complete this challenge with no sleep, just for my own personal reasons. I managed to go about 36 hours with no sleep, but unfortunately, on the ninth climb at around 2am, the base camp we had set up, where all my supplies were kept, had been blown away and that forced me to come down from the mountain. 'I managed to get four hours of sleep then, which was a game-changer in terms of the rest of the challenge. I was absolutely blessed with the amount of support I had throughout the challenge. These people were the backbone of the challenge and also made sure I was 100% safe throughout the challenge. 'I am so happy to say it all went well, and the number of messages and people sharing the stories from the challenge is something I will always treasure.' Daniel Cooney pictured at the top of the Devil's Ladder section of the climb to the summit of Carrauntoohil (seen in the background). Cooney scaled the mountain 15 times over a 42-hour period. Speaking about his reason why, he said: 'I have always had a massive love for dogs. The big passion came last year when I climbed all the mountains. While doing this, I dedicated each mountain to a different dog in a different dog rescue. 'I learned so much about how many dogs get abandoned on a daily basis and felt like I wanted to do more to help. There are so many rescue shelters in Ireland, with so many dogs, all breeds and all ages. "I am a firm believer in everyone having to find a purpose in life, and I feel like these dogs are my purpose, and what keeps me going, so in some sense, they have rescued me, too.' Cooney recently founded Paws for a Purpose – a small community where people are invited to bring their dogs on walks and hikes. He said some volunteers who work in dog rescues also get involved in the walks by bringing along some dogs looking for their forever home. Daniel Cooney with his support team at the summit of Ireland's highest peak Carrauntoohil. 'The main plan behind all this is to bring people and dogs together to help find new homes for rescue dogs. So far, we have had five Paws for A Purpose walks. Combined with the three challenges I have completed, I have raised just short of €34,000 in just over two years,' Cooney said. A total of €19,500 was raised through the 'Everest for Second Chances' challenge alone, an amount that Cooney said is something he 'could never have imagined'. 'I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has donated, with over 700 people who donated, combined with people I know and people I don't know, together we have raised over €19,500,' he said. 'This is something I could never have imagined happening. As I always mentioned when doing these challenges, one of the hardest parts is to raise awareness and money. Daniel Cooney with some of his support team at their basecamp near the foot of the Devil's Ladder route up Carrauntoohil. 'Words can't describe what it meant to me to have the physical support throughout the challenge. Knowing there was always someone waiting for me at the end of each climb was a huge help mentally. 'Everyone was so kind, supportive, and just brought a different type of energy to the challenge. I would like to say a massive thank you to the lovely family who run the Carrauntoohil Coffee Hut; they treated me like I was their own. This is something I will never forget.' Cooney said his main goal now is to continue to raise funds and awareness for rescue dogs and to focus on building the community around Paws for A Purpose. As for his next big challenge, Cooney said there are a few ideas already coming to mind, but that he will wait for the right time and for his mind and body to be in the right place to be able to complete them. Those who wish to donate to Cooney's fundraiser for rescue dogs can visit the dedicated GoFundMe page.
Irish Post
a day ago
- Irish Post
Energy cable linking Ireland to France breaks ground with Celtic Interconnector
A CRITICAL phase of the €1.6 billion Celtic Interconnector project is now underway, with the start of subsea cable installation marking a key step toward creating Ireland's first electricity link to mainland Europe. The project, developed by Ireland's EirGrid and France's Réseau de Transport d'Électricité, aims to support renewable energy integration and stabilise electricity prices by enabling the flow of up to 700 megawatts (MW) of electricity between Ireland and France. This is enough energy to power nearly half a million homes. Cable laying began earlier this week off the coast of East Cork using the Norwegian specialist marine vessel Calypso. The vessel is currently installing an 84 km stretch of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable along a carefully mapped route on the seabed. Two additional vessels are handling the burial of the cable to protect it from marine activity and environmental impacts. The full interconnector will span 575 km, with 500 km of undersea cable, linking Claycastle Beach in Co. Cork to the northwest coast of Brittany, France. Once operational, it will serve as the only direct energy link between Ireland and continental Europe. The Calypso, equipped with both deck and below-deck carousels capable of carrying up to 8,000 tonnes of cable, is performing the summer cable-laying operation during optimal weather conditions. Marine survey teams had previously mapped the seabed to determine the safest and most efficient route. Onshore, construction efforts continue at pace. Extensive ducting and trenching have been carried out between Claycastle and the Ballyadam converter station near Carrigtwohill. Civil works at the 11-acre Ballyadam site, led by Siemens Energy, are nearly finished. This station will convert HVDC electricity arriving from France into high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) for integration into the Irish grid via the Knockraha substation. So far, 97% of trenching and ducting between Youghal and Ballyadam is complete, and three 200-tonne transformers are expected to arrive at the converter station later this month. Meanwhile, HVAC cable installation between Ballyadam and Knockraha has been finalised, with road reinstatement works underway in collaboration with Cork County Council. EirGrid's Project Manager Shane Cooney said the interconnector has been in development for more than a decade and is now at a critical implementation stage. 'This project is of national significance and also holds importance at a European level,' said Cooney. 'It has secured over €500 million in EU funding, based on its potential to connect Ireland to the wider EU electricity market, balance power prices, and support the integration of renewable energy.' EirGrid Chief Infrastructure Officer Michael Mahon echoed the sentiment, attributing the project's smooth progression to strong collaboration between Irish and French teams, as well as local community support. 'This is a feat of engineering made possible by years of collaboration, innovation, and commitment,' Mahon said. 'It's a pivotal step in ensuring the future resilience of our energy system.' Initially expected to be operational by spring 2028, recent updates suggest the Celtic Interconnector could be live as soon as next year, pending the timely completion of marine and onshore works. Beyond reducing reliance on emergency electricity measures, EirGrid reports that the interconnector is expected to fill Ireland's forecasted electricity capacity gap in 2027 and 2028. However, further reinforcements may still be necessary to meet longer-term demand. The Celtic Interconnector is being co-funded by the EU's Connecting Europe Facility and forms a cornerstone of Ireland's broader strategy to decarbonise its power system and integrate with the EU energy market. See More: Celtic Interconnector, EU, Energy, Undersea Cables
