City of Peterborough Gets Green In Flag-Raising Ceremony to Commemorate Irish Heritage Week In Bi-Centennial Anniversary

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It is ‘Top o’ the Mornin’ and 200 years for Peterborough as the City kicked off Irish Heritage Week with a flag-raising ceremony at City Hall on Monday morning.

Bonnie Clark, Peterborough County Warden; Shelley Ryan, Canadian Irish Club president; Brendan Moher, Peterborough Canadian Irish Club and Jeff Leal, Peterborough Mayor prior to the flag raising of Ireland to kick off Irish Heritage Week. pHOTO BY dAVID tUAN bUI.

Members of the Peterborough Canadian Irish Club, residents and dignitaries were present to kick off Irish Heritage Week, as declared by Mayor Jeff Leal for Peterborough.

This year marks several milestones for Peterborough and Irish Heritage. 2025 marks the 200th year that politician Peter Robinson administered the passage and settlement of Irish Catholic families into Scott’s Plains, now known as Peterborough.

“Irish people have are responsible for the names of all these communites in this area, (aside from) First Nations; they are here to be respected as well,” said Brendan Moher of the Peterborough Canadian Irish Club. “A lot of these communities bear the names of Irish people and it is fitting that we honour that legacy and all the people that have come out of this area. ”

Sunday is the 25th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, starting at City Hall and running through George Street until the Peterborough Memorial Centre. This year's parade grand marshall is actor M. John Kennedy playing the role of Peter Robinson.

“There are an awful lot of people in this area that lay claim to Irish heritage,” explained Moher. “Of course, on St. Patrick's Day, everybody lays claims to Irish heritage so we'll be expecting a big increase in the next week.”

This year is also the 175th anniversary of Peterborough's founding, including the Peterborough Police Force. Moher says Robinson would be proud to see what Peterborough has become after all these years.

“People from Ireland continue to come here because of those connections and settle still to this day because of the roots that were laid down,” he said. “It causes growth in the community, comically there will be growth this summer as well because of Irish people coming from Ireland to take part in these bicentennial celebrations.”

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