Peter Toner was a key presence in the history department at UNB Saint John for 41 years, making contributions to the university in all areas of academic life.
Helping build the history department from the ground up, Prof. Toner dedicated his academic career to the exploration of the Irish experience in 19th century Canada, with New Brunswick as his principal focus. As one colleague observed, he “single-handedly created the field of Irish Canadian history of New Brunswick” and this work has resulted in a series of edited books, journal articles, conference papers and archival collections.
Prof. Toner’s research challenged traditional norms and stereotypes and demonstrated the complexity of Irish society, not only in New Brunswick and in the rest of Canada, but also in Ireland. Drawing from his research outcomes, historians on both sides of the Atlantic were compelled to reconsider a number of prior conclusions.
As a teacher, Prof. Toner made a great impact on students and he was one of the most popular professors on campus with his sharp and dry wit. It was because of him that many students over the years have been drawn to BAs and even post-graduate degrees in History. As Dr. Greg Marquis, a current History professor at UNB Saint John, has said, “Taking courses from Peter Toner is one of the reasons that I am an historian.”
He was the recipient of the 1989 UNB Merit Award, one of the few members of the Faculty of Arts at UNB Saint John at the time to receive this honour for his contribution to the university. He also sat on the editorial boards of several prestigious academic journals such as Acadiensis and The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, and served as a reviewer for several others. He has acted as adjudicator for grant proposals to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and was an External Examiner for graduate theses in History at universities across the country.
In recognition of his research, teaching and service to UNB, Peter Toner was named professor emeritus in 2008.
Prof. Toner hopes that historians continue to pursue a better understanding of Irish society at home and in the various locations to which they were dispersed. As an incentive for researchers to pursue studies in this area, he created and endowed the Peter M. Toner Research Publication Award.
This award supports the publication of scholarly works in Irish Canadian history by scholars worldwide, including current and retired faculty members, adjunct professors, honorary research associates, post-doctoral candidates and graduate students.
Monographs are eligible to receive the full value of the award, anthologies 75% of the value of the award, and journal articles or chapters in anthologies will be eligible to receive 50% of the value of the award.
To apply for the award, please contact Professor Greg Marquis at UNB Saint John. Once applications are received, the awarding committee will choose and notify the recipient.
Any additional funds received in support of the Peter M. Toner Award will be added to the endowment. As the endowment grows, so too will the value of the award. You may support this award by donating online or by mailing a contribution to our offices in Saint John or Fredericton. Thank you for your support.
We encourage you to share this page with family, friends and colleagues who may have known Peter Toner, and to help honour his academic legacy by making a gift in support of this fund at UNB online or by mail.
Establishing named scholarships, bursaries or other funds is an easy and meaningful way to ensure that you or someone you care about is remembered with a special connection to UNB. Contact us to learn more.
