I remember
interviewing Ned Wynne several years ago and recall him telling me how his life
in Athy, which started nearly 70 years ago, commenced with his journey from the
family home in Ballylinan. It was by any
yardstick a short journey but one which opened up opportunities which would not
have been available to him in his home village.
As a young man, Ned, in common with the rest of his contemporaries,
cycled to dances and it was at one such dance that he met the girl who was to
become his wife. “She was just from down the road”, is an expression which might
properly describe Margaret Harte from the neighbouring County of Carlow who was
to share Ned’s life for over 50 years.
I was reminded of
this when last week I attended the wedding of Ned’s grandson, Eamon Wynne,
which took place in County Donegal.
Nowadays distance presents no obstacle, whether in the pursuit of
employment or as in Eamon’s case, the pursuit of happiness. A generation or two ago when young people met
they were generally from the same or neighbouring towns or villages. Today the world is a smaller place and the
island of Ireland presents no difficulties to anyone willing and able to
travel.
Many travelled
from Athy for the wedding and for those who like me had no great knowledge or
experience of Donegal, the opportunity and the good weather encouraged a
prolonged stay in the North West. I
drove around the county for a few days paying particular attention to the
Innishowen Peninsula and came away with two abiding memories of that part of
our island. The friendliness of the
people on the streets and in the shops was in mark contrast to what one is
normally used to in the Midlands. People
greeted you without any preliminaries whatsoever and exchanged pleasantries in
a most natural way.
The second most
memorable thing about Donegal was the absence of any farming activity of
note. Nothing seemed to be growing in
the fields which weaved a criss cross pattern in the landscape as far as the
eye could see. That is true however,
only if one excludes the amazing number of new houses which were to be found
everywhere throughout the county. I have
never seen so many houses, all apparently newly built or still under
construction which filled almost every acre of ground, no matter how isolated
it was. From Ballyshannon right up to Malin Head the clearest indication of the
locals preference for bricks and mortar was everywhere to be seen.
The houses, many
of which seemed to be unoccupied, were not small vernacular farm type houses of rural Ireland, but rather elaborate
versions of town houses not always appropriate in design or setting for their
rural surroundings. What I wondered was
the explanation. Was it, as one local
explained, a combination of holiday homes owned by people from outside the
county and houses built by locals lately returned from abroad who built houses
larger than required for their own needs but with a view to eventual sale. Whatever the explanation, the housing
explosion in Donegal is something to behold.
Despite the visual
intrusion of so many such houses the glorious scenery which is Donegals is
largely undiminished. It is truly a
beautiful part of this country of ours which repays in wonderful memories the
time and expense of travelling so far north.
I travelled to
Glencolmcille, the Gaeltacht village on the edge of the Atlantic the day after
the wedding to pay my respects, as it were, to the memory of that great
practical socialist, Fr. James McDyer. I
met Fr. Dyer once in Dublin at a time when I was attending night classes in
U.C.D. He was the principal speaker at
an evening debate where he spoke of workers co-operatives in that wild south
west area of Donegal which has since become synonmous with his name. McDyer arrived in Glencolmcille in 1951 after
spending several years working with Irish emigrants in London and
Brighton. The area had no electricity,
no running water, no industry and was without a dispensary doctor. He started a number of co-operative projects
as well as securing electricity and piped water for the area. He brought hope and confidence to a depressed
area of rural Donegal and today the Glencolmcille area enjoys a thriving
tourist industry. The good cleric died
in 1987 but he left a legacy which endures to this day.
The Innishowen
Peninsula on one side lapped by the waters of Lough Swilly and on the other
side bordered by the waters of Lough Foyle is the largest of the Donegal
peninsulas. It is rich in heritage, much
of which can be gleaned from Brian Bonner’s fine book, “The Inishowen Heritage” and Michael Harkin’s book, now in reprint,
“Inishowen - It’s History, Traditions and
Antiquities” which he wrote under the nom de plume of “Maghtochair”.
However, it was as
I headed out of Donegal that I came across a reminder of our most recent
history. As you pass through Stranolar a
sign signalling the way to the Drumboe martyrs site caught my eye. Up a narrow twisting lane just about a mile
or so from the village is a monument standing in the middle of a field
commemorating Charlie Daly, Sean Larkin, Daniel Enright and Tim
O’Sullivan. The four young men, three
from County Kerry, Larkin being from Derry, were executed on 14th
March 1923 having been captured and court marshalled by Free State
soldiers. The memorial is a stark
reminder of a dark period in our history but it’s a part of a shared history
which encompasses the killing of many young men who served as either Free State
soldiers, Republican soldiers or soldiers in the Great War.
In contrast was
the extraordinary sight witnessed in the graveyard of the Church in which Eamon
Wynne and Vivienne Davin married last Saturday.
Just off the footpath leading to the Church was a headstone on which the
names of several members of one family were recorded. The back of the headstone was clear of any
inscriptions as one might expect, except in this case in larger than usual
lettering and facing everyone walking to the Church door was writ large the
family name and underneath “Wine and
Spirit Merchants, Main Street”.
It said so much
about the spirit of entrepreneurship in the North West. And you know, it’s hard to begrudge the
initiative of such a spirited people.
No comments:
Post a Comment