A Public Statement by the West Inishowen History & Heritage Group

“Relocation of History Courses to Coleraine”

Outline of our concerns at University of Ulster’s plans to move all history courses from Magee campus (Derry) to Coleraine.

The committee members of the West Inishowen History & Heritage Group (WIHH) wish to voice their opposition to the University of Ulster’s plans to move all history courses from Magee College in Derry to the university’s Coleraine campus. The decision will mean that the people of Inishowen and the wider Donegal area will no longer have access to undergraduate and postgraduate history degrees without having to move to Coleraine or endure lengthy round-trips on a daily basis. In these times of austerity, the pursuit of a degree while staying at home is the only option available to many. This move by the University of Ulster closes off the option for school-leavers and mature students to study history, while remaining in their locality.

It is quite possible that the Irish History and Politics BA (Hons), Postgraduate Diploma and MA courses will disappear after the move to Coleraine. The undergraduate course will be merged with the BA History to create a new degree course. The Postgraduate Diploma and MA will still be offered as a standalone course at the new location. However, given that 70% of the students enrolled on the MA course this year are from Donegal, the postgraduate course’s future will most likely be placed in jeopardy. The WIHH committee feel that these courses, which are so popular with Inishowen residents, will soon be abolished if moved to Coleraine.

The history courses offered at Magee are very popular with Inishowen residents. The WIHH chairman and a number of its committee members are either graduates of the courses or currently studying for history degrees at Magee. Also, it seems to the committee that the decision to move the courses makes little sense given that Magee College is the most historic of the University of Ulster’s four campuses. The decision to move history courses away from Magee also coincides with the City of Culture celebrations that will take place throughout 2013. The history of Derry is a central part of its culture, and it is a culture shared with the city’s natural hinterland in Inishowen. The WIHH feels that moving history degrees and postgraduate courses away from the city of culture now is a mistake that will be very difficult to remedy in the future.

The WIHH urges the University of Ulster to reconsider this decision so that the people of Derry, Inishowen and the wider Donegal area can continue to learn about their past together and have the opportunity to avail of the higher education opportunities that many of its members have had in the past.

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Contact: Adrian Grant

Phone: (00353) 860885193

Email: aj.grant@yahoo.co.uk

Website: www.buncranahistory.com

To find out more about this topic, or to schedule an interview please contact WIHH Chairman Adrian Grant using the contact information above.

Born in Buncrana in 1798, John Doherty became a trade unionist and newspaper editor who spent his life campaigning for workers’ rights.

As one of the founders of modern day socialism in Britain and Ireland, he was ahead of his time.  Yet his name is rarely mentioned in history books and his story has faded, even in his hometown.

Speaking at a West Inishowen History and Heritage Group lecture on Thursday 23 February, Dr Adrian Grant recounted highlights from John Doherty’s life story and reminded his audience of the significance of “The Voice of the People”.

“… as intelligent and as highly educated as any man could be expected to be and a great agitator, too, for a ten-hours bill. He was one of the leading men for many years amongst those who agitated on that subject.”Daniel O’Connell on John Doherty (1838)

John Doherty started working in the mills in Buncrana at around the age of eight or nine.  As a child labourer, the young Doherty would have experienced the factories as “hell holes” and was probably radicalised in reaction to the way workers were treated.

In his teens, Doherty worked in Trim, in Co Meath before moving to Larne, near Belfast.

At 16 he crossed the Irish Sea to seek better paid work as a cotton spinner in Manchester.  A radical and a hothead, Doherty led an illegal Cotton Spinners Strike in 1818 – an action that resulted in his arrest.  When 2000 workers started rioting in support of Doherty and the other strike leaders, he was sentenced to two years in jail for incitement to riot.

By the time he got out of prison, Doherty had become a hero and quickly rose through the ranks of the trade union movement. Elected secretary of the Manchester Cotton Spinners Union in 1828, Doherty faced opposition from others who were fearful of his radical views.

Doherty was one of the first to advocate for federation of trade unions.  Recognising the power of united action, he sought to bring workers together.  He believed that united action could bring about real change and ensure that workers were protected.

However, attempts to unite all of the Cotton Spinners unions and a later effort to develop a National Association for the Protection of Workers were ultimately unsuccessful because of in-fighting and petty squabbles between unions.

Doherty was ahead of his time.  It would be almost another 100 years before unions and socialism finally lived up to his vision for change.

In the meantime, Doherty took to publishing as editor of the “Voice of the People” newspaper (circulation 30,000) and later “The Poor Man’s Advocate”, as well as booklets and pamphlets promoting workers rights.

He continued to campaign for factory reform, child labour laws and children’s rights throughout his life and was a staunch supporter of Irish nationalism.

He died of heart disease at the age of 83.

Thomas Trollope (son of author Anthony) recalls meeting John Doherty and other campaigners:

“…nearly all of them, men a little raised above the position of the factory hands, to the righting of whose wrongs they devoted their lives. They had been at some period of their lives, in almost every case, factory workers themselves, but had by various circumstances, native talent, industry and energy managed to raise themselves out of the slough of despond in which their fellows were overwhelmed. John Doherty came to dine but his excitement in talking was so great and continuous that he could eat next to nothing.”

It seems sad that such a passionate voice for change, could have been so quickly forgotten!

We have an exciting new project to promote this year called the History Links Project. This brings people together from Derry/Donegal to learn about local history and IT, while at the same time, creating an archive of oral history from the north-west. This is a great project that has been running for over a year but it is now starting in Buncrana. Classes will be held on Wednesdays at 4.30pm in the Angling Centre and there is no fee.

If you would like to be involved please contact Adrian Grant (WIHH) on 0860885193 (aj.grant@yahoo.co.uk) or History Links on 07491 41958.

There will be an information session on Wednesday 29^th Feb at the Angling Centre, Buncrana at 4.30pm, with the weekly meetings following every Wednesday at the same time. You can find more information here  http://historylinksproject.com/ and here http://history-links.blogspot.com/

Admission is free. Donations to the West Inishowen History & Heritage Group are most welcome

“It seems to me such a cruel irony
He’s richer now than ever he was before.
Now my cheque is spent and I can’t afford the rent
There’s one law for the rich, one for the poor.”
Christy Moore

The year is 1881. After a bad harvest, families in the small Inishowen village of Carrowmenagh are struggling to pay exorbitant rents demanded by their absentee Scottish landlord.

Young ones dream of a better life in America or Canada. Plans for their emigration are a glimmer of light in the dark days of winter. Their elders have given up hope. Desperate muttered prayers are their only comfort.

In the comfort of his Derry townhouse, the landlord’s agent receives his orders. Ignoring pleas for compassion and the Moville priest’s suggestions of a compromise, he orders the army to enforce eviction notices on 13 families.

Widows, children and even the elderly are thrown out into the late December cold with little more than the clothes they are wearing.

This week, West Inishowen History and Heritage group (WIHH) hosted a showing of John A Mc Laughlin’s poignant dramatisation of the Carrowmenagh evictions – marking the 130th anniversary.

The film captures the quiet strength and dignity of those left destitute with sincere performances from descendants of the original families. Dinny Mc Laughlin’s haunting music is the perfect accompaniment.

Moved by the story from our past, the audience at the Coffee Cup in Buncrana also recognised disturbing echoes of our present-day reality. Debt, eviction (repossession) and emigration… It seems there’s one law for the rich, one for the poor!

The DVD of the film is available to buy for 10 euros with all proceeds shared between the Foyle and Donegal Hospices.

Mass Rocks and other historical sites of Inishowen     – By Sue McLaughlin

I’ve recently become familiar with the West Inishowen Historical Society (WIHS) and have attended a few meetings. This group’s members follow various and sundry issues of local historical interest researching late residents ‘ contributions both in books and artefacts relating to Inishowen’s past.

As more investigation produces forgotten or hidden historical facts, with effective advertising, we can become competitive in the tourist industry and provide sightseers many reasons to visit the peninsula.

For many of us in this area, knowledge of our history was passed through oral tradition. Great-grandparents and grandparents told stories at fireside chats while the young wide-eyed listeners held onto these shared memories.

Eventually, that sense of wonder evolved into structured, ongoing scholarly research generating today’s more widespread activities such as guest speakers presentations and daily-weekly field trips offered by the WIHS.

On such field trip took place on a Wednesday afternoon last month. We assembled at the Coffee Shop at SuperValu in Buncrana, met John Hegarty, current chairperson of the WIHS, and set off on our excursion. Our group formed a three-to-four car convoy that snaked slowly and cautiously through lesser valued travelled lanes and unpaved paths.

We trekked through stones, tall wet grasses, heavy rain and dodged frequent inquisitive wasps to view the much concealed Mass Rocks. It’s fascinating to think that these same rocks were, to our pre-Christian ancestors, places of mystical reverence and sacred significance. As we viewed the rocks, John Hegarty, an archaeologist, shared insightful and detailed information at each location.

Then, somewhere in the Parish, we were shown clachan sites, small enclaves of meagre cottages huddled closely together in no particular plan. They were the dwellings of tenant farmers and their families.

Sheep Raids

However, there were times, in order to subsidise the family provisions, the farmers took part in the occasional night time sheep raid. These midnight requisitions greatly displeased the landlord who then demolished the clachan, separated and dispersed the tenants to various areas of the estate, thus ending the nocturnal forays.

Still, the landlord kindly rented the land to the tenants (the original owners).

From there, we drove on to a narrow road – this could be called a green road – since there was more grass than tarmac. On a hill in this secluded area rested an altar mound. In the past, the priest celebrated Mass on this knoll while the congregation blended into the lower thick hedgerows to avoid detection.

Today, a fairy tree grows on the mound. Perhaps, this might deter any would-be trespassers.

Further on, we tramped through a soggy field and actually touched a Mass Rock. The rock’s surface exhibited cup-shaped indentations known as Bullaun Rings. These were part of the rock from ancient times but their function is unknown.

The constant scrapings from the rock resulted in the ring formations and it is thought the rainwater collected in these ‘cups’ possessed powerful medicinal properties, one of which was believed to be an ingredient included in the preparation of fertility potions.

In a nearby field lay a large sloping boulder, which bore a marked resemblance to what could be a partially buried dolmen.

Priest’s Cemetery

In Mintiaghs Glen, we stopped at a “Relig a Taggart,” a priest’s cemetery wherein the bodies were buried in the dark of night and the clerical remains were necessarily hidden as a consequence of the Penal Laws.

We passed through Glasmullen and viewed a cross high on a hill. There, the priest said Mass while the congregants concealed their presence in the trenches in the valley below.

From there, we passed the Binnion Battlefield where, legend has it, in 1557 Shane (The Proud) O’Neill fought Calvagh O’Donnell over the lordship of Inishowen.

As we waved our way through Doo Lough hills, we passed closely to the large windmills. One of our group remarked: “… from the past to the future in one brief afternoon …”

Our final stop was the field near Cockhill in which lay a more recent Mass Rock. This was not used in Penal days; rather it served the people in outlying regions as a more central location.

Just imagine, how many thousand tourists visit Dublin to view, among other things the famous Book of Kells, while right here in Inishowen lie Mass Rocks which connect us to an even more distant past.

Perhaps, if we publicise Inishowen’s historical richness, encourage and cultivate tourism, it would open a vibrant industry for this area.

Play: Marylynn Rouse interview (BBC Radio Ulster)

Download: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/mine

HMS Narcissus - a similar 32 gun frigate to HMS Saldanha

Our Heritage Week events come to a conclusion this Sunday with the unveiling of the anchor from HMS Saldanha. The anchor will be donated on permanent loan to Fort Dunree Military Museum at 6pm. All are welcome to attend. There will also be a talk about the Saldanha after the ceremony by John O’Rawe. We at the West Inishowen History & Heritage Group would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended our Heritage Week events or supported us in any way.

The Saldanha was based in Lough Swilly in 1811 when it was caught in a gale and wrecked. There were no survivors of the estimated 253 on board. Over 200 bodies washed up on the shore at Ballymacslaken Bay on the west side of the Lough. One man was still alive on the shore but died soon after. The ship’s parrot also survived but was shot by a local a few weeks later. More recently, the ship’s anchor was found in the fishing nets of a local trawler and was placed in a garden. The anchor has now been acquired by West Inishowen History & Heritage. It has been cleaned up and is ready to be presented to Fort Dunree on Sunday.