Ten Interesting Local Memories of William Allingham, the Ballyshannon Poet, on this day 18th November

William Allingham’s Final Journey to Ballyshannon

1.       On the 17^th November 1889 in his home at Eldon Road in Hampshire, England,  as he was in a weak condition, William Allingham,  was asked if he had any request to make, he replied:  “No, my mind is at rest”. Then to his wife he said:  “And so, to where I wait, come gently on”.  Once on the morning of his death he said; “I am seeing things that you know nothing of”. He died peacefully about 2 o’clock on Monday 18^th November.

2.   At his own request he was cremated at Woking. A few friends and relations were present. There was no funeral service. Mr. F.G. Stephens, the oldest of his friends there gathered together, read aloud Allingham’s own Poet’s Epitaph.

Body to purifying flame,

Soul to the Great Deep whence it came,

Leaving a song on earth below,

An urn of ashes white as snow.

William Allingham’s ashes were interred at St. Anne’s Church on Mullaghnashee in his native Ballyshannon with the  following simple inscription on his gravestone-

William Allingham, Poet, born at Ballyshannon
 March 19 1824. Died in London, November 1889.

3.    Two years later, in 1891, Helen Allingham brought the children to visit their father’s grave at St. Anne’s Church in Ballyshannon and also to meet their Irish relations. Helen was busy painting on her trip to Donegal and was later to exhibit thirteen paintings from her Ballyshannon visit.

Remembering William Allingham

4..    Helen believed that her husband’s work was superior to her own and she tried hard to gain for him the recognition she thought he was owed. In the years following his death, she rearranged, edited and published all his writings in an effort to keep his name alive. Helen Allingham died on the 28^th September 1926.

5.      Their oldest child Gerard Carlyle (1875-1961) was a chartered electrical engineer, their daughter Eva born in 1877 was to suffer from ill health during her lifetime and their youngest son, Henry William (1882-1960) was also an engineer and company director.

6.     In 1968 a William Allingham Association was formed in Ballyshannon by a group of young people, to promote the poet’s memory. They were responsible, for having the new road, leading from the bridge towards Belleek, named Allingham Road.    In 1971 a bronze bust of the poet was unveiled at the Provincial Bank (now the Allied Irish Bank), where both William Allingham (Senior), William Allingham (Junior) and Hugh Allingham had all worked. In 1978 the Allingham Society was formed and successfully perpetuated his memory by organising a literary week-end with poetry competitions for students and adults.

7.     In 2007 the Fair Green in the town was converted into a park and named Allingham Park. Recently a fairy garden was opened in Allingham Park by Foróige commemorating William Allingham’s famous poem called “The Fairies”

8.    In the Abbey Centre an exhibition area has been named the Helen Allingham Gallery. In Bundoran Allingham Lodge was owned by Florinda Allingham, a member of the Ballyshannon family, and today is called The Allingham Arms Hotel and has verses of the poet and prints of  Helen Allingham on display. The plaque on the bridge, erected by townspeople in 1895, in memory of the Bard of Ballyshannon, recalls his early life in the town which he never really left.

Here once he roved a happy boy

Along the winding banks of Erne

And now please God with finer joy

A fairer world his eyes discern.

9..     The Allingham Arts Society continue to run a successful Allingham Arts Festival every November in memory of William and Helen Allingham.

10.   The painting on the cover of my book below “Ballyshannon Genealogy and History” is by William’s cousin, Maud Allingham, the last of the family to live in Ballyshannon.

If ever I’m a money’d man, I mean, please God, to cast

My golden anchor in the place where youthful years were pass’d;

Though heads that now are black and brown must meanwhile gather gray,

New faces rise by every hearth, and old ones drop away-

Yet dearer still that Irish hill than all the world beside;

It’s home, sweet home, where’er I roam through lands and waters wide.

And if the Lord allows me, I surely will return
To my native Belashanny and the winding banks of Erne

                                                                                         "The  Winding Banks of Erne"

                                                                                                                          By William Allingham

A local ballad remembering a very exciting event between Ballyshannon and Belleek on this day 8th November

Local History book available in Local Shops or for Postal Delivery. Ideal Christmas Gift.

"Ballyshannon Genealogy and History" available tp purchase in The Novel Idea, Ballyshannon Museum, O'Neills, Clearys and Local Hands in Ballyshannon. Available also in Four Master's Bookshop in Donegal Town. For postal details contact anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

On This Day 8th November

In 1934 the Irish government refused to pay the British government annuities on land. These annuities were loans dating back to the land purchase acts, and had formed part of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921.In retaliation the British Government imposed a tariff of 20% on all farm produce entering Britain for sale. This wasn’t sufficient to cover the land annuities, so the British Government increased the tariff from 20% to 40%. 

Early on 8th November of that year the news was released. Several local farmers and cattle dealers, hearing the news, took their cattle across the Border to Belleek to escape the higher tariff.  The following ballad is an account of the goings on of that day when the time limit was 5.30 p.m. As this ballad was held in the oral tradition, there may be slight variations in the wording depending on the source. In the pre-television age ballads on local events  were very popular and the naming of local people added spice to the verses: 

On the 8th of November the news it was sent,

That the tariff was raised to 40%.

From the town of the Erne there was a great drive,

And into Belleek they all did arrive.

When Gavigan heard it ‘Im thinking, said he,

‘I’ll put out my cattle and they will be free’.

Going up Belleek street he hit on a plan

and he put them out to his mother-in-law’s land.

At Belleek Station a meeting took place.

Pat O’Brien and his son were discussing the case.

Says Pat to the son,  ‘Our big bullocks won’t thrive.

We must have them here at a quarter to five’

Bigger and McGinley they were in good time.

They came down the town at a quarter to nine.

Bigger he marched like a soldier to battle.

Says McGinley to him, ‘You have very bad cattle’.

Says Bigger to McGinley, ‘where will they sell?’

‘I don’t know, says Jimmy, ‘except down in Hell’.

When Willie Moore heard it he got all alarmed,

He and his men with ash plants they were armed.

His men took the cattle and he took the car.

‘Be careful’, says he, ‘Will they slip on the tar.’

You all know McFeeley – he’s our wee vet.

Beside Willie Moore in the car he did sit.

Said old Henry Vaughan to his brother that day,

‘We’ll go to the hut and the duty we’ll pay’

Tom he was sore and Henry was sick

They took it so bad at Thomas’ big stick.

They went to the men and they told them the news

Said Tom to the man who wore the white shoes,

‘Go get the cattle and do it in haste.

You are in charge and there’s no time to waste’.

Out the road they did go, all dressed in rags.

And following close was O’Brien and his stags.

Young Charlie Moore, being a new married man

Says he ‘I must get all across that I can’.

They came over the bridge with long standing horns.

In charge of a man called gallant Joe Thorns

When they had them loaded they came in so straight

Says Charlie to Josie, ‘I thought we’d be late.’

They pulled up at Breslin’s and there they got out.

‘Come on in’, says Charlie, ‘I’ll stand you a stout’

The Breslins went out in a vast motor car,

The women in the Port got a terrible scare,

They went to the fields and gathered their flock,

And Michael was taking side jumps at the rock.

Says Armstrong to Graham, ‘You must toe the line

Go out the hill for the lame and the blind.’

You’ll get the  wee doctor.’ Says Graham, ‘Now hardly.’

‘Well if you will not, You’ll get poor old Charlie.’

The cows on the road were a pitiful fleet,

Some of them coulldn’t stand up on their feet.

He had an old cow with a back like a saw.

Another had four or five lumps on her jaw.

The Pattons had theirs at Cherrymount gate

Said Alfred to Georgie, ‘I thought we’d be late.’

‘It’s hard now, said Georgie, ‘the tariff to pay

But what can we do when we’re so scarce of hay.’

Patterson came to town and he gathered his men,

Two of them down to Wardtown did send.

Out to Carrignahorna the Swank he did go

And he came in the road with eight beasts in a row.

Old Paddy went out and he cleaned up the Camp

When he came in his throat he did damp.

Alfie O Neill was the man of the day,

For he whistled the dead March as Coy marched away.

The next man to come was O’Donnell Abu.

Says big Walsh to Paddy, ‘Now, who sent for you?’

Says Michael, ‘we’re robbed, our cattle didn’t fatten

And we’ve thirty three pounds worth of grass from John Patton.’

Paddy Coughlan was there with his head so red

He would have been better all Summer in bed.

Said he, ‘to make money it isn’t so handy

I’m robbed these few years by taking Parkandy’.

Wee John he was there with his tummy so fat

Beside him was standing his big brother Pat

At the end of the day when we were all leaving

Who should arrive but little John Slevin.

He had ten nice wee cattle as fat as could be,

Says Jimmy McGinley, ‘Now these would suit me’

He bid him for them, but they couldn’t agree

‘Never mind now’, says John, ‘I’ll put them to sea.’

Packie, the doctor he was in a fix

He had nothing to ate from nine to near six.

The land it is clear of all bullocks just now

Instead we will see the horse and the plough

We will never again hear the bullock’s big roar

The dog will be keeping the wolf from the door.

Now anyone mentioned need make no offence

For if you do you have no common sense

We had to give you your place in the song

I’m afraid my dear fellows I kept you too long.

Local History Talk tomorrow Friday 4th November. 10 Things to discover

Illustrated Talk will reveal forgotten Ballyshannon links to World War One

Tomorrow  Friday 4th November an illustrated talk will be given by Anthony Begley, local historian,which will reveal new stories and incidents concerning local men who fought in World War One. Upwards of 60 local men died in the War. He will be joined by Jim (Seamus) Melly who traced his grand uncle Patrick Melly’s footprints from Finner Ballyshannon to the Somme in France where he died on 1st July 1916. Conor Carney will be on hand to record letters from the front and poetry and songs with local connections. Much of the material has never been heard before and the talk is free to all. The event is in memory of Kathleen and Louis Emerson of County Donegal Historical Society and also forms part of the Allingham Festival.

 The talk will uncover new material and will include the following  10 topics:

 Letters and postcards from the war front to families on Erne Street, Main Street, Back Street,

 The Mall and The Abbey.

 A Ballyshannon born Brigadier who was rated as the best Canadian officer in World War One.

 How 4 Ballyshannon soldiers are remembered on an Enniskillen Memorial today. 

 New insights into the deaths of three local men who died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. How 200 men travelled on a Great Northern railway train from Ballyshannon to fight in the 1916 Rising. A previously unrecorded event. 

 A famous Ballyshannon ballad “ The Flight to Falgarragh” and it's connections to the War.

 A Captain of Bundoran Golf Club who lived at Laputa and who was killed in 1914.

 A war veteran who was a leading Ballyshannon businessman and member of the Dail. 

 Why only 4 houses were built in the town for veterans of the War and were only opened in 1930- twelve years after the War ended.

 A Ballyshannon First World War veteran who played a major role in protecting the town during World War Two and who was a local pioneer of cinema in the town.

10 Interesting Things about Helen Allingham and her Connections to Ballyshannon

1.      Helen Allingham (nee Paterson) married Ballyshannon poet William Allingham on 22^nd August 1874 in London. He was 50 and she was 25 years of age.

2.      Helen was an English born watercolour painter and illustrator who illustrated Thomas Hardy’s famous novel “Far from the Madding Crowd.”

3.      The Allingham’s had 3 children- Gerard (b.1875), Eva (b.1877) and Henry (b. 1882)

Gerard and Eva Allingham receiving lessons in a painting by their mother Helen Allingham 

4.      A year after William’s death in 1889 Helen became the first woman artist to become a full member of The Royal Watercolour Society in England.

5.      On his deathbed William spoke to his wife and said: “And so, to where I wait, come gently on”.

6.      In 1891 Helen brought her children to Ballyshannon to visit the grave of their father William at St. Anne’s Church in the town.

7.      On her visit Helen painted 13 paintings of local scenes including Catsby cave in the Abbey, cottages and the Fairy bridges in Bundoran.

The fairy bridges Bundoran by Helen Allingham

8.      To the best of my knowledge none of her paintings have been seen in Ballyshannon in living memory. A cousin of her husband, Maud Allingham, was a prolific painter of local scenes and her painting of Ballyshannon is on the cover of my book “Ballyshannon Genealogy and History”.

9.      Helen kept alive her husband’s poetry and his memory, by ensuring that all his works were published after his death including his Diary. Helen died 90 years ago on 28th September 1926

10.  In the Abbey Centre Ballyshannon an exhibition area has been named the Helen Allingham Gallery and across from the Abbey Centre her husband is remembered at Allingham Park. 

Dates for your diary Friday November 4th in Imperial Hotel Ballyshannon

“Local Memories of World War One and the Battle of the Somme” An illustrated talk by Anthony Begley, local historian, will reveal new research on how Ballyshannon people were involved in the War. The talk will include letters, correspondence, songs, images and poetry from  local participants in World War One. This talk is in memory of Kathleen and Louis Emerson, of County Donegal Historical Society, The event is run in association  with the Allingham Festival.

The Allingham Arts Festival 3rd-6th November in Ballyshannon check for details. http://www.allinghamfestival.com/

Local History book available in Local Shops or for Postal Delivery

"Ballyshannon Genealogy and History" available to purchase in The Novel Idea, Ballyshannon Museum, O'Neills, Clearys and Local Hands in Ballyshannon. Available also in Four Master's Bookshop in Donegal Town. For postal details contact anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

Memories of ‘The Truce' Harvest Fair in Ballyshannon 1921

Date for your diary Friday November 4th in Imperial Hotel Ballyshannon

“Local Memories of World War One and the Battle of the Somme” An illustrated talk by Anthony Begley, local historian, will reveal new research on how Ballyshannon people were involved in the War. The talk will include letters, correspondence, songs, images and poetry from  local participants in World War One. This talk is in memory of Kathleen and Louis Emerson, of County Donegal Historical Society,

  Memories of the 'Truce' Harvest Fair in                         Ballyshannon                                                                         

Soldiers and Civilians on the bridge at Ballyshannon

For hundreds of years the Harvest Fair in Ballyshannon has been the major social gathering where town and country came together; to barter and to buy, to meet and to greet. People from Fermanagh, Leitrim , Sligo and Donegal travelled to what was a much talked about event. Cattle dealers from various parts of Ireland assembled at the Fair Green and the mixture of western and northern accents, together with the roars of the livestock, created an unforgettable atmosphere. Horses were trotted along the road from Bishop Street to Bachelor’s Walk; and the Pig Market (now a car park opposite the Abbey Centre) was a scene of hustle and bustle. Canvas stalls in the Diamond sold hardware, farm implements, footware and all the requirements of the housewife. The Cheap Jacks sold their second-hand clothes to an appreciative audience who were also entertained by the quack doctors who could cure all known ailments with their special mixtures. Many romances for young people started at the fair often in the Market Yard where the swing-boats and the bumping cars were in full swing. Ballyshannon had plenty of eating houses in the great days of the Harvest Fair. The Harvest Fair was where town met country and great dealing and shopping kept the local economy going. Ballad singers were a regular feature of the early fair and their popular ballads were sold on sheets of paper, as people learned the words of the new songs. In modern times people remember “The Bargain King” with his great wit and quick one liners who entertained large crowds for hours as he encouraged them to buy his goods.

In the Fair Green in bygone days, drinking booths were set up; peep shows, penny theatres, shooting galleries, wheels of fortune and merry-go-rounds, all catered for the amusement of both town and country people. Before the introduction of steam, the local fair was the sole market to which the farmer had access for his cattle, horses, sheep and pigs. With the introduction of steam railways, animals were shipped to Scotland and England where there was a ready market in the industrial town and cities. Before the steam age, towns like Ballyshannon were self contained with their own trades and crafts produced to supply most local needs - distillers, brewers, hatters, glove makers, salt makers, shoemakers etc.The age of steam brought progress but also competition to many local crafts, not all of which, could compete with manufactured goods. 

The Truce Harvest Fair in Ballyshannon 1921

The Truce between the British and Irish  in the War of Independence ( 1919-1921) was agreed for the 11th July, 1921, and  a few days later talks began in London. Despite all these high powered meetings, events like the Harvest Fair in Ballyshannon  continued to be held. Yet thoughts of  the talks in London were not far from the mind of those attending the Fair. The Harvest Fair on the 16th  September 1921 was called The Truce Harvest Fair by the local newspaper which reported on a tradition that united town and country at harvest time.The hustle and bustle of dealers and farmers, buying and selling cattle and horses in the area surrounding the Fair Green, was matched by the business conducted at the stalls in the  town and in the Market Yard. In 1921 the buying and selling of cattle was only fair, with a good show of horses although prices were back a bit from previous years.  In the centre of town clothes stalls, hardware and agricultural goods were sold by quick-witted salesmen whilst the gambling fraternity parted with their hard-earned money at gambling tables. Strong men who challenged all comers, men tied up in chains who miraculously freed themselves and fortune tellers who predicted bright futures all had their supporters.

“The basket-bearing goodwives slowly move,

White-capt, with colour’d kerchief tied above,

On foot, or in the cart-front placed on high

To jolt along in lumbering luxury;

Men, women, pigs, cows, sheep and horses tend

One way, and to the Harvest Fair they wend.”

William Allingham

“Kevin Barry” and “Johnston’s Motor Car” popular songs at Ballyshannon Fair

The Truce Harvest Fair of 1921 saw huge crowds in town and the occasion was blessed with brilliant sunshine. Many people dressed in their Sunday best and were proud to boast that they had never missed a fair. Cantmen carried on their sales pitch with their glib and humorous repartee. However the ballad singers stole the show, with the most popular ballad being that to the dead boy- patriot, ‘Kevin Barry’. The ballad singers were heard through the town and had many customers for their ballad sheets. Another popular ballad which people purchased on the day was the topical ‘Johnston’s Motor Car’.

The young ladies of the St. Vincent De Paul sold flags with all the proceeds going to charity. One thing missing from the Harvest Fair of 1921 was the hobby horses which in former years had been a meeting place for the young and not so young. Nevertheless the young people carried on the age old custom of courting down the Mall and in other areas of the town. The older people headed home but many younger people travelled to Bundoran where the Bundoran battalion of the I.R.A. held a céilidh. Unfortunately others took too much drink and fought over political arguments or indeed just to show their personal bravado.

Breakdown of Talks between DeValera and Lloyd George discussed at the Harvest Fair

The 1921 fair was an improvement on the previous year which had witnessed curfews with a general unease due to the ongoing War of Independence. With the truce agreed between the English and the Irish Republican Army, people had a new sense of optimism. However the midday newspaper had a disturbing headline: “A Sensation-the Conference Off”.  People at the Harvest Fair debated the breakdown in the talks between De Valera and Lloyd George and speculated on what the future might hold. Yet amidst all the political talk the Harvest Fair had been a joyous event and despite national difficulties was to be an important social occasion for the community for generations to come.

The truce in the War of Independence meant that hostilities ceased and in a curious juxtaposition the local battalion of the Irish Republican Army were based at the Workhouse on the Rock, within sight of the  British army barracks  at the top of the steps on East Rock. In October 1921 a company of the Second  Battalion, 4th Brigade, Northern Division of the IRA, occupied part of the workhouse in Ballyshannon as a temporary training camp. They paid one shilling per week rent and a condition of their tenure there was, that they did not interfere with the routine of the inmates.They also had to provide their own fuel and food.

So life went on and so did Ballyshannon Harvest Fair as the following verse from Fermanagh indicated:

It was down near Tullygannon and some miles from Ballyshannon,

When I was young and merry, light in spirit I declare.

There I met a colleen comely, she had winsome ways and homely,

                                                        She was driving in her donkey cart to Ballyshannon Fair.

A local history blog called Ballyshannon Musings has many local history memories which can be read on the internet at ballyshannonmusings.blogspot.ie See archive at the side of this blog.

Local History book available in Local Shops or for Postal Delivery

"Ballyshannon Genealogy and History" available tp purchase in The Novel Idea, Ballyshannon Museum, O'Neills, Clearys and Local Hands in Ballyshannon. Available also in Four Master's Bookshop in Donegal Town. For postal details contact anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

Ballyshannon Athlete Competed in Two Controversial Olympic Games

Paul Dolan (2nd right)  Ballyshannon born Olympic athlete running for Clonliffe Harriers in Landsdowne Road in 1949

The name of Paul Dolan may not be known to younger generations of Ballyshannon people, but a few of the older generation will recall a young boy whom they went to school with in the town, later representing Ireland in two Olympic Games. Paul Dolan was born in Ballyshannon on 29^th June 1927, resided on the Mall and his father was a member of An Garda Síochána. As a young boy attending St. Joseph’s National School in Ballyshannon in 1935-36 Paul Dolan collected the following folklore from Mrs. Dolan, The Mall, for the national survey which was conducted at that time: “Years ago a man named Gillespie was famous for making ropes, twines, fishing lines etc. What is now known as the Back Mall was known then as the Rope walk. It was there that most of the ropes were made. He also made them in the Market Yard where he lived and where some of his family still reside.” The Kelly (Gillespie) home still stands in the Market Yard Ballyshannon. 

Paul Dolan remembered as ‘Cosa’

John Ward the last editor of “The Donegal Vindicator” published on East Port in Ballyshannon was a friend and school mate of Paul Dolan and remembered his great talent as a young athlete. “Paul Dolan was our other great achiever, although his best years came after leaving town for Dublin. From the time he was only a slip of a lad, slender, and all legs, Paul Dolan could run. Whether in the school field up around the Brothers' school on the Rock, or later at St. Eunan's College annual sports days in Letterkenny, Paul could out-run us all. A racehorse at full gallop is poetry in motion; Paul Dolan in full stride was like a bird in flight, his feet barely touching the ground. That speed and that grace earned him his name, "Cosa", which in Irish means "feet", flying feet that were later to represent Ireland at international competitions. By then he was living in Dublin, and was one of the first Irish runners encouraged by Morton, the Dublin optician who laid the groundwork for putting Ireland on the international track and field map. Ron Delaney and Eamon Coughlan won greater acclaim, although Penn State claimed the former, but Cosa's feet, in Cosa's time could, in this Donegal man's view, leave them both standing”. Paul Dolan’s athletic career was as a member of the Clonliffe Harriers Athletics club in Dublin.

London Olympics 1948

Paul Dolan aged 21 was the youngest athlete to compete for Ireland at the London Olympics in 1948. In the London Olympics from the 29^th July-14^th August 1948, Paul Dolan represented Ireland in the 4x 100 metres. Unfortunately his Olympic debut was marred by a dispute between different sporting organisations in Ireland. The National Athletic and Cycling Association of Ireland (NACAI) had claimed the right to represent athletes from the 32 counties and as a result their members were barred from the 1936 Games in Berlin. By 1948 when the Olympics were held in London a rival body called the Amateur Athletic Union of Éire (AAUE) recognised the border in Ireland and were recognised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF). There were now two teams selected to represent Ireland in the London Olympics and an embarrassing situation developed, with the NACAI team being barred and the AAUE team being recognised as the official team. Paul Dolan was an AAUE athlete and did run in the relay where the team of Paul Dolan, Charles Denroche, Reggie Myles and Jimmy Reardon were unlucky to drop the baton having reached the semi-final.

Helsinki Olympics 1952

The amazing dispute in Irish athletics continued at the Helsinki Olympic Games in 1952 and once again, Paul Dolan, through no fault of his own was involved. The Irish Olympic Council refused to accept the nominations of Joe West and Paul Dolan of the AAUE to represent Ireland in Helsinki but the AAUE decided to send the athletes. On arrival they were forced to leave the Irish camp and once again Ireland had two teams representing the country. Dolan, West and a fencing team who were representing the AAUE, a 26 county federation, were not allowed to take part in the parade but did compete in the Helsinki Olympics. Paul Dolan competed in, the 100, 200 and 400 yards events in Helsinki but was unsuccessful. In his heat in the 100 yards he finished third; he was second in his heat in the 200 yards and was 3^rd in his heat in the 400 yards.

The Dolan family were connected to the Wood’s family who had a public house on the Mall which is presently owned by Terry and Betty McIntyre. Paul Dolan’s sister married John Giles, the Irish international soccer player, manager and current media broadcaster.  Paul Dolan was the first and only athlete from Ballyshannon to compete in two successive Olympic Games and one wonders will his achievement ever be equalled?

Local History book available in Local Shops or for Postal Delivery

"Ballyshannon Genealogy and History" available tp purchase in The Novel Idea, Ballyshannon Museum, O'Neills, Clearys and Local Hands in Ballyshannon. Available also in Four Master's Bookshop in Donegal Town. For postal details contact anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

Short Heritage Walk in Ballyshannon on Sunday 28th August at 3 p.m.

Memorial to Famine Victims at Famine Graveyard in Ballyshannon

Short Heritage Walk in Ballyshannon on Sunday 28^th August at 3 p.m. Meet at St. Anne’s Church Gate, Main Street. All Welcome. Ballyshannon Regeneration Group plan to open a new access to Ballyshannon Famine graveyard from Bishop Street on the day. Local historian Anthony Begley will provide memories of the Famine era and also life in Ballyshannon one hundred years ago. Also a unique first reading in Ballyshannon, from a novel of a funeral to this Famine graveyard, written 120 years ago. Further details contact Ballyshannon Regeneration Group at 087 2409626. Everyone welcome.

Local History book available in Local Shops or for Postal Delivery

"Ballyshannon Genealogy and History" available to purchase in The Novel Idea, Ballyshannon Museum, O'Neill's, Cleary's and Local Hands in Ballyshannon. Available also in Four Master's Bookshop in Donegal Town. For postal details contact anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com