‘Huge potential’ for Wolfe Tone project in Buncrana - Donegal Daily

Plans to bring the story of Theobald Wolfe Tone’s arrival in Buncrana to life could put the town at the heart of a major new heritage project.Sinn Féin Councill...

Plans to bring the story of Theobald Wolfe Tone’s arrival in Buncrana to life could put the town at the heart of a major new heritage project.

Sinn Féin Councillor Jack Murray has called for Donegal County Council to explore re-enactments, historical talks and new visitor attractions celebrating the town’s links to one of the leading figures of the 1798 Rebellion.

Wolfe Tone was taken ashore at Buncrana after the French ship Hoche was intercepted off the Donegal coast in 1798, where he was recognised by former Trinity College classmate Sir George Hill before being taken under escort towards Derry and then Dublin.

Cllr Murray told Monday’s plenary meeting of Donegal County Council that the potential for a cross-border programme celebrating this history is "huge".

He said the Shared Island Fund was “calling out for a project like this”, suggesting Donegal could work with councils in Derry, Belfast, Kildare and Dublin to develop a wider programme around places associated with Wolfe Tone’s life.

Cllr Murray said he would particularly like to see Buncrana’s Wolfe Tone story brought to life through historical re-enactments.

“We could take in the likes of a tall ship with actors that would show his arrest, show George Hill identifying Wolfe Tone, where it happened in Buncrana, before being escorted to Derry.”

He also suggested an interactive feature at Swan Park, where visitors could look out across Lough Swilly and see a recreation of the ships and events of 1798.

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Cllr Murray commended the environmental committee that added a commemorative stone near the Stone Jug in Buncrana in 1998 for the bicentenary of the rebellion.

Cllr Murray said the proposal was particularly timely given the renewed tensions surrounding the proposed Orange Order parade on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown.

Cllr Murray said Wolfe Tone “more than anybody, epitomises the call to unite Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter on the island of Ireland”, adding that this message of bringing different traditions together fitted closely with the purpose of the Shared Island Fund.

Eamonn Brown, Acting Director of Planning, Communities and Culture, said the motion was welcomed and that the Divisional Manager and staff would examine the historical and cultural connections involved.

He said the council would explore opportunities to work with other local authorities, including Belfast City Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council, and investigate what funding may be available to support the initiative.

Cllr Murray also suggested that a dedicated council subcommittee could eventually be established to help progress the project and involve councillors and people with relevant historical expertise.

“If we look at it and go at it with gusto, I think there’s huge potential not just for ourselves, but for other parts of the country that are associated with his life,” he said.

Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Gary Doherty said that commemorations for Red Hugh O’Donnell in Valladolid are an example of the kind of occasion Donegal could build on.

“We need to be celebrating our history because our history is what made us who we are,” Cllr Doherty said.