August 2010
Beside the placid waters of the Gweebara river, Col. Declan O’Carroll, President of the Donegal Historical Society, introduced our guide for the occasion, Mrs. May McClintock, one of the best-known and most erudite historians in the county. We were soon to discover that Doochary may be a small quiet village but it has a wealth of history.
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May began with a detailed account of the era of landlordism in the vicinity – Marquis Conyngham owned land on the southern bank of the tidal part of the Gweebara estuary. In 1906, a large number of locals fished the estuary in tidal waters below the bridge in order to enact a legal test case. Conyngham brought the case to court, as he had to, if he believed he could control the estuary fishing which he had been doing up to then. The lower court found in his favour but the High Court reversed on appeal.
Historically, the legalities are utterly fascinating, though quite complex, and one of the central issues was when the Magna Carta of 1215 AD was first applied to Donegal. It was argued that it applied in SE Ireland soon after its completion but was not applied to the Doochary district until 1541 AD when Manus O’Donnell surrendered his lands to King Henry 8th and then had them regranted back to him. The Doochary case held that the notion of a private fishery did not exist under Brehon law and, that being so, the fishery belonged to the State and so could not be granted to Conyngham’s predecessor under a Plantation Grant or Patent of the 1670’s.
May then paid tribute to a Doochary native, Dominic O’Kelly (1897 – 1970), a poet, teacher and journalist, also known by his pseudonym, “An Ceallach.” He was May’s teacher in the Prior School in Lifford and she informed us that her appreciation of the history and folklore of Donegal was due to his influence. Dominic was educated at St. Eunan’s College, Letterkenny and later in Rome, where he obtained a degree in Philosophy. A native Irish speaker, he wrote for several Irish language publications, eg Amarach, Inniu, and An tUltach. and did a weekly column in the People’s Press for some years on “Wild West Donegal.” He was Principal of schools in Donegal, Sligo and Mayo. In 1934 he founded Cumann Gaelach na Rossan.
Peadar O’Baoighill then gave us a wonderful rendition of, “Gaoth Barra na dTonn”, written by Donall MacDiarmada, also known as File Ghaoth Barra.” This song has been recorded by many musicians down through the years including Clannad.
We then walked the short distance to a local holy well, Tobar Sorcha, and from there to St. Conall’s Church. This Church was built in 1896 and still has the book presented by Lord Mayo, the local landlord, for the opening ceremony – St Patrick’s Day, 1897. Dr. Patrick O’Donnell, Bishop of Raphoe officiated at the occasion.
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Mr. J.C.T. MacDonagh of Ballybofey was the Society’s founder; he became President of the Society in 1958/59. His son, Terence, who now resides in England, and his daughter Etta, who resides in the USA were in Doochary for the Field Day. They expressed their utmost appreciation of the sterling work being done to continue the work and aspirations of the Society’s founders which began at that first meeting in Lifford in December 1946.
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L to R, Terence MacDonagh, May McClintock,Rev. Dr. O’Baoighill, Col. Declan O’Carroll & Etta MacDonagh-Dumler