Donegal community effort to rebuild visitor attraction

When a fire ripped through part of the Doagh Famine Village in Donegal last Saturday, owner Pat Doherty said he was “devastated” and considered “giving up on it all”.

But after an outpouring of community support, donations and volunteering, work is underway to rebuild and restore one of Donegal’s most popular tourist attractions.

The fire, which broke out last Saturday was put out and foul play is not suspected.

The original Doagh Famine Village tells the story of an Irish family living through famine times up until the present day.

Until 1984, Mr Doherty lived with his family in one of the thatched dwellings, which is now on display, and he decided to make it a tourist attraction in 1997.

Speaking to BBC News NI, Mr Doherty said the fire started “way beyond the famine village, in an outbuilding, where it seems a compressor machine had overheated”.

Due to dry weather and a strong wind, the fire spread quickly to the newer extension to the attraction.

While most of the village is to do with the famine, “we had another part which was to do with the Peace Process and the traveller community”, those were the parts destroyed by the fire.

However the original part of the village is intact.

Mr Doherty said many things which were destroyed are now “lost to history”.

“We had an original gypsy wagon, that belonged to a family from Letterkenny which cannot be replaced, ever.”

There was an Orange Hall that was constructed as part of the attraction which “many lodges from all over Northern Ireland had donated to because they wanted their stories told”.

Despite the irreparable damage caused, Mr Doherty said the power of the community and good will has spurred him to rebuild.

“We will have to rebuild and hope that we can get the stories back, and it might be a bit different, but maybe better the second time round,” he added.

“The people who helped us before, the Orange Order, and the republican side too, they are still there, and they want their stories told here.

“Its all for peace – I have not met a loyalist or a republican who doesn’t want the world to be a better place,” he added.

A construction company has volunteered to clear the damaged area of the site so the rebuild can begin, and Mr Doherty hopes he can reopen the family-run business by the end of the summer.

Mr Doherty described it as “strange, in a good way”, the degree of goodwill that has poured in from the people and businesses of Donegal.

A nearby visitor attraction called Wild Alpaca Way began a crowd funder which raised most of its €100k (£84,000) target within a few days.

“One lad who had his 17th birthday gave most of his birthday money as a donation, it’s very strange.

“A wee local shop donated €2,000 (£1,692) of its earnings,” he added.

Another outdoor tourist attraction from Donegal presented Mr Doherty with a €10,000 (£8,462) cheque earlier in the week.

“We depend on other places, one attraction depends on another in Donegal, they all work together,” he added.

Because many of the structures in the attraction featured traditional thatched rooves, Mr Doherty said the insurance does not cover fire damage.

Donegal County Fire Service said Fire Brigades from Buncrana, Carndonagh and Moville had attended the incident.

“Although a number of important exhibits were lost in the fire, the thatched cottages and other key buildings were protected from the fire,” a spokesperson said.

Brigades remained at the scene until after 21:00 local time on the evening of the incident.

Gardaí (Irish police) also assisted and said a technical examination of the scene has been completed.