GALLERY: Killybegs time capsule revealed after quarter of a century

On Saturday 22nd February 2020, a dig of a difference took place in Killybegs.
The 1995 5th class pupils from the Niall Mor NS gathered to dig a time capsule they buried 25 years ago.
Teacher Margaret McHugh welcomed everyone to this special and unique event. The time capsule was buried on Friday 9th February 1996 at 1.30pm and she was delighted the links to 1995 were being maintained today. She welcomed back Mr John Cunningham and thanks him for his encouragement and support throughout the project. She remembered him sifting through old role books to find the 1970 class roll. A group of the class then recorded the names of pupils in each class in the school in 1970. She said it was an honour to have him back for the dig. Parish priest Fr Lorcan Sharkey had hoped to come but unfortunately could not attend.
Margaret then welcomed Ann Marie Bourke who worked in the FAS offices in 1995 and in conjunction with Fr Lorcan Sharkey and Master Cunningham, she organises FAS staff members to prepare the place for the burial. She was also present at the burial. Margaret was delighted to have her back again and appreciated very much the giving of her time once again in arranging FAS workers to check the grounds that the dig site was in the right places.
Margaret also welcomed Plunkett Smith who, in 1995, recorded the class in action towards the completion of the project. He also compiled a video of different events in Killybegs in 1995 and Margaret thanked him for his work on this.
Margaret went on to say “I also welcome the most important people here today & that’s you, the 1995, 5th class. The names of the class members were then read out. They were as follows: Patrick Johnston, Macdara Woods, Brian Cunningham, Paul Gallagher, Tara Gallagher, Leanne Brosnan, Vanessa Laffan, Enda Murphy, Shaun Murrin, Ciara Cunningham, Tara Kelly, Majella McBrearty, David Conwell, Sinead Breslin, Brian Rodgers, Kelly Noctor, Alan Murrin, Dermot Boyle, Danielle Byrne, David Parkinson, Adam Carry, Shona Murphy, Kevin McGuinness, Rosemarie Cunningham, Eleanor Cunningham, Kari McBride, Cathy Meehan, Linda Rawdon, Charlene Doogan, Jamie Mc Gowan, Ben Hannigan, Claire Carrabin, Christopher Devaney, Barry Cannon, Danielle Dorrian, Dominic Mullin, Chantel Mc Brearty and Claire Meehan.
Margaret then went on to add “Today is a day for yourselves to celebrate not just your brilliant work but also friendships. Whist today is a very happy occasion for us; it is also tinged with sadness as we remember Paul Gallagher who has passed away since then. Like all of you, his contribution to the project was immense. We very much appreciate the presence of his mother Mona Vial here today. We also remember a member of our then teaching staff who also passed away, Mrs Mary Breen. We will now reflect for a moment and remember Paul & Mary. Ar Dheis De go raibh a ainmneacha Dilis”.
The group then did exactly as they did in 1996:
A poem the class compiled about the project was read out.
A prayer was read out
The dig began
Master John Cunningham said a few words reflecting on how the children at that time researched 1970, working on various aspects of life in 1995 and asking parents and extended family.
The dig concluded with Margaret thanking the various facets of the media who were present. She said “Your presence here today will bring this project alive for the present generation in Killybegs & it brings a new dimension to the project”.
The group then made their way to the ballroom in the Bay View Hotel where the capsule was opened. Chatter & reminiscing was the order of the day.
Each child had completed a personal profile about themselves which included information about their lives such as important family members, their hobbies, likes and dislikes, person they admire most. The pupils also outlined their hopes for their future life, predicting what their occupations, marital status, how many children they will have, where they will live who their spouse might be. They also included stories or poems about themselves, a piece of art or class work which they were proud of. Finally, each pupil had a copy of an autograph sheet with all class members’ signatures in it. These profiles provided a snapshot of the lives of the children at the time and generated much interest during the display.

The main talking points about 1970 were:
The Cert College was opened.
Brendan O Keeney extended the Anchor Inn, it was called the Lone Star in 1995 and today it is the Fleet Inn.
The local sergeant was Sergeant Barrett.
Locals used to swim in the harbour.
It cost 20pm to get into a dances in Fintra house in the early 1970s.
The local Ritz cinema was the place to go.
The Harbour Master was Tommy Dorrian.
In 1995, the highlights were:
Declan Boyle signed with Glasgow Celtic in Scotland.
The largest fishing vessel Veronica arrived into Killybegs with over 20,000 visitors flocked to see it.
The Killybegs senior GAA tam beat Naomh Columba in the county final with a narrow victory 0 – 10 to 1-6 and arrived into town with the Dr Maguire Cup.
The Minister for Health Michel Noonan made a visit to Killybegs and announced he was to give the go ahead to the North Western Health Board to provide a 40 bed Community Hospital and Day Centre at a cost of £2million.
A new housing estate Parkhead was built on Church Road.
A new craze, line dancing had taken off in the town.
Prices:
A packet of cream crackers were 35p
1 litre of milk was 62p
A packet of sugar was 92p
Video & Audio recordings of local events and sports people.
The children’s dreams for 2020 included:
Build a maritime centre as a major tourist attraction in the town.
An arts and cinema centre
A nursing home
A big shop like Dunnes Stores.
Walks and history trails
To develop Fintra House as a guesthouse/hotel.
Factories should be built in an industrial area only.
An environment without the smell of fish.
A one way traffic system in the town
Tour boats
A runway to cater for private jets.
Bigger pier for cargo boats.
A resident vet in the town.
A rugby team in the town.
A pier/slipway without boats that locals could use for water sports.

As locals filtered into the ballroom in the Bay view hotel, it was also great to see family members of the 5th class pupils who were present attend but also family members of pupils who live out of the country arrive to represent their loved ones and be part of this remarkable event.
Alan Murrin lives in Berlin, Danielle Dorrian lives in USA, Tara Kelly lives in Australia, Enda Murphy, Charlene Doogan & Eleanor Cunningham live in Scotland, Kevin McGuinness lives in England to name but a few.
It was a delight to see the 1995 staff of the school, all of whom except 2 have retired, attend, catch up and have their photograph taken with their past pupils.
The committee of Ciara Blain, Jamie McGowan, David Conwell & Chantel McBrearty are to be commended on a superbly arranged and highly enjoyable day. When the class buried the time capsule in 1995, they could not have imagined that all these years later, it would generate such interest and excitement about their work within the community of Killybegs. The committee would like to extend their thanks to all the class members who put their time and effort into making the day such a success. The committee would like to thank in particular, Margaret McHugh, as without her enthusiasm, leadership, motivation & hard work, the project would never have come to fruition. Nationwide recorded the day events and it will be shown in approximately 6 weeks’ time on RTE One.

Photos: Siobhan McGowan