Vandals strike at the heart of rural West Donegal community

A recently-erected heritage sign to commemorate locals killed in a drowning tragedy has been stolen from the West Donegal village of Doochary

The Doochary Development group along with the Tidy Towns committee have been ploughing massive efforts into making the village a nicer place and a tourist stopover.

Over the last year or so they have erected impressive murals on the walls of buildings, held classes and entertainment to suit all tastes, organised craft and yoga classes and recently decided to honour the village's colourful history in the form of a sculpture and heritage signs.

However, something is amiss in the area.

They have been hit before by vandals who defaced one of their murals and on another occasion, tar was dumped along the roadside in the village.

The group is not claiming all these incidents are connected but is upset and annoyed that they have been targeted for such treatment

The Owennamarve sign that was removed depicted a tragedy that affected the village for generations. It told the tale of how on a dark night, in the late 19th century a large wedding party consisting of men and women returning to the Doochary area attempted to cross the local river. The river was swollen at the time and the party in their attempts to cross were all swept away and perished.

"Once again we have had to report a criminal act to the gardaí. This heritage sign erected by our group telling the history of Owennamarve has been removed, complete with its stand which was set in concrete," said a development committee spokesperson.

"This is an outrageous act and an insult to those whose memory it was erected to honour."

The spokesperson appealed to anyone who might see this sign or its frame or has any information regarding what happened to please report it to the gardaí.