Rachel Boyle’s Leaving Cert project a tangible link to Donegal Town’s origins

A Mountcharles student’s vision of what the Franciscan Friary would have looked like when it was built 550 years ago earned her top marks for her project in her Leaving Cert.

And as well as achieving a H1 in Construction Studies, her project has become one of the big talking points of the Donegal Town 550th celebrations.

Rachel Boyle is currently studying Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management in Ulster University. Her model of what the ruins of the Franciscan Friary - known nowadays as the Old Abbey - would have originally looked like is nothing short of spectacular.

It was on display in the Fáilte Ireland office in Donegal Town where Rachel and her family were among the guests at a Long Table event to launch the Donegal Town 550 weekend of celebrations on Thursday, October 10.

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The model is a tangible link to Donegal Town’s origins. It allows people to see what the friary would have looked like with all of its walls intact, with a roof, and stained glass windows, with some interesting design features of the era, thus giving a much more real sense of how it would have looked and felt to the Franciscan Friars who lived and prayed within its walls.

Rachel’s teacher Seamus Maguire is rightfully proud.

He addressed those gathered at the Long Table event, saying: “Rachel produced the project in this academic year and achieved top marks which isn’t surprising if you know Rachel. She is a very committed and very skilled student

“I think John Dalberg-Acton said it best when he said ‘History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul.’

“Lady Nuala O’Donnell had the vision and desire to establish the Franciscan Friary which the model is of, the Franciscan Friary in Donegal Town. She would go on to establish a centre of scholarly pursuits and the recording of historical events in the Annals of the Four Masters

“550 years later those scholarly pursuits are still being facilitated and encouraged in the Abbey Vocational School, one of the largest secondary schools in Donegal. Academic excellence and holistic development of scholars is still promoted and achieved as is evident in this fine example we see here.

“Rachel Boyle’s final piece is a celebration of Lady Nuala’s vision. It is little surprise that Rachel was awarded full marks for the project which is a fine display of her craftsmanship and research. She leant on a lot of the local historians in completing her project.

“I can’t help but think that Lady Nuala would be a proud Donegal woman here tonight looking at the fine work and scholarly pursuits of a fellow county woman.

“Well done Rachel and her family.”

Among the speakers at the event who had a special mention for Rachel’s achievement were Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Cllr Niamh Kennedy (Ind) and Minister for Food, Agriculture and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue (FF).

Cllr Kennedy said: “I want to congratulate Rachel. That is amazing and fantastic. Well done!”

Minister McConalogue said: “Congratulations Rachel and it is good to see you here with your family.

“For a town that has such a wonderful heritage it is great to see that is continuing, and where it came from as well with this wonderful piece that you have put together.

“So very well done, it is great to see that talent coming through our schools.”

Those in attendance were certainly very impressed with Rachel’s work, as could be seen in the sheer number of photographs that were taken and the discussions people were having about the structure and detail.

It is a wonderful addition to the physical representation of Donegal Town’s rich history and heritage.