Railway museum asks for photos and stories for Convoy Heritage Week
The museum is looking for photos and stories of the old railway when it operated ahead of ‘The Railways of East Donegal’
Donegal Railway Heritage Museum has called on the community in Convoy, Raphoe, and other areas across the Finn Valley and the Laggan for photographs and stories of the old railways or relevant aspects of life in the area from the time in which they operated.
The call comes ahead of a Heritage Week event entitled ‘The Railways of East Donegal’ to be held in the Black Memorial Hall, Convoy on Wednesday 19th August, inspired by the recent opening of the town’s Shared Space Community Hub on a section of the former railway line.
At the height of the railway era, East Donegal was served by an extensive network with no less than three different companies providing transport of goods and passengers within and beyond the county.
The railway first arrived in Donegal in 1847, when stations in Porthall, St Johnston and Carrigans opened as part of the Londonderry & Enniskillen Railway, later the Great Northern, as it made its way between Derry and Strabane.
The Finn Valley Railway connected Strabane to Stranorlar in 1863, and the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway linked Derry to Letterkenny via Manorcunningham in 1883. Finally, the last of the narrow-gauge railway lines built in Ireland, the Strabane Letterkenny Railway, opened in 1909, serving Lifford, Ballindrait, Raphoe, Convoy and Glenmaquin.
A company in its own right but operated by the County Donegal Railway Joint Committee, the Strabane Letterkenny Railway became one of the busiest lines in the county’s network and, along with the other nearby lines, helped shape the geography, economy and society of the region as it exists today before its closure in 1959.
The event will feature a presentation providing a broad overview of the region’s railway history alongside artefacts and historical photographs from the museum’s collections. Convoy Enterprise Centre will also display artefacts from the historic Convoy Woollen Mills, which helped draw the railway to the town and which developed alongside it for many years.
The museum’s call for community contributions reflects their intention to get locals involved in co-creating the event and providing an opportunity to reminisce and discuss their own connections to the past.
Museum Manager Marty Gilroy noted that community contributions are key to the museum’s overall philosophy. “Our Heritage Week event in Convoy,” he states, “is not only an opportunity for us to share the artefacts, photographs and information we have, but a chance for us to learn and benefit from local perspectives and expertise as we seek to preserve our railway heritage for future generations.
“We feel it is important to understand not only the technical aspects of railway history, but the ways in which the infrastructure affected communities on a local level – the way people worked, socialised and connected, and how they felt when the network closed.
“We hope that this call for photographs and stories will bring some new information to light, and we hope that the event itself can provide a forum for the community to share a cup of tea and a biscuit and remember or learn about the railway days.”
Those who would like to get in touch with a photograph or a story can do so by phone on 074 9722655, or by calling into the museum at the former railway station on Tyrconnell Street, Donegal Town.
Tickets are free, and can be booked online at donegalrailway.com or over the phone on 074 9722655. This event forms part of the museum’s Heritage Week programme, more information on which can be found on donegalrailway.com or the museum’s Facebook and Instagram pages.