AUGUST 2009

Local ladies set sail
By Simon McGeady Inishowen Independent

A group of cancer survivors from the Moville and Greencastle area have built their very own Donegal Curragh and were set to take to sea in the craft for the first time Monday night 10th August.

Ten women, included members of Éist - a support group for women who have suffered from cancer - and a few of their family members have been working on the project over the summer months. The women were excited to see how their hand-crafted boat fared when it was put to sea at Glenburnie beach near Moville.

Speaking on Monday, Moville woman Sheila Meehan said the women were thrilled with what they had accomplished, under the guidance of local author and Donegal Curragh expert Donal MacPolin. "We wanted to show people that there is life after cancer that we could come together with other women to complete this challenging task. I think that to have built our very own boat from scratch is a wonderful achievement. We got the idea in the winter and after the cold months of spring were over we started working on the boat in the yard behind the Maritime Museum in Greencastle under Donal's expert guidance," said Mrs. Meehan. The team of women worked a couple of days a week on the project in the first months of summer before spending more time in recent weeks to get this craft ready for the big launch last night.

All the material for the boat was sourced locally, said Sheila."Donal and a couple of the girls went out to Tremone forest to cut some hazel-wood and everything else we needed we were able to get from McDonald's boat-yard in Greencastle or the Co-op in Moville. We used a tar equivalent left over from another locally made Curragh."

There was a lot of interest in the boat's construction, according to Mrs. Meehan, Malin artist Tim Staunton came out to paint a picture of the women at work on their curragh. "Éist was started by Mary Bonner and Maeve McClenaghan some years back. We've been told that Donegal Curraghs traditionally don't have names, but if we do decide to have one we would like to get the word Éist in somewhere." added the cancer survivor.

There has been a renaissance in the construction of traditional boats in Inishowen over the last year that's coincided with the publication of Mr. MacPolin's latest book about the traditional boats of Ireland, "We know of three Curraghs being built in Glengad at the moment", she added.

Mrs. Meehan says she is not sure what will happen to the boat now it's been built but added that as a number of Éist members were seasoned rowers, they would be sure to get some use out of it in the coming weeks.

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