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Inishowen savers' habits detailed
in annual
16.12.11
THE savings habits of
people in Inishowen are detailed in the latest
edition of the Donegal Annual along with 100 photos,
charts, maps and images from the past.
Published by the Donegal Historical Society and
edited by Culdaff man Sean Beattie, this year’s
collection has 20 articles on the history of the
county, including a number, which will be of
particular interest to readers in the peninsula.
One of the chapters concerns post office savings
banks and lists all the post office savings banks in
Donegal including those in Inishowen from 1881 to
1918. Almost half a million was on deposit in 1918.
For example savings in Buncrana jumped from £2,239
in 1881 to £16,207 in 1918, an increase of a factor
of eight. |
Moville post office had
£17,483 and held one of the largest deposits in the
entire county. These savings were separate from bank
accounts and both towns had banks, apart from
deposits in banks in Derry. The article raises
questions about poverty and wealth in Donegal over a
century ago. The depositors were mostly small
farmers who put their shillings aside for the rainy
day. The article is based on research by Sean
Beattie and includes charts, diagrams and
photographs.
Of special interest to Clonmany readers is a map of
the church lands in the parish from the seventeenth
century Down Survey. |
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Sean Beattie |
The church lands of
Inishowen are also shown in a separate map.
Rev. Raymond Blair of Limavady tells a heart-rending
story of an eviction near Buncrana in 1849. The
tenant was Biddy McLaughlin and the landlord lived
in Linsfort House.
Of topical interest next year will be the centenary
of the signing of the Ulster Covenant by Unionists
opposed to Home Rule in 1912. Readers can find out
where people signed in all parts of the county. In
Moville, William Beatty, boat builder was in charge
of the signing and 146 people signed at the
Presbyterian church. Up the road at the Church of
Ireland, Rev. Ernest Nunns collected 111 signatures.
In Burt, Robert Walsh, farmer, did better and
collected 369 at Burt Lecture Hall. All towns and
villages are covered in the article. Home Rule was
on the way in 1914 but was postponed because of the
war.
Other articles include early Christian gardeners,
the Auchinlecks of Bundoran, Tory island, climate
and fever, Bishop McGettigan, the Arranmore disaster
1935, Lord Lifford, and the history of cricket in
the county. The Donegal Annual is available at
Carndonagh Antiquarian Bookshop, Macs in Buncrana,
and Foyle Books, Derry, price €25. You can order
from Una McGarrigle, Parkhill, Ballyshannon, postage
extra and she will post it to anywhere in the world.
Also on sale is the collection of the first seven
issues of Donegal Annual from 1947 to 1953, which
has 538 pages with over 60 articles on the county.
It is available for €25 from the same sources. See
donegalhistory.com for a list of articles. |
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