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Donegal guilds celebrate ICA
centenary
27.09.10
THE 18 guilds of the
Irish Countrywomen's Association in Co Donegal
including several from Inishowen gathered at the
weekend to celebrate 100 years of the organisation
in the county.
The Dungloe guild was the first branch of the ICA.
It was formed in December 1910, several months after
the organisation was founded in Bree, Co Wexford.
The Donegal ICA Federation held an oak tree-planting
ceremony in Riverside Park, Dungloe, on Saturday to
mark the ICA Centenary and the role the town's guild
had played from the start.
The event was attended by 75 women representing Co
Donegal's 18 guilds, ICA national president, Anne
Marie Dennison, North and West MEP Pat 'the Cope'
Gallagher and Sinn Féin councillor, Marie Therese
Gallagher. |
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Mary Coyle, left, and Margaret
Callaghan of the Grianán Aileach Guild in Burt at
the ICA Centenary celebration in Dungloe. |
"This tree-planting
ceremony is a very fitting tribute to the ICA in
Donegal, as it was here in Dungloe that the first
branch of the Society of the United Irishwomen, as
our association was called at that time, was formed,
in December 1910," said Ms Dennison. "I hope the ICA
will continue to grow as this tree will grow, and
that both will be strong and healthy at the next
centenary celebration."
Ms Dennison also described the founding of the
Dungloe ICA Guild: "The records show that on the 3rd
of December, 1910, Ellice Pilkington travelled to
Dungloe, Donegal, armed with an organiser bag and a
map lent by the Irish Agricultural Organisation
Society, a thermos flask, and a passport in the old
tongue given by the President of the Gaelic League,
Douglas Hyde, later President of Ireland.
In Dungloe she found an enterprising bi-lingual
community with a flourishing co-operative society
and a knitting industry in the hands of women and
girls, and all around them great possibilities for
cottage gardening, dairying, and jam-making. There
was also a village hall, suitable for social
occasions and other events. Ellice
Pilkington received an enthusiastic reception. At a
meeting in the village hall, the Dungloe branch was
founded and a committee was elected. Within a short
time the branch had 200 members, and two teachers
taught subjects such as household economics, home
dairying, and cottage gardening."
The Dungloe tree-planting ceremony was one of
numerous centenary celebrations that the more than
15,000 ICA members nationwide have organised at
local and national levels throughout the year. As
part of the ceremony, ICA officers paid special
thanks to Coillte and the Dungloe Tidy Towns
Committee for their assistance in selecting and
planting the tree. The ceremony was followed by a
Donegal ICA Federation and a raffle for a beautiful
patchwork quilt made by the members to help the
women of Eritrea in Africa. To view more photos
click here . |
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