ICRfm on track with Swilly Railway story 04.10.07

THERE was once a time when Inishowen was the envy of other rural parts of Ireland, boasting as it did its very own railway system. Inishowen Community Radio is preparing to tell the intriguing story of the halcyon days of The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company from conception to its demise.

The birth of local railway company began with a proposal submitted to the British Government in the aftermath of the Great Hunger in Ireland in the mid nineteenth century. It took many years from the laying of the first track in 1863 to develop the entire system which covered a distance of ninety-nine
and a half miles. The two-part programme was devised, researched and scripted by Jimmy McBride with assistance at ICRfm from Mary Kelly, Brian McGowan, Susan Logue and Eddie Dee. The programmes are narrated by Mary Kelly and Jimmy McBride and include extracts from a talk delivered in Clonmany at The McGlinchey Summer School in 2003 by the late William John Carlin of Strabane. The songs featured in the programme are from exclusive archive material in the possession of Jimmy McBride while the music was specially scored and played by Dr. Liz Doherty and P.V. O’Donnell, both well known fiddle players from Buncrana. The project was made possible with financial assistance from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, through the Sound and Vision Scheme. The first programme will air on Friday, October 12th at 4pm while the second show can be heard the following Friday, October 19th at 4pm. Each programme will be repeated on the following Saturday at 11am and on the Sunday at 1pm.
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