Donegal Town News and Blog

This story goes back to last month, but I have a few photos to go with it…

A county councillor has expressed rage at the state of an illegal halting camp abandoned by relatives of road traffic victim Teresa Ward just days after her funeral.
Several caravans and two cars were torched on the site behind the hospital on Upper Main Street, Donegal Town.
Wooden fencing and huts erected by the council for use by traveller families when it was a legitimate temporary halting site were also damaged in the blaze.
“It’s like Iraq, just one great bomb-site,” said Cllr Jonathan Kennedy.
“They left a right mess. It’s pure ignorance.”
Teresa Ward and members of her family stayed temporarily on the site before moving to Derry several weeks ago.
The 22-year-old mother of four small children died in the early hours of last Monday week when a jeep went off the road and overturned a number of times in a field three kilometres south of Ballybofey.
Her husband Patrick and three of their children who were travelling with them received critical but not life-threatening injuries.
They were returning to Derry after visiting relatives at the Donegal Town site.
It’s a traveller tradition to burn the caravan home of a departed member of the community.
It’s unclear why the caravans at the Donegal Town site were burned.
Mrs McDonagh no longer lived there at the time of her death.

I’m not sure if Cllr Jonathan Kennedy was ever in Iraq, but I’d say it hardly compares. He is a fireman though so I’m sure he’s seen his fair share of burnt out caravans.

Travellers: Gypsies, knackers, tinkers, pikies; whatever you want to call them, they don’t do themselves any favours. In my personal opinion they have no respect for anyone else. I hope they don’t come back.