SOME 170 people dropped in at the three sessions held by Donegal County Council Heritage Office staff in Glasgow and Edinburgh to record stories and pictures of Donegal people working in Scotland between 1940 and 1990.
The Museum of Scottish Football at Hampden Park was the venue for the first morning session on Thursday October 3, with a second event being held in the afternoon and evening at Glasgow City Chambers, and a final one at the Irish Consulate in Edinburgh on Friday October 4.
Following a presentation on the project by Dr Joe Gallagher, Donegal Council Council heritage officer, Donegal exiles and several of their grown-up children, came forward with stories of arriving in Glasgow to take up a wide variety of jobs, ranging from tattie-hokers, labourers, bus drivers and conductors, to service, nuns, priests and education.
“We were delighted with the turnout and captured in writing, in pictures and on tape, the stories of first, second and third generation Donegal people who worked, and who still work in Scotland,” Dr Gallagher said. “We’ll be using the material in an exhibition on the subject in spring next year which we’ll launch in Letterkenny and hope to bring over to Scotland later.”
Attending the session was Celtic FC and Ireland legend, Packie Bonner, who arrived in Glasgow on the famous Glasgow bus from Donegal, to start his career with Celtic in 1978 at the age of 18.
“I stayed in Muirend and took the bus into town to change for the bus to take me to Parkhead for training sessions,” Packie said. “Can you imagine footballers doing that nowadays!”
Also present was Consul General of Ireland in Scotland, Jerry O’Donovan, who was delighted to see that the Donegal diaspora is alive and well in Scotland and ready and willing to ensure that its story is not forgotten.
“I congratulate Donegal Council Council for launching and running this vitally important project in partnership with the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies,” Jerry said. “I learned a lot about the Donegal experience in Scotland myself at the sessions, just listening to what people were saying. It’s wonderful that this experience and historical record is being captured.”
Retired teacher, Mary Smith, was on hand to record the story of her Aunt Bridget McShea, who came from Donegal to work as a clippie on the famous Glasgow trams in the 1950s.
“She worked out of Maryhill Depot in the north of the city,” Mary said. “When the trams went off, she transferred to the buses at Maryhill, and she married her driver, a Polish refugee by the name of Jan Radzcuk. After conductresses were replaced by driver-only buses, my aunt was transferred to the Glasgow Subway, where she worked in the ticket office, before retiring. The great thing is that I followed in her footsteps, and worked every summer from 1967 to 1969, as a bus conductress at Maryhill while I was a student teacher at Notre Dame College of Education. I can remember that my last pay on the buses was £19 a week, but that when I started teaching, it was just £14!”
Along to record the story of their father who came to Glasgow from Gweedore to work as a labourer, was retired head teacher, Rod O’Donnell and his brother, retired Clyde tugboat captain, Tony.
“We wanted to record our father’s story,” Rod said. “It was his work here that provided the secure base for us as second generation Donegal people to progress in our careers in Scotland.”
Although the sessions are now over, anyone who would like to send in stories of Donegal people working in Scotland can get in touch with the Donegal County Council Heritage Office at donegalscotland@donegalcoco.ie, or phone 00353749163824
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