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'Moville should celebrate Monty'
13.09.10
Local man proposes
controversial idea to boost tourism
by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen
Independent
A Moville man has a come up with a controversial
idea to put the Foyleside town on the tourist map.
To combat the recession and generate much-needed
money for the beleaguered local economy, Gerry
McLaughlin said that Moville should celebrate its
links to British Army hero, Field Marshal
Montgomery.
Born in London in 1887, Bernard Law Montgomery spent
much of the next two decades living at New Park in
Moville as a young boy before setting off to serve
Britain in the First World War in October 1914. He
later made his name at the Battle of El Alamein,
defeating German General Rommel in a major turning
point for the Allies during World War II. |
Between the World Wars
Montgomery was the Brigade Major of the 17th
Infantry, which fought in Cork in 1921 during the
Irish War of Independence. A cousin of Montgomery’s
– Lt. Col. Hugh Montgomery – had earlier been
assassinated by the IRA in 1920.
Organiser of the Dylanfest, Gerry McLaughlin said
Moville could become synonymous with ‘Monty’ and
attract tourists from all over the world.
“Field Marshall Montgomery was Britain’s most
important and successful military leader during WWII
and, after Churchill, he is their biggest ever war
hero. Moville should use its connection to
Montgomery to bring visitors here. |
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Field Marshal Montgomery |
There are over 60
million people living in Britain, our nearest
neighbour, and they've all heard of Monty of Alamein,”
Gerry said.
“We have Cooley Cross and the Maritime Museum in
Greencastle – both excellent tourist attractions –
but they are trumped by Montgomery’s home at New
Park. We could have a Second World War Museum
celebrating Moville's and the Foyle's part in the
war with Montgomery as a central part of that. The
best spot for that would be the New Park. However,
another location could be in Bath Green. This would
attract people all the year round.”
“A Montgomery Day, Weekend or Week would attract
people at any time of the year. Moville could host
mock battles to reconstruct the Battle of Alamein
when Montgomery defeated Rommel. Companies in the
town could churn out ‘Monty’ memorabilia as tourists
provided a much-needed boost to local hotels, B&Bs,
restaurants and bars,” Gerry added.
A resident of River Row in Moville, Gerry said he
realises that many will be opposed to the idea of
celebrating a British General.
“I realise that this is a controversial idea as
Montgomery commanded a force in Ireland in 1921. I'm
sure that there will be many who are against it and
remember the past however time has moved on and I
don’t hear any other good ideas to arrest the
decline of Moville tourism,” he said.
“I realise that some will not be in favour of this
but I am just flying a kite. There is a massive
opportunity here and to scorn at it would be to say
no to a potentially massive amount of money and lots
of extra jobs,” Gerry warned.
Senator Cecilia Keaveney said Montgomery’s Moville
links were well worth exploring.
"I think it is important that we use our history to
encourage tourism. The idea of 'celebrating' his
connection would be a question for much later. I
believe we need to preserve the actual knowledge of
the Montgomery link to Moville first and I have
spoken with Field Marshal's son the current Lord
about getting this done. I have also raised the
issue with Aongus McAnally and other RTE researchers
among others,” she said.
The Montgomery family famously donated ‘The Green’
to the people of Moville. They are remembered in the
town in the form of Montgomery Terrace, a beautiful
old street which overlooks Lough Foyle. |
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