Drop Down Menu
  Search...
 

"Moville should do Full Monty" 28.11.08

by Simon McGeady, Inishowen Independent

MOVILLE should be doing more to tap into the tourism potential of its most famous son, General Montgomery.
That’s according to the town’s county councillor, Marian McDonald who was set to table a motion this week's monthly meeting of Donegal County Council. The motion called on the council to “consider a cultural tourism project that would explore the connections between General Montgomery of the Alemain and Moville with a view to maximising British and other tourist interest in this local citizen".
The Fianna Fáil councillor said she would like to see plans drawn up to cash in on Moville’s links with the famous World War II Allied commander. Proposals include renovating New Park, the former home of the Montgomery family, with a view to turning it into Montgomery family heritage centre; having some sort of plaque unveiled to highlight Moville’s Montgomery links and/or a detailed tourist map with directions to Montgomery family points of interest. General Montgomery
“Every summer I am approached by English tourists looking for directions to New Park. Most towns that you visit, you see a billboard giving the history of the town, but there is no great information relating to the town of Moville.
“Certainly, there is information about the beauty spots, but nothing in particular about the town itself.
“If it were not for the Montgomery family there is no telling what Moville would look like today. There is not another town in Ireland with a walkway or recreational ground to equal our green, which was given to the people of Moville by the Montgomery family.
“There is a row of beautiful houses on the shore front called Montgomery Terrace which were built in 1884, but there is no street sign.”
Council Marian McDonald is seeking support from her fellow Inishowen councillors for the Montgomery tourism project.
The Montgomery family association with Moville spans five generations from the early 1700s to the middle of the last century. The Field Marshall’s mother Maud, and father, Henry, are buried at the town’s Church of Ireland graveyard.
Local tour guide Anna Connolly, an expert on the Montgomery family, said Cllr. McDonald’s motion was an excellent idea.
“The Montgomery family practically built Moville,” said Anna, who sounded a note of caution that it may be difficult collect enough memorabilia for a heritage centre.
Cllr. McDonald added, “I know that some people frown at the mere mention of the name but I think it’s only fitting that we have some sort of memento to the family that left so many legacies to the people of Moville. It would be a great tourist attraction especially for our neighbours across the water and now that we are in the process of building bridges, what better gesture could we make?”
Return to > Top Stories    > News    > Home