Cross Border funding for Donegal and Derry Railway heritage projects

The Donegal Railway Museum has been awarded a grant from the Shared Island Civic Society Fund towards two cross-border railway heritage conferences, one in Donegal Town and the other in Derry, as well as the production of a booklet.  

This innovative project establishes a new working relationship between the Donegal Railway Museum and Foyle Valley Railway Museum in Derry who were an obvious partner for this innovative cross-border project.

Niall McCaughan, Manager of the Donegal Railway Museum stated: 

“We are delighted to have secured this funding which is a new one for us, particularly linking in for the first time with our colleagues at Foyle Valley Railway in Derry. The North West has a unique story to tell about the railways that once operated here, and these series of events will help us engage the wider public to tell this story. Here we intend to use the railways as a ‘vehicle’ to bring disconnected communities together to start new conversations, establish new partnerships, looking back as well as to the future.”

ABOVE: Foyle Railway Museum in Derry 

Selected from across the civic society sector, north and south, 35 projects were granted funding. Each of these projects have a strong cross border dimension and will facilitate the development of new links and strengthen existing relationships on issues of common concern for civic society groups on both sides of the border. One of these was the Award Winning Railway Museum in Donegal Town.

The announcement was made today by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin TD, today announced a list of organisations awarded funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs Shared Island Civic Society Fund.

The conference will include displays, panel discussions, model layouts, and a focus on recording stories about the railways that once operated across the North West. These events are planned towards the end of 2024, with a new publication being produced from it in early 2025.

Dermot O’Hara, Destined CEO where Foyle Valley Railway are based stated: 

“We were delighted to be approached by the Donegal Railway Museum in relation to this new cross border project. We are fortunate to have a great collection of Donegal Railway stock on site which operated on both sides of the border, and of course our own location was one of the sites where trains departed for Donegal. This project gives us the opportunity to talk about the strong links between the border communities, the negative effects that the closure of the railways here had on the region, but also to look to the future.”

In the coming months, more details will be released about the series of events.