'A total disaster' - owner says Doagh Famine Village was uninsured for fire

Pat Doherty has spoken of his devastation after a fire destroyed 60 per cent of the Doagh Famine Village in Ballyliffin, which wasn’t covered for insurance.

Firefighters from Carndonagh, Buncrana and Letterkenny fought the blaze, which started at 3:30pm and was treated into Saturday night, while firefighters had to attend another incident in Bridgend.

“We had public liability insurance but we couldn’t get insurance for fire,” Doherty, who owns the facility, told DonegalLive. “You can’t get fire insurance for thatched houses. Unfortunately, we’re not covered for any of the losses. It’s a total disaster.”

READ NEXT: Watch: Fire destroys the historic Famine Village on Inishowen's Isle of Doagh

Mr Doherty took consolation in the fact that nobody was injured, with people at the attraction during the afternoon.

“People were coming and going all the time,” he added. “One tour was over, and they had all moved out, but there was another tour just about to start when it happened. It could have been worse. It’s bad at the minute. But nobody's dead and nobody's hurt, so we have to be thankful for that.”

Still reeling from the fire, Mr Doherty went through some of the devastating losses sustained.

“There’s about three-quarters of an acre completely destroyed,” he said. “We’ve lost the Orange Hall, we've lost the Safe House, we've lost the Travellers Section, and then we've lost all that history we had on Inishowen, the local history here from Doagh.”

“We had a new series of boards that were translated into five languages for people when they arrived, should it be Italian or French or whatever. That's all completely gone.”

Mr Doherty estimates that at least 60 per cent of the popular tourist attractions have been lost.

“The Travellers’ part, including the gypsy caravan, there was a good bit of history with that; that belonged to the Connor family from Letterkenny,” he said. “And then the Orange Hall; different Lodges looked after that one. It was done up to the highest standard.”

“And the same with the Safe House, it was done up for this year too. It had all the different stories from the Peace Process, and that was all done in different languages too.”

“We don’t know how it started. We just know it started at the very end of the visitor centre and by the time we got water to it, it was well underway then. Them guys [the firefighters] saved the part that’s still standing - the thatched houses - they saved those. We had a lot of bookings for the summer, and a lot of people were planning to come. Things were looking good for us, but it shows you how things can change overnight.

“Whatever happened, happened at the very far end. We believe it could be a compressor that didn’t switch off and overheated as a result. That is something that has been known to happen in other buildings.

Mr Doherty admits that should the decision be made to rebuild, it might take considerable time, with the site having been built up incrementally over the years.

“We started this in 1997,” he said. “You just couldn’t throw it back up quickly again, though. I’ll need time to think about it now. There’s a lot of work in it, and I can’t see this happening overnight. We just did it bit by bit – adding new sections every year – so it would take a long time to rebuild.”

Local representatives and groups have passed on their sympathies and best wishes upon hearing the news.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn TD posted: “Just devastating news from the Isle of Doagh. Everyone who knows how hard Pat, Majella and all the team at the Isle of Doagh Famine Village have worked to build their beautiful visitor centre will be absolutely heartbroken.”

“Doagh Famine Village plays a vital role in Inishowen tourism and is a cherished part of our local heritage,” Cllr Martin McDermott shared. “The entire tourism community across Inishowen stands ready to support Pat and his team in any way we can in the days and weeks ahead.”

Jack Murray, Cathaoirleach on the Inishowen MD added: Absolutely devastating news from the Isle of Doagh. Inishowen has lost a wee bit of our soul if we lose the Famine Village.”

“Absolutely devastating news from the Isle of Doagh today,” Cllr Terry Crossan said. “Inishowen has lost a wee bit of our soul if we lose the Famine Village. We're all at a loss.”

Cllr Ali Farren posted: “Heartbreaking news for Doagh Famine Village, this family business promoted all of Inishowen, words don’t work.”

“My thoughts are with the owners, staff, and everyone involved with the Doagh Famine Village - a place that has welcomed so many with its powerful storytelling and deep ties to our local heritage,” Cllr Joy Beard said. “The whole community will be behind you in the days ahead. Thanks to the firefighters.”

The Ballyliffin TownHouse and Spa posted: “ We cannot imagine the heartache they are feeling tonight, but we share this pain along with them. As a community, we will stand with them and help them rebuild.”