Doagh Famine Village

Doagh Famine Village tells the story of a Donegal family and community living on the edge of Donegal and surviving from Famine times right up to the present day. A visit here also helps explain the road to peace in Northern Ireland, Ireland in the ‘Celtic Tiger’ years and the current economic collapse. Doagh Famine Village contains a wide selection of actual size attractions, including some original dwellings which were still inhabited up to 20 years ago. In fact, the centre has been built around the home of the owner who lived here with his family until 1983. By then, living in a thatched cottage was no longer fashionable and today this building tell of the subsistence way of life on Doagh Island. Some of the Famine Village’s buildings – such as the Orange Hall, Presbyterian Meeting House, Mass Rock and Hedge School and a Republican Safe House – depict the diverse history and culture of this corner of the Inishowen peninsula. Other buildings house information on the travelling community’s culture and other Irish traditions such as food, cures and the 'Irish Wake', a traditional send-off for the dead. Doagh Famine Village is designed to suit Irish weather and is predominantly under cover.

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