Bád Eddie campaign sails towards €10,000 mark

A campaign to fund a replacement for shipwreck Bád Eddie is closing in on the €10,000 market.

A fundraising drive was launched last month to design a structure that will replace the famous boat once it is claimed by nature.

The plan is that one Bád Eddie falls to the elements, its remnants will be incorporated into a replica structure that will become a permanent fixture on Magheraclogher beach.

The image of the boat on Magheraclogher with Errigal in the background has become a symbol of the Gaeltacht parish and is recognised on a global scale.

Originally called the Cara na Mara, the vessel was bought in France by the late Eddie ‘Beag’ Gillespie.

Over the years it has featured in numerous films, television programmes and even a U2 video. Oscar-winning documentary maker Michael Moore has credited Bád Eddie as being the inspiration for his book ‘Dude, Where’s My Country?’.

Sonia Gillespie of the Bád Eddie committee said that with the iconic craft’s condition rapidly deteriorating, fears are growing that it may not survive another winter. For that reason, the Bád Eddie Committee is keen to get plans in place for a replacement design.

Ms Gillespie said, “We are fighting the elements, we know that, and it is not like we have time on our hands. I live beside Magheraclogher beach so I see the boat every morning when I get up and over the last three or four months I have noticed it deteriorating quite quickly.

“The committee we have is made up of residents, community activists and political representatives and what we are hoping to do is raise enough money to get the ball rolling on a structure that will eventually replace Bád Eddie but that will also preserve what is left of it. Our hope is that there will be a structure whereby you can look through holes and laying within will be the original boat.”

To make a donation to the cause go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/bad-eddie

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