Days of Convoy railway remembered with new mural

Some of the crowd who attended the launch of the Convoy Railway Mural.

By Róise Collins

THERE was a great turn-out for the official unveiling of the new railway mural in Convoy this weekend.

The mural painted by talented local artist Marty McDaid pays tribute to the town’s historic railway line, which ran from Strabane to Letterkenny.

The railway opened in 1909, and at the height of the operation there were up to eight passenger and freight trains a day.

The last train left the station just 50 years later in 1959.

This was a large blow to the town as the train was vital to the local economy.

“It had a big significance in Convoy because transport was very limited in the early century,” said chairperson of the Convoy Community Environmental Committee, Liam Mailey.

The Convoy Wollen Mills were heavily dependent on the train for the transportation of raw materials and Morris Brothers, a family-run wholesale company also used the railway line to bring in stock.

There is a nod to this in the mural as a crate of Jacob’s biscuits is depicted in the artwork.

Also painted in the mural is a return ticket to Portrush.

This was from an annual excursion attended by staff from the Wollen Mills.

Local woman Sally Bonner, from Calhame was on that trip and was in attendance at Saturday’s unveiling.

The 96 year old was also a passenger on the last train that went through Convoy.

The mural was officially unveiled by Kerry Doherty, a local railway enthusiast who Liam described as “an encyclopaedia on the history of local railway and trains”.

Liam thanked Moore’s Post Office who provided their gable wall as a canvass for the mural.

He also thanked Donegal County Council who provided a grant to fund the Mural.

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