By Róise Collins
A SCOTTISH accent is not unfamiliar in any corner of the county, but last Friday evening, they were out in force at Donegal County Museum for the launch of a major exhibition celebrating the work of Donegal men and women in Scotland.
Few families in Donegal were spared the heartache of emigration. Their stories and experiences have long been overlooked, but ‘Working Over By’ pays tribute to the untold tales that shaped their lives and ours.
From the taxing conditions faced by the Tunnel Tigers and Tattie Hokers to socialising in the Irish Centre and a shared love of Celtic, the Donegal Heritage Office has explored the many factors that influenced the lives of Irish emigrants in Scotland.
The exhibition also highlights the lasting legacy of emigration which is evident in the regular bus and flight services still connecting both places, or in the simple fact that every week newsagents in Glasgow stock the latest edition of this newspaper, still fondly referred to as The Derry People.
Opening the exhibition and the accompanying booklet was Cloughglass native, Packie Bonner. The former Celtic and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper is a proud Donegal Diaspora Ambassador.
Through this role he became involved with the project in Scotland and was involved in gathering the personal accounts, photographs and objects of those who worked on a seasonal basis as well as those who settled in Scotland.
Packie captivated the large crowd as he shared their moving stories and anecdotes.
He spoke warmly of his aunt, who is in her nineties, who still lights up when she proudly tells the story of working as a Tattie Hoker, boasting of the scars the gruelling labour has left on her knees.
Her pride in her work and her history mirrored the deep sense of identity that many Donegal emigrants felt about their time in Scotland.
SYMBOL
He also spoke candidly about his own journey as an 18-year-old emigrant. He recalled the day he left Donegal, saying, “I remember the day that I left, I was sick for two days before that.”
The emotional weight of leaving home was something that stayed with him, and it was a feeling that many others shared. He described how he boarded Doherty’s bus, a symbol for many Donegal emigrants, which was the start of a journey toward Glasgow.
A memory he shared that struck a chord with the audience involved a young girl on the same bus.
“She was in tears, and her family stood by the bus waving goodbye,” Packie remembered.
She was inconsolable for much of the journey, especially when Anthony Doherty, the bus driver, played a Margo song about leaving home to go to America.
This moment symbolised the heartache and emotional toll that emigration had on many young people from Donegal, who had no other choice but to leave.
He also shared stories of his father, who had worked on the trams in Glasgow.
Because of this exhibition these personal memories and stories and hundreds more are now cemented in the history of both Donegal and Scotland.
“All of those stories started with someone going away with a bag one day, and they never thought that generations after them would make such an impact in Scotland, such an impact on Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and all around,” Packie said.
“Your own families and your own history have got a place that you should be very proud of. That’s something we should celebrate and recognise.
“That’s what this exhibition is doing, recognising those people,” he concluded.
Also speaking at the event was the newly elected Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council.
In his welcome address Councillor Paul Canning spoke of how the exhibition was close to his heart too. He shared the story of his uncles, who took the cattle boat from Derry to Glasgow, many of them never moved home and lived there for their entire lives.
Although I was never directly impacted by emigration, I stood in a crowd of hundreds who were.
As I stood there, I couldn’t help but recall a heart-breaking story I was told growing up, the story of my Granny Bríd’s grandfather, Padaí Sheáin John Harley from Ranafast.
He had emigrated to Glasgow to work as a labourer, drawn by the promise of steady employment and the hope of providing for his young family back in Donegal.
WIDOW
But in December 1920, he didn’t return home for Christmas with all the other men. His family who eagerly awaited his return were never given an explanation.
Then on New Year’s Eve, they were shocked when they received devastating news that he had died from the flu.
He left behind a young widow and three children under the age of four, all living in a small house with her father-in-law. All the money he had earned in Scotland was needed to pay for the body to be sent home for burial.
My great-auntie Maire, who has since emigrated to Canada, recalled how her grandmother never spoke of her husband, “other than, when almost in tears, she would tell us about how she found out about his death,” she said.
Beyond these recollections, only a marriage and death certificate remain.
Each person in the audience had a story to tell, whether it was their own emigration or that of their family. My partner, who stood beside me included. Michael was born in Glasgow but is proudly Irish.
Both of his grannies were also born in Scotland to Irish emigrants, and his two grandads were born in Donegal and emigrated to Glasgow in search of a better life.
Much of his family still lives in Glasgow, and they return to Ireland as often as they can. We visit Glasgow regularly too – helped, of course, by the fact that Michael is Celtic daft and a proud season ticket holder!
In the coming weeks as the traditional Glasgow Fair holidays draw closer the exhibition is expected to draw many visitors to the museum, each is encouraged to share their story.
A travelling version of the ‘Working Over By’ exhibition will be hosted in Glasgow from September 2025 and will be available to travel to other locations in Scotland in 2026.
If you would like to contribute to the exhibition or would like to find out more, please contact the County Donegal Heritage Office on (074) 916 3824 or by e-mail at donegalscotland@donegalcoco.ie
