A project to replace Bád Eddie in Gaoth Dobhair has received a €50,000 funding boost.
The money, allocated by Údaras na Gaeltachta, will support the campaign to build a replica structure of the famous boat at Magheraclogher beach.
The shipwreck is an iconic sight in Gaoth Dobhair, but is currently in danger of collapsing into the sea.
The local community is hoping to act fast to save Bád Eddie before it is destroyed forever. A fund was launched this summer to preserve and design a structure to replace Bád Eddie whenever the inevitable happens. A team of researchers from Queen’s University visited the site in September to captured a 3D scan of the wreck for a replica structure. It is hoped that a stainless-steel casing can act as a protective barrier for the ship.
The preservation fund has now been strengthened with €50,000 from Údaras na Gaeltachta.
Donegal Sinn Féin Councillor and member of Bord Údaras na Gaeltachta, John Sheamais Ó Fearraigh has welcomed the support.
Cllr Ó Fearraigh said: “This is good news story for the parish and for the North West. A campaign and a local committee to save the boat were established about a year ago and the aim of the campaign is to place a replica sculpture at the site of Bád Eddie on Machaire Clochair strand.”
“The boat has a special significance from a tourism point of view. Thousands visit the boat every year while visiting Gaoth Dobhair and the committee are doing terrific work, which I commend, in trying to keep the boat on the strand.”
