There were four and two legged leaps of joy on Tory this morning when donkeys were reintroduced to the remote island for the first time in over 20 years.
The two adult mules, both in foal, and a cute foal were brought from the mainland on the local ferry by the manager at Comharchumann Thoraí Teo, Marjorie Carroll. The trio were gifts for Ms Carroll’s children from her father, Tom Doohan.
“There used to be an awful lot of donkeys on Tory, but I think the last one left around 20 years ago,” she told Donegal Daily this evening.
“It’s lovely to have them back on the island again and now we just have to organise some shelter for them during the winter as it gets quite stormy in here. They have plenty of grass here and seem to be happy enough”.
The first donkey to set ‘hoof’ on Tory for the first time in more than 20 years.
Coincidentally, Ms Carroll’s father in law, Pádraig Carroll (below), brought his donkey with him when his family moved permanently to Gweedore almost 50 years ago.
“He took the donkey he owned on Tory with him as he didn’t want to leave it behind. My husband, Dónal, grew up with that donkey for many years,” she concluded.
Pádraig Carroll with the donkey he brought with him when his family moved permanently from Tory to Gweedore in 1977.
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