Today was Folk Day at the Folk Village. There were exhibitions of thatching, traditional cooking of boxty, spinning, cross making, rope weaving, basket weaving and various other related skills from the past.
The ardrang had a guided tour by Paddy Beag but there were a lot of people there so the class dissolved into the village.
The folk village was created by Fr. McDyer as a tourist attraction that would give people pride in their heritage and provide a steady income to the community. The parish is celebrating the 100th anniversary of his birth this year.
I also saw the big pot that was used to make soup to feed the hungry during the Famine. I learned that the Gleann was not initially much affected by the potato blight but as the crisis became worse more people depended on the soup kitchens for sustenance. By 1849 more than half the population of Donegal were relying on the soup kitchens for their suvival.
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