Father saw three of four sons emigrate
JOHN Friel has seen three of his four sons leave Donegal to find work abroad. Two of his sons, twins Bernard and Daniel, 34, went to work for an Irish gas company in Boston, while another, Paul, 38, moved to London to work in the building trade. Ciarán, 36, was the only one of the four to stay in Donegal.
The coastal town of Clonmany has certainly felt the effects of unemployment and immigration more than most. Like many rural communities, it has become accustomed to saying goodbye to its young people.
‘Two of them are gone eight years now and the other one about 18 years. It’s not easy to see them go and they usually take a few of their friends with them,’ said John.
He is the chairman of the local Urris GAA club, which is struggling to cope with the constant exodus of players from the county who have no choice but to go abroad to find work.
He explained: ‘In the last 10 years, the club has lost maybe 24 to 26 players. Three more players are leaving shortly and two more are leaving for the summer, so we’re finding it very tough.’
John added: ‘There’s nothing here for a lot of young people, so they have to travel either across the border or overseas for work.’