Tribute to Frank McGuinness
Inishowen and Buncrana honoured “one of the greats” on Friday night last as its talented and “overwhelmed” son was given the Freedom of the Town.
Friends, family, local dignitaries and members of Buncrana Town Council gathered together on a balmy evening at the Civic Offices to pay tribute to Frank McGuinness, described by Donegal Area Manager John McLaughlin as a “playwright, poet, professor, translator and Buncrana man.”
Mr McLaughlin, acting on behalf of Donegal County Manager Micheal McLoone, told those present the county was “very proud” of Mr McGuinness and its other literary geniuses.
Buncrana Mayor Cllr Lee Tedstone, who was instrumental in bringing the event to fruition, recalled the many achievements of Mr McGuinness and his importance to both literature and education in the country.
He spoke of his delight and that of the “entire community” at the bestowing of the Freedom of The Town on the playwright.
He added: “The reason we’re all here tonight is so the people of Buncrana, your friends, your family, can formally recognise your professional achievements, your personal achievements, your international acclaim and to wish you well in your future projects and to say thank you for being such a good ambassador for Buncrana.”
Mayor Tedstone’s speech was followed by a poetry reading from Scoil Iosagain pupils Kiram Rahim and Aideen Porter. The poems, Aideen’s “Buncrana” and Kirim’s “A Stroll Through Swan Park” were written by the pupils themselves and prompted Mr McLaughlin to quip that the playwright may have “some competition in the future!” Mr McGuinness declared he “loved the poems.”
The playwright then poignantly paid tribute to his family, friends and the people of Buncrana.
As members of the assembled audience were moved to tears, Mr McGuinness spoke of his wish that his late parents, Packie and Celine, were there to share in the occasion and declared himself “overwhelmed” by the honour being bestowed on him.
To laugher from the audience he said: “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t speak to the shade of my mother and father and I very deliberately left it until an hour ago before I listened to them. My mother was, of course, saying: ‘don’t shame us with anything you say!’ and my father was behind her saying ‘well, I see you put him into a blue shirt! It’s nice to see they’re still arguing in paradise’.”
He continued: “I’m overwhelmed by this. I really am so, it’s quite hard to articulate what I want to say to you all, my relations and family, my friends from childhood, my school friends, my neighbours, the children of my neighbours. If I were to thank everyone that deserves specifically to be thanked this night we would be here to next Easter. But, I am deeply appreciative of this honour given to me by the members of Buncrana District Council and the people of Buncrana.”
Mr McGuinness extended his “sincerest thanks” to Mayor Tedstone, who he credited with doing “so much to make this night possible and who has worked so hard to get us all here to welcome us as a family so profusely and so kindly.”
He then paid tribute to his family, explaining how he owed “their love, their support and their sustaining kindness to my whole career, to my whole life.
“I salute my much loved uncles, my much loved aunts, both living and dead, for their strength and their courage to rear us, to educate us and to be the solid ground beneath our feet. No matter how high we wanted to climb, they were there, absolutely there; my magnificent extended family
“And my magnificent cousins, the best kith and kin any man could wish for and the best thing I could say to them and above them, the truest thing I can say is that they are worthy of the men and women, the mothers and fathers, the parents who reared them. I would also like to acknowledge my need for and my sincerest love towards my sister Eilish; the great blessing, the mighty light of my life is my brother Shane; his wife, my darling friend Catherine and my one and only, my most favourite, my beautiful wise and wonderful niece Serena.
Concluding, his thoughts once again turned to his parents and also to his partner Philip Tilling.
He said: “All who know me, know how deeply I wish those shades I spoke about earlier, how deeply I wish our parents Packie and Celine were here this night. And all they would want is for everybody to have a good time – ‘enjoy yourself.’
“I know they would also want me to say that tonight is special too to the beautiful, kind, strong gentleman who is my partner of over 30 years and that is Philip.”
Nodding to the crowd, Mr McGuinness expressed his gratitude to them all, stating: “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you and thank you.”
A number of presentations were then made to Mr McGuinness, including a portrait of the playwright created by accomplished local artist Terry Tedstone, a book of poetry which featured a picture of the playwright along with his classmates as children, which prompted him to exclaim “Oh My God, I was seven!”
Mayor Tedstone then presented him with the honorary Freedom of the Town for his “outstanding contribution to Irish and International theatre.” A reception later took place in the Inishowen Gateway Hotel