In 1974, for the 300th anniversary of Rathneeny Church in Ireland, a delegation from our Donegal Presbyterian Church attended the dedication of an oak tree.  This draws direct parallel to our own Witness tree, though not an actual off-spring as occasionally assumed.  The following article was written by Sandy Leyh after a trip commemorating the 30th anniversary of that tercentenary. 

A Tree Grows in Donegal   “A meeting of the combined sessions of the First & Second Donegal Presbyterian Church, Representative Elders from Ballyshannon Presbyterian Church and members of the Session of the Donegal Springs Presbyterian Church, Lancaster County, Pennsylvanian, USA, took place in St. Ernan’s on the evening of 29 June 1974…..

                                     …..the Clerk of Sessions reported that an Oak Tree had been planted in the grounds of the Rathneeny Presbyterian Church on Friday, June 28, so that in the Rathneeny Church grounds there would be, it is hoped, a tree which would permanently commemorate the Tercentenary of the Congregation and would also act as a link between  the Donegal Congregation and the Donegal Springs Congregation.”

 In April 2004, a group of 16 people, sponsored by the Lancaster County Historical Society, in conjunction with L’atitudes Travel of Mount Joy, PA embarked on an heritage tour of the North of Ireland.  The customized itinerary included a visit to Rathneeny Church, the “mother church” of Donegal Presbyterian Church. 

Sandy Leyh of L’atitudes Travel contacted Reverend Stephen Richmond of the Donegal Town Church and asked if he would meet with us.  Stephen graciously offered to meet us at the church and show us around.  He knew that we wanted to see the oak tree in the churchyard that was planted by a group from our Donegal Presbyterian Church 30 years ago.  This got Stephen to thinking…a dangerous thing for a Presbyterian minister.  It seems the tree has always had a small metal fence around it but it was otherwise unmarked. Stephen started making inquiries and found that the story of its planting was being quickly forgotten.  So, he decided the time had come to place a plaque at the tree to insure that future generations would be aware of why it was planted.  We had quite a surprise upon arriving at Rathneeny Church on Friday evening April 23,  when about 30 members of the congregation were on hand to greet us.  The sky was threatening rain so Rev. Richmond proceeded immediately with the unveiling.  Vera Albert, president of the Mount Joy Historical Society, was with us.  Since she was also in the group that planted the tree some 30 years ago, she was given the honor of unveiling the plaque.  We then circled the tree and sang “Blessed Be the Tie that Binds”.  George Leyh our local historian/teacher related the story of the Witness Tree and the significance of joining hands around the tree.  Our Irish friends, for the most part, were not aware of the story and they were very pleased to hear it.  It helped the Donegal congregation realize the significance of choosing an oak tree as their gift.

Though not an offspring of the "Witness Tree" in Lancaster County, this tree draws a symbolic parallel.

Our group then went into the church and saw the newly renovated interior.  There had been significant water damage to the roof but the congregation raised enough money, under Rev. Richmond’s leadership, to repair and reopen the historic church in the summer of 2003.

There has been a Presbyterian meeting house on the Rathneeny site since 1690 but the present church building was constructed in 1801.  It was outside the limits of Donegal Town because Presbyterians were not permitted to meet in the town proper.  In 1886,  Donegal Town Presbyterian Church was built within the town limits.  Today, Rathneeny Church holds four services a year, among them a Harvest service in the fall and a Christmas Eve service in the winter.

Rev. Richmond joined us later for dinner.  He brought copies of newspapers and old church records for us to look through and gave Vera Albert a copy of the Session minutes from which the quote at the beginning was taken. 

On Sunday morning, most of our group attended morning service at the Donegal (Town) Church where we were warmly welcomed once again and where we heard a wonderful sermon from Rev. Richmond.

We hope that this trip will serve to reforge that link between these two congregations.  While the oak represents a gift to commemorate the Tercentenary celebration of Rathneeny Church, it also serves as the symbol of a connection between two continents. Furthermore, it represents that group of godly people from Donegal, Ireland who traveled to Lancaster County, PA.  They emigrated for many reasons but one of their first thoughts, after securing shelter and food was to build a church next to a stream and name it after their Irish home.  The descendants of these same people, during the American War of Independence, were called upon to decide whether to support their Mother country and the policies she espoused or their newfound homeland and the freedom they found in America.   On that significant occasion, they joined hands around an oak tree and pledged their allegiance to America.  They were a people of high principle and integrity and after meeting the folks at Donegal Presbyterian in Ireland, I think they still are.

Written by Sandy Leyh

For more information about Donegal Church or to contact Rev. Richmond, pull up their web site….www.donegalpresbyterianchurch.com   For more information on Scots-Irish Immigration to Pennsylvania, please join us for the annual meeting of the Donegal Society at Donegal Church, June 17, 2004 at 11AM.  George Leyh is the guest speaker.  All are welcome!