The Dave Gallaher Park in Ramelton was the scene last Sunday of a moving ceremony to honour the legacy of one of New Zealand’s national heroes. Dave Gallaher was born in the small Donegal village in 1878 and left for a new life on the other side of the world when he was just 5 years of age. He captained the ‘Originals’ rugby team (the first New Zealand touring side), the first to be known as the All Blacks. His leadership, tactics, passion and discipline still resonates through every All Blacks team and has made them the most successful rugby team ever.
25 years after the New Zealand All Blacks visited Donegal, Gallaher was again honoured by the visit of a New Zealand delegation last Sunday. This time it was a cultural exchange attended by the New Zealand Ambassador to Ireland, Sir Trevor Mallard, who brought a Maori singing group called Te Waka Aumihi and Sean Fitzpatrick, the legendary All Blacks captain from the 1980’s and 1990’s. The whole spectacle was filmed for a documentary which will air in New Zealand in April 2026.
The event, organised by Kevin Shields of the Dave Gallaher Society, featured an exchange of soil from Eden Park Rugby ground in Auckland where Gallaher played his club rugby, Gallaher’s grave in Belgium where he died at the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917 during WW1, and his birthplace in Ramelton.
Sean Fitzpatrick handed over soil to Jim Sweeney representing the society. It was dug into a pre-prepared hole at the park and Jim then dug some Donegal soil out which was presented to Sean Fitzpatrick in an ornate box for transportation onwards to Belgium and eventually to New Zealand where it will be quarantined and undergo bio-security checks before being planted at Eden Park.
New Zealand soil is sacred in the Maori culture so it was accompanied to Ramelton by a delegation of Maoris who blessed their sacred soil as it was handed over and the Maori singers, Te Waka Aumihi, sang songs. Inishowen’s Tracey McRory played her special composition, ‘From Donegal to Passchendaele’ on violin and poet Declan Foley recited ‘Common Ground’ his poem about Gallaher.
Ambassador Mallard and Sean Fitzpatrick paid moving tributes to Gallaher and explained the extraordinary legacy of Dave Gallaher and what he means to New Zealand. Kimiora, Gabby, Melanie & Alyce from Te Waka Aumihi sang a beautiful rendition ‘Now is the Hour’ in the Maori language as the ceremony came to a close.
In his closing remarks, Kevin Shields stated, “Dave Gallaher died 108 years ago at the battle of Passchendaele during WWI. We can’t know for sure, but had he lived, he may have returned to visit his birthplace here in Ramelton. That wasn’t possible, so today we honour his Irish roots by placing soil from New Zealand here at the park named in his honour – a symbolic home-coming.”
