Ramelton, a town of 1,288 people on the western shore of Lough Swilly in Donegal lays claim to many notable figures including a Nobel Prize winner in medicine, a second-generation US President and the first captain of 'the original' New Zealand All Blacks.
This afternoon, people will gather near the banks of the River Lennon in Ramelton to commemorate Dave Gallaher - an iconic figure in New Zealand rugby history.
President of the Dave Gallaher Society Kevin Shields told RTÉ News that the event will be a "symbolic homecoming" in honour of a man known among the greats of world rugby.
Gallaher who is buried in the fields of Flanders, having lost his life in service during WW1, captained the 1905-06 New Zealand rugby team, known as ‘The Originals’ during their first official tour of Britain, Ireland, France and the USA.
The tour saw the first use of the All-Blacks name: they had 34 victories and one loss, scoring 976 points and conceding 59 points – helping to establish the All-Blacks global reputation.
As soil is considered sacred in Māori culture, this afternoon, dignitaries will swap soil from Ireland, New Zealand and Gallaher’s grave in Belgium.
"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 Donegal roots by placing soil from his grave here at the park named in his honour – a symbolic homecoming," Mr Shields said.
The New Zealand Ambassador Trevor Mallard and former All Black Captain Sean Fitzpatrick will be among those in attendance.
Gallaher was born in Ramelton in 1873 to shopkeeper James Henry Gallagher and teacher Maria Gallagher (née McCloskey)
The family emigrated to New Zealand as part of settlement scheme established by George Vesey Stewart in 1878, sailing from Belfast on the Lady Jocelyn to start a new life in the Katikati settlement in the Bay of Plenty.
At the age of 17, Gallaher and most of his family moved to Auckland to find work and he soon became involved in rugby with Ponsonby, where he came to prominence.
Historian Denis McLean has said Gallaher's captaincy of the 1905–6 New Zealand team sealed his place in New Zealand rugby history.
He wrote: "Gallaher's role as wing-forward raised British hackles. After the first game a sports commentator wrote, 'The great innovation of their game is the winging forward. As a matter of fact, he is not a forward and is a wolf in sheep's clothing'".
Following the tour, Gallagher retired and began coaching, holding roles as a selector and coach of Auckland (1906 – 1914) and a selector with New Zealand (1907 – 1914).
He co-wrote ‘The Complete Rugby Footballer on the New Zealand System’ with JW Stead - a book considered iconic in rugby literature.
He was posthumously induced into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2010 and subsequently inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2011.
Ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, a bronze statue of Gallaher stands outside Eden Park in Auckland.
He is also commemorated by the Dave Gallaher Trophy, contested by the All Blacks and France and the Gallaher Shield, the primary club competition in Auckland.
Ahead of New Zealand's match against Ireland in Dublin to celebrate 100 years since the Originals Tour in 2005, the All Blacks team visited Gallaher’s birthplace in Market Cross, Ramelton.
They opened the new Rugby Pitch at Letterkenny Rugby Football Club known as Dave Gallaher Park.
Gallaher is also renowned in New Zealand for his military exploits. He enlisted with the New Zealand Mounted Rifles at the turn of the 20th century.
He served as a Regimental Sergeant Major in the Second Boer War and was awarded an Imperial South African War Medal.
During the First World War, he served as sergeant, commanding a platoon in the 2nd Battalion, Auckland Regiment.
Gallaher was killed in Flanders during the Battle of Passchendaele on 4 October 1917, aged 43 years.
He is buried in Nine Elms Cemetery in Poperinge, Belgium - one of 13 former All Blacks who died in WW1.
Read more: Meet the Donegal-born original All Blacks rugby captain
