Groomsport enjoyed good weather as it celebrated the 388th anniversary of the voyage of the Eagle Wing in 1636. The ship set out from the village to take 140 Presbyterians to Massachusetts, seeking freedom to practice their religion.

The weekend started with two historical talks. Dr Andrew Snedden of Ulster University spoke about information, in 17th and 18th century sources, about the voyage of Eagle Wing. Stephen Scarth of the Public Record Office (PRONI) spoke about some of the documents relating to Groomsport which they hold. He caused some light-hearted controversy at the meeting when he said that they have two documents that state that the Duke of Schomberg landed at Bangor in 1689, not at Groomsport, as local tradition has it. He added that not all historical documents are accurate.

Saturday was the busiest day of the weekend. To start the day, the Parish Church held a Seafarers’ Breakfast. There was an exhibition of items from the Parish Archive and residents had the opportunity to have old photographs scanned for inclusion in Discover Groomsport’s digital archive.
On Saturday afternoon, at Cockle Row cottages, the Valhalla Theatre company re-enacted the return of the passengers on the Eagle Wing, and there were stories form Liz Weir. Scottish country dancing with Patrick Brunskill was enjoyed by many and the weekly guided history tour, led by Gavin Walker, was busier than usual.

The centrepiece of the weekend celebrations was the sold out Saturday night concert of words, dancing and music. Mae Burke recalled some of the memories of Maureen Lightbody, a longtime Groomsport resident who died in January, in her 99th year. Marking the 200th anniversary of the RNLI, Peter Gibson spoke about one of the more dramatic rescues carried out by Groomsport’s lifeboats.
Dancers from the Una Breslin School of Irish Dancing represented the village’s history as part of the territory of the O’Neills before the Scottish settlers arrived.

Music at the concert was provided by the Bangor Ukes, the Ravin Micks and local bagpiper, Shaun William Townsley.

On Sunday, in addition to their Eagle Wing re-enactment, Valhalla Theatre Company demonstrated rope making while soda bread was being made in one of the cottages at Cockle Row. As part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, Groomsport Football Club held a family funday and a football match between teams of players associated with the club. Funds raised by the football club at this event will be used by Discover Groomsport to host a Christmas party for the older people in the village.

The one disappointment of the weekend was that, despite the good weather, the sea swell meant that the planned boat trips with music had to be cancelled.