Calling all Burnfoot/Buncrana historians

Noreen1

I had to go to Buncrana yesterday, and somewhere between Burnfoot and Buncrana, I noticed a sign for "Grace Jones grave". And I thought "Who?":o
A bit further along the road, there's a big sign saying "Amazing Grace Country".

So, now my nose is bothering me.:D:P

Who is this "Grace Jones" - and what's so amazing about her?

I did do a google search, and found loads of info on a jamaican singer, and a reference to a House of Lords document, which was about 30 pages long, with no reference to Grace Jones that I could find before I got too bored to read any further!:o

I like local history, but Buncrana/Burnfoot isn't anywhere near my locality.
I still like a good yarn, though!
So, does anyone know anything about this Grace Jones, or where I can get any information about her?

Thanks in advance.

homer simpson

It was AFAIK the grave of Agnes Jones. It's in Fahan, she is famous as she worked alongside Florence nightingale.

Amazing Grace country comes from John Newton, the fella who wrote the song amazing grace! He came to buncrana by chance, as he was washed in by a storm at sea, he wasn't a holy person but they reckon he prayed that night while the ship took on water and he believed his prayers were answered when they drifted into the swilly. The event turned him into a preacher and prompted him to wrote the hymn amazing grace, thus the title amazing grace country!

Edit: Wasn't sure so looked into it to be certain, yeah the above is pretty much right,

"John Newton wrote these words in his journal on 21 March 1796, at the age of 70.

He never forgot that “great turning day” in 1748 when, as an obstreperous, rebellious young man, he was surprised to hear himself crying out during a violent storm at sea, “The Lord have mercy on us!”
[John Newton’s sermon notebook, Lambeth Palace Library, MS 2940]

For it was on that day he discovered, “How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.”

Taken from here, http://www.johnnewton.org/Groups/32663/The_John_Newton/Amazing_Grace/Introduction/Introduction.aspx


I wouldn't be too big into my history or anything but this is an interesting read, he was some man for one man!

While aboard the ship Greyhound, Newton gained notoriety for being one of the most profane men the captain had ever met. In a culture where sailors commonly used oaths and swore, Newton was admonished several times for not only using the worst words the captain had ever heard, but creating new ones to exceed the limits of verbal debauchery.[11] In March 1748, while the Greyhound was in the North Atlantic, a violent storm came upon the ship that was so rough it swept overboard a crew member who was standing where Newton had been moments before.[d] After hours of the crew emptying water from the ship and expecting to be capsized, Newton and another mate tied themselves to the ship's pump to keep from being washed overboard, working for several hours.[12] After proposing the measure to the captain, Newton had turned and said, "If this will not do, then Lord have mercy upon us!"[13][14] Newton rested briefly before returning to the deck to steer for the next eleven hours. During his time at the wheel he pondered his divine challenge.[12]
About two weeks later, the battered ship and starving crew landed in Lough Swilly, Ireland. For several weeks before the storm, Newton had been reading The Christian's Pattern, a summary of the 15th-century The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. The memory of the uttered phrase in a moment of desperation did not leave him; he began to ask if he was worthy of God's mercy or in any way redeemable as he had not only neglected his faith but directly opposed it, mocking others who showed theirs, deriding and denouncing God as a myth. He came to believe that God had sent him a profound message and had begun to work through him.[15]

Taken from the wiki page for the hymn amazing grace

NIMAN

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Jones

Noreen1

Thanks, guys.

I wish I'd made time to visit the grave, now. Maybe next time I'm out that way!

Two very inspiring people!

Joe 90

On the subject of nurses in the area, a Miss Pitts lived in Buncrana. She served as a nurse in WW1.

Dun

The Amazing Grace connection with Buncrana is a bit spurious in my opinion, and the signs are confusing for the visitors to the area that I've been speaking to.

Mind you I'd rather the signs than that monstrous bust of Tipp O'Neill on the shorefront.

Kinzig

Agnes jones was a native of Fahan and as said a colleague of Florence Nightingales.1823-1868. Theres also a Horatio Nelson buried there in 1811, a nephew of Lord Nelsons..