The Donnybrook to house displaced Galloway men

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The Donnybrook to house displaced Galloway men
Poet Wilmer Mills plays guitar at the Donnybrook in 2010.
John Somerville | Courtesy

While Galloway Residence is under construction next year, some of its residents will move into a once-beloved off-campus house known as The Donnybrook.

The house at 62 Park St. is currently being renovated and served as a campus dorm, and not just for Galloway men.

“Eventually, we want it to be veteran housing,” Associate Dean of Men Jeffery Rogers said. “In the interim, it will be an additional domain for those exiled in the diaspora from Galloway during the year it’s down.”

Rogers said The Donnybrook will likely be renamed.

Around 12 men will move into the dorm, while 43 of Galloway’s 88 residents will move into Whitley Residence.

The following year, the dorm may become housing for veterans, depending on how many enroll. Rogers noted that veterans who are older than some of the student body might prefer more independence.

In the past, the Donnybrook was known for its residents’ affinity for Irish drinking songs, poetry readings.

“There was a group of nine guys that lived there before and they were good guys — faithful, manly men,” Daniel Spiotta ’13 told the Collegian in 2016. “I really loved them and wanted to keep a lot of their traditions alive. The song tradition, the tradition of singing folk songs together in a big group, that was the biggest thing we inherited.”

Ethan Visser, a resident assistant in Galloway, will live in the Donnybrook next year. Visser said that he appreciates the culture of inclusion, humility, and faith in Galloway.

“I think it will be very important to foster the same culture in Whitley and in the Donnybrook that we have in Galloway,” Visser said. “That starts with the RAs. In addition, I think the two residences should stay in touch with each other. The big thing will be having guys that know Galloway and its culture coming back the next year.”