Donegal woodturner uncovers 34‑year‑old Walkman hidden in graveyard tree

The mystery of a retro Sony Walkman found inside a yew tree in St Mary’s Graveyard, Ballybrack, Greencastle, has been solved.

Local woodturner Patrick Sweeney, based in Gortahork, was given the cleared tree to craft a bowl. While working on it he discovered the Mecoa MA‑002 cassette player, which had been left without a tape, offering few clues to its age.

The man who commissioned Sweeney to make the bowl revealed that, as a ten‑year‑old altar boy over three decades ago, he and a friend had hidden the Walkman and other items in the tree. He confirmed they had “nick[ed] it, along with other things” 34 years earlier.

According to Sweeney, the boys also concealed cigarettes and lighters, the cigarettes being stored in a tin box bought in Derry that bore Bob Marley stickers.

Sweeney plans to clean the Walkman, return it to a section of the yew tree and donate it to the Doagh Famine Village in Ballyliffin for preservation.

Source: Donegal Daily. Photo: Ellie Burgin / Pexels.