Amazing Grace Park

Viewing Point:

Opened on 4 October 2013, the Amazing Grace viewing point in Buncrana is the perfect place for visitors to look out over Lough Swilly and to consider the inspirational story of John Newton and Amazing Grace.

This story of transformation is symbolised by the transformation of an ugly concrete platform into a beautiful place designed to blend in and enhance the stunning natural beauty of the lough. A local contractor re-clad the concrete platform in stonework and landscaped the surrounding area. A new set of steps create easy access onto the sandy beach below.

Wikipedia:

In 1748, during his return voyage to England aboard the ship Greyhound, Newton had a Christian conversion. He awoke to find the ship caught in a severe storm off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland and about to sink. In response, Newton began praying for God’s mercy, after which the storm began to die down. After four weeks at sea, the Greyhound made it to port in Lough Swilly (Ireland). This experience marked the beginning of his conversion to Christianity.^[10][11]

He began to read the Bible and other Christian literature. By the time he reached Great Britain, he had accepted the doctrines of evangelical Christianity. The date was 21 March 1748,^[12] an anniversary he marked for the rest of his life. From that point on, he avoided profanity, gambling and drinking. Although he continued to work in the slave trade, he had gained sympathy for the slaves during his time in Africa. He later said that his true conversion did not happen until some time later: he wrote in 1764 “I cannot consider myself to have been a believer in the full sense of the word, until a considerable time afterwards.”^[13]

Amazing Grace Ireland:

Finally, the wind changed.  Newton wrote: “We saw the island of Tory and the next day anchored in Lough Swilly  in Ireland.  This was the 8th day of April, just four weeks after the damage we sustained from the sea.  When we came into this port, our very last victuals was boiling in the pot; and before we had been there two hours, the wind began to blow with great violence.  If we had continued at sea that night in our shattered condition, we must have gone to the bottom.  About this time I began to know that there is a God that hears and answers prayer.”

This was the turning point of Newton’s life.  He stepped ashore a changed man.  The crew received a warm welcome from the local villagers on the shores of Lough Swilly. Carpenters went to work repairing the ship. Meanwhile, John Newton visited the city of Derry where he stayed in an “exceeding good house” and attended prayers at Saint Columb’s Cathedral twice a day.  He took communion at the first opportunity, something he approached seriously as an opportunity to dedicate himself to God.