Dunfanaghy

by

Community spirit helps save lives in Falcarragh

More than 100 people packed into Ionad Naomh Fionnan community centre, Falcarragh, Donegal recently to support selfless volunteers known as ‘First Responders,’ ordinary people who receive basic medical training and help in emergency situations.

Attended by infants and the elderly alike, the ‘Light Up A Star’ event, hosted by Buíon Cheoil Sinsear Chloich Cheann Fhaola, the Senior band, was an evening of high-quality music and singing acts, all from the Cloughaneely area. Emcee was the talented Aoife McNichle, senior band member. 

Ranging from traditional Irish songs and music to contemporary ballads, some composed by performers, the acts included the Cloughaneely Senior and Junior Bands, singers Cora Moore, Clíona Gallagher, Darren O’Halloran, Sarah McGeever, Conor O’Ghallchoir and Hannah McFadden, the local Comhaltas group and Don E Gals, a trio of female ukulele players. Patricia Harley and Annette McPaul read poignant prose passages as Gaeilge and as Bearla from the stage.

“First Responders provide a vital service to the community and we were delighted to show our support,” said Aine Quigg, secretary of the band, who also praised all the volunteers involved in the evening’s fund-raising event, including Patricia Harley, principal of Scoil Náisiúnta Gort an Choirce (Gortahork National School). “Being in a rural area, ambulances from Letterkenny and Dungloe can take quite a while to get here so the work of ‘First Responders’ can be the difference between life and death, where seconds, not just minutes, count.” This was only the second such concert organised by Buíon Cheoil Sinsear Chloich Cheann Fhaola, the firt being last year, which helped raise funds for the band’s tour of New York.

As for Falcarragh ‘First Responders’ group, it was founded ten years ago by Shaun Boylan, who is the group’s co-ordinator, Hugo McFadden, both of whom are Instructor Safety Divers at Effective Offshore, and Maureen Gallagher. It is one of over 350 such groups nationwide, with the local one now having 15 active members, four men and 11 women, who respond to 100-120 call-outs a year in a radius of about seven kilometres around Falcarragh, including the Magheraroarty and Derryconor and all the way to Corcreggan Mill, near near Dunfanaghy.

The emergencies they deal with could range from heart attacks to choking and strokes. There has, unfortunately, been a fall in the number of volunteers as there were around 32 before Covid hit, which is why the group is now seeking new members. 

‘Receiving no government funding, we’re grateful for this generous response from the community we serve, the funds help with training and buying and maintaining life-saving defibrillators, which we’ve expanded from only one when we started to fifteen now, which are placed in various businesses and schools throughout the area,” said Shaun proudly.

“All volunteers are closely vetted and receive training in various aspects of emergency medicine, including the use of defibrillators, how to recognise people suffering strokes, and so on.”

The community event also honoured local people who have died recently. Candles on stage featured the faces of 13-year-old Enya McMurrough from Gortahork who passed suddenly in February and was a member of the junior band and beloved daughter of senior band member, Fionnuala.

And Jamie Diver and Shaun Martin McClafferty, sons of Roise Diver and Sharon McClafferty, who died in a tragic collision. Their deaths occurred within weeks of each other. 

“It was with heavy hearts we organised this fund-raising event,” said Aine Quigg. “In fact, we weren’t even sure if we should go ahead with it due to the tragic deaths. It was a bad year because of this. But after speaking with the bereaved families, we all decided it was best to remember those who had passed.”

The evening’s event also featured a special ‘Remembrance Tree,’ a Christmas tree hung with white stars with the names of deceased loved ones on them which local people purchased to support ‘First Responders.”

Printed on the event programme for the evening were the words, “As we light these stars, we remember those we miss dearly. May these small lights remind us that love shines on.”

‘First Responders’ welcomes new volunteers. If interested, contact falcarraghdefib@gmail.com or Mobile 0861013304.

by

Theatrical triumph for the talented Cloughaneely Players in Donegal

What a theatrical triumph this past weekend for local amateur drama company, The Cloughaneely Players, who meet close to my home here in the scenic northwest corner of Donegal.

Not only did they host a superb re-enactment, complete with costumes and wigs, of James Joyce’s classic short story ‘The Dead’ set in 1904 in a most enjoyable manner, but they transformed a rural Donegal house into a 19th century multi-stage setting using most of the rooms in the house, both upstairs and downstairs, for various scenes.

Many congratulations to director Carmel MacGill, consultant director Murray Learmont, choreographer Caroline McGee, and more than twenty talented local amateur actors and musicians for a superb show.

And keep in mind, we’re not talking about well-paid West End or Broadway professional performers (though you might be mistaken that they were). We’re talking about a local bartender, a teacher, a nurse, a doctor or two, a real estate broker, a hypno-therapist, even a retired revenue sheriff, and many others, all of whom bring sheer enthusiasm and passion into treading the boards.

Here’s a few photographs to illustrate the weekend’s entertainment. 

I’ve written a much more comprehensive article in tribute to these delightful women and men for this Thursday’s edition of the Donegal News on the Digest page so pick up a copy and have a read and rejoice we have such talented artists among us.

And don’t miss out on their next production. The tickets will be red hot, so buy early. No doubt they’ll be sold for high prices on the international black market.

Thank you to Catriona Kelly, Jake Campbell McLaughlin and Maggie McKinney for photographs.

by

Bunbeg, once pretty, now disfigured

Once pretty, Bunbeg is looking more and more like a toothless old hag.

Derelict spaces, decrepit ‘For Sale’ signs and boarded up, empty and run-down buildings have pockmarked its once thriving main street.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The iconic, century-old Seaview Hotel, which employed over 108 people seven years ago (talk of Cayman Islands and meat debts has no place in this blog), stands empty and forlorn this week , joining a heap of other ‘deadwoods’ on the street  – a once popular restaurant opposite and three other nearby hotels, The Errigal View, the Ostan Gaoth Dobhair and The Brookvale, as well as a mix of shops, bars and cafes, all now closed and crumbling.

Ironically, one of the few buildings to be renovated and opened on the main street is the constituency office of Fine Gael TD and former Gaeltacht, Arts and Tourism Junior Minister Dinny McGinley, the man who proudly pronounced this week, “We’re on the cusp of a new golden era of tourism.”

colaj good

Talk about poor timing.

Not to mention poor positioning. McGinley’s office lies a mere 50 yards from the deserted Seaview Hotel, first established in 1904.

News this week of the Seaview’s demise is a stark reminder of the abnegation by Udaras, the area’s main economic regeneration group, of its prime responsibility for creating  jobs, including those in the hospitality sector, with Gearoid O’Smaolain its main tourism development officer.

Eamon McBride, former President of the Gaoth Dobhair Chamber of Commerce, put it simply: “the area is crying out for more attractions.”

Job losses, lack of transparency

Aside from the 35 jobs, both full and part-time, lost at the Seaview this week, hundreds have been lost at other Udaras-sponsored businesses such as Largo Foods, Nuance and Sioen Apparel over the last few years. In fact, the Udaras Donegal office has performed consistently worse than any other Gaeltacht region in Ireland in terms of its job-creation record.

Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty this week called on the Government to immediately publish the findings of a delayed report by a working group tasked with examining job creation in the Gaoth Dobhair area. One hopes he will demand the same of the local Udaras office. Only then, can the organisation be properly analyzed to ascertain if the public is getting ‘bang for its buck,’ or if drastic changes need to be made internally if it is found that employees lack the skills-set necessary for the important task at hand.

photo and chart good

Gaeltacht disintegration

The intriguing part of the sad saga surrounding what is, in effect, economic mismanagement of the Irish-speaking area, is that while towns within it, such as Gortahork, Falcarragh and Bunbeg, are literally peeling apart, both economically and physically, Dunfanaghy, just outside the borders of the Gaeltacht, is riding a wave, with bars and cafes enjoying a boost in trade, especially at weekends – without the benefit of public funding of any kind.

While Udaras Donegal announced this week it will release proposals for economic development, observers say this is more a cosmetic exercise aimed at organisational survival than a serious attempt at strategic innovation and staff revision – that it has not even hosted a single open public meeting to ascertain the views of ordinary people, the very people who pay for its running costs. Interestingly though, while widespread job losses have occurred in Udaras-sponsored companies in Donegal, no such losses have occurred within the local Udaras office itself.

Based on its operational history (see above graph), should we accept as normal that out of its seven million euro budget for this year as announced by Udaras officials, two-thirds go towards salaries, pensions and expenses, and the remaining one-third only to economic and language development?

Is it not long past time this organisation came under closer public scrutiny and thus be made more accountable?