Let the River Run – Derry~Londonderry is the inaugural UK City of Culture. This film was produced for a roadshow to showcase the city, its talent and the fantastic programme of events put on for the City of Culture year. These include The Turner Prize, The Return of Colmcille, Royal Ballet, Lumiere, National Youth Orchestra Residency and the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.
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Music: Let the River Run performed by Mairead Carlin and Damian McGinty
Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring (23 April 2013) unveiled the final route for the Wild Atlantic Way, a new coastal tourism route running from Donegal to Cork.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNjsFzyKJOI
The minister joined Fáilte Ireland to present the final route to 300 top overseas tour operators attending Meitheal 2013, Ireland’s largest tourism trade fair.
The Wild Atlantic Way will be Ireland’s first long-distance driving route, stretching from the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale in Co Cork, and offering future visitors an opportunity to discover the west coast.
The 2,500km final route was unveiled following a comprehensive public consultation process and includes 156 strategically placed discovery points for tourists along the way.
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While the route unveiled today comprises the main spine of the Wild Atlantic Way, a series of looped itineraries off the spine are also planned to further develop the experience for visitors.
Speaking today, Minister Ring said: “The Wild Atlantic Way is a very exciting project and I’m certain it will be a major tourism attraction. But to make it happen we all need to get on board.
“There has been a great response so far and I’m encouraging tourism operators, local authorities, business people and residents to stay involved to get this over the finishing line.”
Overseas tour operators were given an advance ‘sneak-peek’ of the route last night at a Fáilte Ireland welcome event in the Convention Centre Dublin when they were treated to the premiere of the video trailer above to show them just what their clients can expect along the route from next year on.
Paddy Mathews, manager of destination development with Fáilte Ireland, believes the project will be a great addition to what Ireland has to offer visitors.
“Developing a route like this is an important part of ensuring Ireland is able to provide visitors with an unforgettable experience,” he said. “It will open up a huge number of towns and attractions to them and showcase the scenery and unique culture of the West Coast of Ireland providing easy access to a range of experiences along the route.
“Now that the route has been finalised we will be focusing our efforts on turning all this preparatory work into a reality – an international driving route to rival the best in the world.”
Fáilte Ireland has been working with all the local authorities along the West Coast from Donegal to Cork as well as the leader companies, Údaras na Gaeltachta and the Western Development Commission.
Inishowen Roadtrip – Experience the spectacular scenery along the “Inishowen 100” scenic drive. This road trip takes you from Carndonagh town to Malin Head, Ireland’s most northerly point.
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View holiday homes in Inishowen
Local People Exhibition Letterkenny
Art and social history mixed media project that will explore the idea of what connects us all as ‘local people’ in the Derry/Donegal cross-border area. Exhibitions at Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny from April 19th and University of Ulster Derry from June 10th.
Local People is a major art and social history project that will explore the idea of what connects us all as ‘local people’ and the rich diversity of what now constitutes a ‘local person’ in the modern day Derry/Donegal cross-border area. It will feature a broad representation of 40 local residents, telling their stories through film, photography and personal possessions.
The programme will comprise of 2 very large-scale exhibitions at RCC Letterkenny from April 16th to May 25th 2013 and University of Ulster Derry from June 10th to July 6th 2013 to coincide with Derry/Londonderry UK City of Culture.
Local People is based on the model of the very successful Destination Donegal exhibition that was held at the RCC From March to May 2011. It featured the life stories 12 people from around the world who moved to Donegal. According to exhibition Curator Harriet Purkis, “Destination Donegal aimed to re present people’s stories, as if the visitor is ‘getting to know them’ – seeing a life size portrait photograph, listening and watching people talk about their lives, looking at family photographs and things from home, and seeing their clothes.”
Project Team
Harriet Purkis – Curator
Jeremy Howard – Filmmaker
Mitchell Davis – Designer
Declan Doherty – Photographer
Ronan McConnell – Education Facilitator
Charlie Doherty – Assistant Filmmaker
Heading For Malin Inishowen – Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival, May 16-19, will become Ireland’s Most Northerly Film Festival with its move to its new home in Malin, County Donegal. We took a little tour of Guth Gafa’s new surroundings. Malin’s own,The Henry Girls kindly provided the soundtrack.
Video by softirishrain
The Finest Coastal Walking in Ireland
A walk from the isolated beach at Port in Donegal in the far and wild western reaches of Ireland.
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Climbing up Port Hill, passing stunning sea stacks, with far reaching views into the deepest blue of the Atlantic to walk along the top of a long line of cliffs. A magical coastline with jaw dropping places to see and explore, with gulls and seals the only other eyes taking it all in. Climbing to the height of Slievetooey Mountain with views over the rest of Donegal.
The Gathering Short Film Donegal – This film was chosen as the winning entry from the North West Regional Final. It shows the beauty in the scenery of Donegal while focusing on interviews of local personalities and one from further afield. Appearences by Mickey Joe Harte(Musician), Brian Ormond(TV Presenter), Karl Lacey(Donegal footballer) and Francis Brennan(Hotelier).
This film was made by a student of Abbey Vocational School (Bebhinn Naughton)
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Mad Men’s Don Draper explains how technology can help bring a person back in time to a special place in their heart. Download the free cross-platform Donegal App for the beautiful county of Donegal in northwest Ireland and find out for yourself.
With special thanks to the photography of Mark Nolan, Mark Flagler, Emmet McCauley, Matt Britton, Donegal Democrat and anyone else we might have missed – email us and we’ll add you to these credits. Full credit for the original piece belongs to Lionsgate and AMC.
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Fort Dunree Inishowen – Fort Dunree Military Museum Ltd. became the first Republic of Ireland based client for Ulster Community Investment Trust (Ireland) in 2008. Five years on, UCIT commissioned this video to highlight the role this Social Enterprise plays both within its local community and as part of Ireland’s national heritage.
Dunree Fort is located on the west coast of the Inishowen Peninsula, facing across Lough Swilly towards Knockalla Mountain on Fanad Peninsula in North Donegal.
The Irish name for Fort Dunree is Dun Fhraoigh which translates as “Fort of the Heather”. This suggests that this cliff top setting has been an important defensive site down through history. The present day fort is located on a rocky promontory accessed over a natural fissure. The fort was remodeled in 1895 to have 2 x 4.7 inch (119 mm) QF guns below, and later 12 pounder (5 kg) QF and 2 x 6 inch (152 mm) guns in a battery above. The top of a hill overlooking the site was walled in to form a redoubt.
View Holiday Homes in Inishowen
Because of its strategic importance protecting the entrance to the deep waters of Lough Swilly, control of Dunree was retained by Britain after independence was only handed over to the Irish Government in 1938
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