A montage sequence of events that took place in Letterkenny, County Donegal during 2011. The events include Saint Patrick’s Day, The Errigal Arts Festival and Letterkenny Live. Click on the play button and then click on 360p and from the drop down menu select either 720p or 1080p for high definition playback.
The Awakening – Cultural Weekend at Rathmullan House Hotel
Over 3rd 4th & 5th February The Earagail Arts Festival & Rathmullan House Hotel invite you to refresh your mind, body and soul and shake off the post-Christmas blues at our new winter weekend tonic .-The Awakening.
As well as an intimate concert with Rainey Boy Sleep in the Cellar Bar on Friday night, we will be hosting The Snowball-a seasonal Feast of The Senses including performances by Little John Nee and Balkan Alien Sound.
All of this wrapped up in 2 days of interview, debate and discussion on Reinventing The Republic 2016 anchored by Diarmaid Ferriter with David Mc Williams and local contributors.
€185pps. For this you get 2 nights accommodation, tickets to the Snowball on the Saturday night, 2 debates/discussions on the Saturday (1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon) and a light hearted reveiw of the Sunday papers with Paddy Cullivan at noon.
Rathmullan House Hotel
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Filmmakers Jamie Delaney and Keith Nally’s beautiful short, made in collaboration with heritage enthusiast and Acne Paper Editor Charlotte Rey, profile one of the last surviving weaving mills, Molloy & Sons. Based in the windswept County Donegal, Ireland, current father and son duo Sean and Kieran Molloy have a pedigree dating back over six generations and weave premium tweed from the famous Donegal yarn. “I think that with old crafts which are indigenous to areas like this, it’s really hard to divorce them from their landscape,” says Delaney.
Over the course of three days’ filming, Delaney and Rey captured the family’s impressive artisanal skill and dedication to a dwindling industry. Amidst the bleak but beautiful scenery surrounding the mill, the textile masters explained how their authentic Donegal weaves were inspired by the muted tones and flecks of color in the local heather, bracken and wild flowers. “Tweed is part of the cultural DNA in a sense; it’s been there for generations and it’s a pillar of a fabric industry that is now disappearing,” says Rey. “What should really be shining through is the love and the passion of these people.”
Remembering the “big freeze” – some scenes from December 2010 in Rathmullan.
McElhinneys department store invites you to drop in over this festive season for some great gift ideas at affordable prices at Irelands No1 retail store of the year.
McElhinneys wishes you and yours a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous 2012.
McElhinneys Gift Cards can be purchased online at www.mcelhinneys.ie/giftcards.html
Donegal has the potential to be the Blue Flag capital of Ireland with more top internationally recognised beaches than any other county in Ireland.
The county currently has 12 Blue Flag beaches, and lies third in the league table behind Mayo and Kerry, who both have 13.
But Cllr. Liam Blaney believes that Donegal Co. Council should be making every effort to ensure that more beaches in Donegal get the official Blue Flag status.
He claimed that two beaches – Rathmullan and Downings – could become Blue Flag beaches again for relatively little cost.
He pointed out that Rathmullan has a 2 km long beach but had lost its Blue Flag status in 2003, due primarily to problems with water quality. However, the water quality has improved – and has been monitored – and is set to improve further with the completion of the Letterkenny wastewater treatment works at Magherenennan. He added that Rathmullan also has the infrastructure required with toilets, lifeguards, beach management and parking. He contended that there would be little additional cost as water quality samples are already being monitored now.
Downings lost its Blue Flag a number of years ago due to problems on beach with traffic. Prior to this it has been a Blue Flag beach for four years, and he felt that not a lot would be needed to regain that status.
He also felt that Ballyheerin beach in Fanad could also meet the strict criteria.
Speaking at the monthly meeting of Donegal Co. Council in Lifford, Cllr. Blaney tabled a motion calling on the local authority to apply for blue flag status for more of the county’s beaches.
Several other councillors also spoke about the value of the Blue Flag awards and backed Cllr. Blaney’s call.
The Council’s Assistant Director of Water and Environment, Joe Poeples said that there was a marginal cost in “getting some locations over the line” but added that choices need to be made between competing demands.
A report on the matter will be brought back to a Strategic Policy Committee meeting in February.
Cllr. Blaney acknowledged the tight budgetary situation but felt that to have the highest number of blue flags in any county would be a great plus in promoting Donegal.
Congratulations to Pat McMyler and Emma Porter on winning Buncrana GAA’s first ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ event in the Plaza on Sunday night. In a tentative start to the dances, all the couples were understandably nervous, probably due to the rousing welcome they all received by a completely packed house. Although most couples did well in their first dance, scoring accordingly, they all kept their best performances for the second set of dances.
The four judges, Doreen Friel, Donall Henderson, Nicholas Crossan and Martin Mullan probably had the most difficult job of the night in trying to separate the performances of the dancers. The Strictly part of the night ended with presentations to the dancers by Buncrana’s own county football star Ryan Bradley who, accompanied by the Anglo-Celt Cup, received a rapturous welcome.
Click here for photo gallery
One of the biggest showcases of locally produced films ever held in the North West will be launched this week in the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny.
The exhibition highlights 18 short films shot over the past two years as part of the IFI supported “Sharing Stories” project, a collaboration between the Regional Cultural Centre and the Nerve Centre in Derry.
The exhibition will be officially launched at 7pm on this Friday 11th November.
“We have a fantastic line up for the exhibition,” says RCC Director Shaun Hannigan.
“The project has produced films covering everything from Donegal emigration in the 1940s through to Loyalist pipe bands. The standard of work is superb. It provides a really rich insight into life in Donegal and Derry, both past and present, that should be of interest to everyone, young and old.”
Sharing Stories is a cross-border film project initiated in October 2009 with a particular focus on community, youth and minority groups. Among the films to be highlighted at the exhibition are “Brighter Days”, an animation by Letterkenny-native Daniel McGarrigle based on the biography of his grandfather Colm Melly, who emigrated to England in the 1940s and then returned to the North West to raise his family.
“Pride” is a fly-on-the-wall documentary looking at the ‘Pride of the Orange and Blue’ Flute Band from Newbuildings, looking at a typical summer month in the life of its members as they prepare for the 12th of July celebrations.
“Rockhill Remembered” takes an inside look at the social and military history of the battalions stationed at Rockhill House in Letterkenny, while “Rondo Mondo” documents Cafe del Mundo, the hub of Derry’s thriving international community.
The exhibition launch on Friday will be followed by a major one-day seminar on 25th November. As part of this seminar the Regional Cultural Centre and the Nerve Centre have set a social media challenge called “Share My Story” to promote two films using only free social and digital media.
The seminar will also include presentations from Risteard O’Domhnaill, director of the highly-acclaimed documentary “The Pipe” about the Corrib gas pipeline, and Dr. Cathal McLaughlin of the University of Ulster’s film department. The official opening and wine reception will take this Friday and everyone is welcome. The “Sharing Stories” exhibition continues until January 28th, 2012. Opening times are Tuesday to Friday 11am to 5pm, Saturday 1pm to 5pm and admission is free. Details of the one-day seminar on 25th November will be announced shortly.
Sharing Stories is funded by the International Fund for Ireland.
A Youtube video featuring photographs from the 70’s and 80’s of life in Fanad, Co. Donegal. A Flickr gallery featuring wildlife photography from Malin Head area of north Inishowen and on twitter today, Wallace Media video of Dave Gallagher Rugby Legend, Donegal Churches by Liam McCormick and details of a SVT support group setup by a young Buncrana woman.
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