Donegal Town News and Blog

With the Keeney Development at the Magee site and the Kelly development also set to begin, Donegal might come back to life after a few decades of decline. The old cinema on the main street was on the decline for years before it closed, but it was surely missed. With the growing population in Donegal Town it’s important that there’s something else for the young and old to do, besides drink.

Hopefully we’ll get more and more facilities. 

Send in your fight videos, there’s probably a lot of this going on.

A video clip of Donegal students brawling on a school playing pitch has been circulating on mobile phones around the town in recent days. It features pupils wearing Abbey Vocational School uniforms fighting on the school’s all-weather pitch, and outside SuperValu Shopping Centre in Donegal town. Somebody appears to have put effort and time into editing footage of four different fights into a single 50-second film. It opens with a group of teenage boys surrounding two lads who start fighting. Several of the animated onlookers are holding mobile phones with the obvious intention of recording the action. The protagonists trade blows as their classmates egg them on, before the scene switches to the car park outside the Glebe Shopping Centre. It’s not just boys either: the clip also includes footage of two girls kicking and punching each other, tearing at each other’s hair and generally acting in a manner not usually expected of young women. The Abbey Vocational School principal Emmanuel McCormack said his school had a good reputation and hoped that such behaviour by a small number of pupils would not ruin that. “Obviously, any fighting we come across we take action and the pupils are suspended,” he said. “We are appalled, but we take a common sense approach and supervise the best we can. I would hope that the reason the video clip ends after 50 seconds is that a member of staff came along and put a stop to the fighting.” Mr McCormack said fights were not a regular occurrence at the AVS but he acknowledged they happen, and said it was worrying that mobile phones were used to film them. “We have a big area to cover but we’re doing our best with supervision,” he added.

I haven’t been adding anything new to this of late, too busy hunting down perverts. My tar has dried up and I’m staying away from feathers since the bird-flu scare.

Looks like the Donegal Post gave up on their web site…it looks like mine now, only worse.

Not much happening about anyway… 

I wonder what’s been happening with both Ocean FM and Highland Radio’s news sites? Both have been down for the last week or so. They’re obviously run by the same Micky Mouse outfit…the Donegal Post only update their internet news site once a month by the looks of it; the Democrat site is much the same. At least the Donegal Times keeps us up to date with all the planning crap…

This is as big as it gets folks…celebrity spotting in Donegal Town.
Johnny Briggs, the actor who played Mike Baldwin in Coronation Street, visited the Alzheimer Society of Ireland’s office in Donegal Town on Thursday 3rd August. He was there to take part in a Golf Classic in aid of the society organised by Nora and Tommy Gallagher, which was held at Donegal Golf Club in Murvagh.
Taken from the donegaltimes.com website.

Donegal Bay
The Old Abbey, Donegal Town


A snowy Diamond, Donegal Town
Rossnowlagh Beach, near Donegal Town
Donegal Bay Sunset
Donegal Town from waterbus
St. Ernans, Donegal Town
An old view of Donegal Bay


Back in the old days the Coach House was pink. I think Del should go with pink too.

A typical rainy night in Donegal Town.
Some nice pics here, especially the old ones, all ‘borrowed’ from other blogs…thanks to those involved - you know who you are.

Is the dolphin still in the bay? Has he died from the pollution or has he been caught, fried and served up as ‘Donegal Wild Salmon’ to some fat tourists? He had several names but responded to none. Come back Frank, we miss you.

There are big plans for Donegal, but nothing seems to be happening. What’s your views on things?
The local newspaper are always on about the mythical development: ‘Donegal Times is led to believe that, following its editorial in the last issue, seeking a meeting between Keeney and Bennett, a request has been made at high political level to seek contact with both parties. A message delivered to the editor of this paper conveyed the news that one of our most senior ministers is on the job - hopefully this is so! It is our firm conviction that if the principals of those two companies got together and agreed a joint enterprise, it could create the most magnificent, imaginative and aesthetically pleasing town centre in the country. We would sincerely ask Mr Keeney and Mr Bennett to consider the political representations - and give a welcome to the Minister’s suggestions.’
Here’s a story from a few months back about what’s supposed to be happening:
‘Bennett Plan For Donegal Town Dunnes Unveiled’: Plans to bring Donegal Town to the forefront of development in the county are moving one step closer with the plans by Bennett Construction to bring a shopping centre and Dunnes Stores to the town almost complete. The proposed Shopping Centre for Dunnes Stores will be located at the Mullins, Donegal Town. Bennett Construction lodged their replies to Donegal County Council Planners’ request for ‘further information’ in respect of their Planning application for a new shopping centre on Friday of last week. The plans are for a 50,000sqft Dunnes Stores, an additional local centre retail of 20,000sqft, office space of 6,000 sq ft, a wine bar and restaurant, approximately 400 Car parking spaces. Bennetts are now awaiting a positive decision from the planners within the next couple of weeks. If the Planners give it the green light, then construction will start as soon as possible. John White, Development Director at Bennett’s stated that: "In the initial construction phase, 150 people will be employed on site, over an 18 month build period, giving jobs to construction workers and tradesmen while injecting millions into the local economy. On completion, over 350 permanent jobs will be created and millions spent annually on goods and services from local services providers, suppliers and growers. John White added: "It is hoped that there will be no objections as the detailed replies deal with any issues raised in observations. Objections will only delay for an indefinite period the building programme and opening of the centre. This would be a further setback to employment in the Town, that has more than enough employment problems." The Centre when open will attract shoppers to the Town, to the benefit of all, and be a major boost to the Town’s claim to become a Regional growth centre.
This has been going back and forth for months, if not years with no end in sight. Bring back Foodland I say.

The old Castle before the renovations. The Castle is a main tourist pull, but the side wall looks bad, they made a mess of it trying to ‘preserve’ it.