|
|
|
Vol.2 No.7 October/ November - Samhain 2000 (This page is archived as it initially appeared online - any broken links are subsequent to publication) Fiddlers Festival The Glenties Fiddlers' Festival took place in early October and was, as usual, a huge success with fiddlers from throughout Donegal attending the 4 day (and night!) event. Fiddlers present included the Campbells, Vincent, Jimmy and Peter; James Byrne; Dermot McLaughlin; Tommy Peoples and Francie O Maonaigh. A number of young Irish, Scottish and American fiddlers attended the Fiddling Master classes during the day while the evening sessions lasted till morning! Donegal New York Champions! For the first time since 1992, Donegal are champions of the New York Gaelic Football league after they beat their Munster rivals Kerry at Gaelic Park, NY. If we had the same team here we could win the all-Ireland again! Come back lads! Inishowen Residents demand adequate water supply Residents of Derestegney, Kinnego, Sledrin and Meenagorey protested at Ballymacarry where work was supposed to commence on the interconnector from Fullerton Pollan Dam to Newtoncunningham. The Inishowen residents say that 500 local homes are without adequate water supplies as it is and that the Council must find a steady supply for them before pumping water away from the area. Marine Services and Tourism Centre for Maheraroarty Work has commenced on a new centre for the Tory Island Ferry dock at Maheraroarty which will boost tourism between the island and the mainland. The project is expected to be ready before next summer and will compliment the harbour development on the island. Aranmore Island twinned with Beaver Island, Michigan The people of Aranmore Island have refostered their links with Beaver Island, Lake Michigan where hundreds of their ancestors emigrated in the mid-19th century, including members of the McCauley, Gallagher, Boyle, Green and O'Donnell families. The official twinning was sanctioned by the Michigan State Legislature and Donegal County Council. See Arainn Mhór.com Anti-Pylon Protestors are Granted Public Hearings The Alternatives To Poles and Pylons movement have been given dates for two Oral Hearings to take place at Ostan na Rossan, Dungloe following their appeal to the Irish planning board to stop the erection of 100km of electric poles and pylons through west Donegal by the ESB, a semi-state company. The first hearing against the sub-station at Arduns will take place from Tuesday 28th of November to Friday the 1st of December while the Hearing on the overhead line (which will stretch across 100km of Donegal's most scenic areas) will be held from Tuesday 5th of December to Friday the 8th of December, 2000. While the ATP group welcome the opportunity to let An Bord Pleanala see and hear the objections of the local people to the overground scheme, the fact that there are two Oral Hearings will double the costs for the voluntary group as the issues of health, land devaluation and the loss of tourism revenue are the same in both cases. Ninety five per cent of the submissions to the Planning Appeals Board do not support the development which would cut through 115 of West Donegal's townlands, 20% of the total, through a 1000 landowners property and near tens of thousands of homes. The ATP group is made up of farmers, parents, teachers, business people and artists, a cross section of Donegal society, people who are entitled to a quality electricity supply but who demand that one of the prime assets of our County, the unspoilt scenic beauty, is not sacrificed in the name of progress! What is progress if not the will of the people? In this day and age the people are entitled to be heard yet it would appear that certain politicans are not listening to the local people. Donegal County Council, who granted planning permission for this obscene development, have blantantly ignored the wishes of their constituents throughout the County. This is a local election issue and the councillors should look to their votes! At a national level all political parties bar Fianna Fail see the folly of the overground scheme and have spoken against it, including Dinny McGinley of Fine Gael, Independents Tom Gildea and Harry Blaney, Sinn Fein politicians Gerry Adams and Caoimhin O'Caolain and Brian O'Donnell of Udaras na Gaeltachta. The ATP are planning a series of public protests throughout the County in the coming weeks. The Oral Hearings are open to the general public and people are urged to attend and stop the destruction of Donegal! If you would like posters to put on your property objecting to the overground scheme email [email protected] If you wish to help by making a donation to the Appeal fund you can send a cheque or postal order to: ATP GROUP, Account no. 82529441, Bank of Ireland, Dungloe, County Donegal, Ireland. Villanova Honours Donegal Man Villanova University, Philadelphia is to honour Donegal man of letters (and County.Donegal.net Newsletter subscriber!) James Harvey with a medallion of Arts and Sciences at a special cermony at the University on November 4th. Harvey emigrated from Doorin, Mouncharles with his family at the age of fifteen in 1958 and since graduating from Villanova and Pittsburg Universities in the late 1960's he has pioneered good education practise and the provision of education grants to allow the poor to attend university throughout America. See Harvey's website Legacy of Learning Runctions in the County Council Independent TD and County Councillor Tom Gildea continues to call for an enquiry into planning in County Donegal. Deputy Gildea has declined to elaborate on why he wants the inquiry but says that he is collating a folio of complaints which are being submitted to him by members of the public in Donegal. Deputy Gildea's calls have sent a shiver of anger through the Donegal County Council who, in an unprecidented move, voted not to allow any allegations into the public domain until they had been first investigated by the County Manager. Councillor Gildea was the only objector to the vote while Fine Gael Councillor Sean Maloney is flabbergast that the Council voted not to continue to investigate his allegations while he is on holiday abroad! Bernadette Madden at Cavanacor An exhibition of Bernadette Madden's semi-abstract batiks, based on her travels in Greenland, are currently showing at Cavanacor Gallery, Ballindrait until November 12th. Mamore Gap Under Attack I was aghast to see two articulated lorrys loading stone from the roadside at the top of Mamore Gap in Inishowen in recent weeks. Anyone who knows the area will know that the road through the Gap is surrounded by loose boulders and that the removal of same could cause a landslide. I approached the men who were removing the stone and they said that they were removing the stone at the behest of the owner! No-one owns Mamore Gap and, even if they did, the removal of stone from beneath the pile is highly irresponsible and certainly illegal, so close as it is to the road and to a nearby Holy Well. If you see somebody damaging the environment in Donegal - let us know and we will Name and Shame Them! Independents seeks Government Deal for Donegal Independent Deputy Harry Blaney is meeting with Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, to review his support for the Government and will voice his growing concern at the lack of basic infrastructures in the County. Independent Deputies Gildea and Blaney are 2 of only 4 independents in the Dail (Irish parliament) who together hold the balance of power, making County Donegal a pivotal area for the ruling party Fianna Fail in the next general election. The various parties in Donegal are beginning to name their candidates for the next election which is scheduled for early 2002 but which is expected to take place much sooner. Women's Loan Fund An interest free women's loan fund has been established by the Special programme for Peace & Reconciliation to assist business women in Donegal. Details of the fund can be obtained by emailing Anne Turbett, the Womens Business Advisor of the Donegal County Enterprise Board. See the New Selection of Donegal Books, CDs and Sweaters in the Donegal County Shop.  Donegal's Internet Solutions Provider! ADVERTISING: This Newsletter is free from © Dún na nGall.com 2000 If you have news to contribute to this Newsletter or are interested in advertising on the Web Site and/or in this Newsletter email . Return to Newsletter Index |