Scéal Dún-na-nGall ar an Idirlíon / County Donegal on the Net News News Vol.8 No.9 September, 2007    Holiday In Donegal!

First Donegal woman to swim the English Channel Congratulations to Donegal woman Ann Marie Ward who made history on September 6th when she became the first Donegal woman to swim the English Channel and only the fourth Irish woman in history to swim the channel. The Portnablagh woman spent over 20 hours in rough seas to raise money for the Donegal Hospice. Anne Marie Ward is Regional Development Manager for Training and Occupational Support Services for people with disabilities. She manages the Rehabilitative Training Programme and Sheltered Work Programme in counties Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim. Anne Marie has worked in social and vocational rehabilitation for the past 14 years. Last year Ann Marie partook in the first Round Ireland swim with her brother Ryan and fellow Donegal swimmer, Henry O'Donnell. Flight of the Earls Commemorations conclude The conclusion of the Flight of the Earls 400th anniversary commemorations will take place during September to coincide with the anniversary of the Flight from Rathmullan on September 14th, 1607. A walk from Donegal Town to Rathmullan will take place from Sept. 13th to 16th to commemorate the walk undertaken by Rory O'Donnell in Sept. 1607. This event will include parades, Camping and a medievil banquet. For more information see Walking Ireland. A performance of Brian Friel's 'Making History' is itself making history when the play is staged in Dungannon Castle where O'Neill was born and bred. After the Flight of the Earls the castle was razed to the ground. The play will then travel to the fort at Rathmullan on September 13th, the eve of the original flight. If you fancy a more exacting experience you can retrace the route the Earls took in 1607 and actually sail from Rathmullan to France for €750. aboard the Jennie Johnson. The ship departs on September 17th. For more information see Flight of the Earls. The Donegal Woman by John Throne A 'Must Read' for everyone with an interest in Donegal Shannon's loss is Donegal's gain? The move of Aer Lingus’ compulsory transatlantic stopover from Shannon to Belfast in March of next year has been welcomed by tourism ventures in Ulster. People involved in the tourism industry in Donegal, Derry and the rest of Ulster now hope that the Aer Lingus move will bring more US tourists to the northern half of Ireland, long neglected as a tourism destination because of the lack of direct flights during 'the troubles'. Global Warming Reaches Ireland Ireland's climate is heating up twice as fast as anywhere else in the world with temperatures here rising by 0.42 degrees every decade. The revelations were contained in a major new report published by the Environmental Protection Agency. Dr John Sweeney, of the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Unit (ICARUS) at NUI, Maynooth, said that our climate was warming up at twice the rate of the global average as the country had remained cooler far longer than elsewhere because of our geographical location vis a vis the Atlantic and the Arctic. As a result Ireland is rapidly catching up in the global warming stakes at a time when the Arctic Sea ice is being decimated at the rate of 2.7% per cent per decade. Inishowen recycling In the light of media reports that materials from recycling centres in Inishowen are going to landfill, Donegal County Council has stated unequivocally that this is not the case. Suzanne Tinney, the Council’s Waste Awareness Officer, said 'Materials collected for recycling at the Carndonagh Civic Amenity Site are not sent to landfill.' Suzanee explained that the majority of materials collected are glass, cans, textiles, paper, plastic, tetra pak, cardboard along with batteries, waste oils, fluorescent light bulbs, etc. Glass that is collected from the County's bring banks network and Civic Amenity Sites is initially picked through to remove contaminants. The Council would again remind the public that material deposited in the bring banks are rinsed out and free from food residue. It is also very important that the correct glass colours are deposited into the correct banks as this is also contamination that needs to be removed before reprocessing.