29th August 2026
On Wednesday 19th of August 2026, the re-dedication of the WW1 Memorial, erected originally in 2014 by the Letterkenny Communitiy Heritage Group, took place in Sentry Hill. The original memorial, a stone sculpture by local artist Redmond Herrity, was destroyed by vandals, as was its replacement, a pair of joined hands. The hands were recently repaired and the group took the opportunity to have a re-dedication ceremony during Heritage Week. Mons Kevin Gillespie and COI minister Adrian Dorrian read prayers and the Last Post was played by Ian Behan.
The group of about 50 attendees then adjourned to Conwal Church Parish Hall where Gerard McGlynn, of the Heritage Group gave an account of the effect of the war on some of the lives and families of Letterkenny. The names of the 92 people from Donegal who lost their lives during WW1 were read out by some of the Heritage Group members. Comdt Declan O'Carroll spoke about WW1 from the military perspective and this was followed by a very poignant rendition of "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda", by John Doherty and Chris Duddy. Brian Walsh acted as MC for the evening, and kept proceedings moving along very smoothly.
Ali Moore and his committee of Liz and Valerie provided tea and sweet treats and all agreed that it was a very enjoyable and memorable evening.
Photos courtesy of Tony Nee
For more photos see the Archive page
🔗 • Link29th August 2026
An evening of history, stories and memories at the Letterkenny Community Heritage Group event, A Stroll Through the Foot of the Town, on Friday 21st August as part of Heritage Week.
Colm McDaid talked about the history and importance of the Old Town Bridge and Mike Sheehan from the Letterkenny Toastmasters gave an account of the part the railways played in the development of the town.
On through Larkins Lane to Lower Main Street where Gerard McGlynn, talked about the Devlin Hall and how this venue was the only real entertainment space for the people of Letterkenny and beyond until the arrival of the Fiesta Ballroom.
The Old RIC Barracks was next, and Colm McDaid gave a fascinating history of the building, based on the research of retired Garda Joe Lynch.
Johnny Joe McCollum regaled us with tales of the people and businesses of the Foot of the Town, and the tour concluded with a talk by Mairead Hennesey on the River Swilly, and what it has meant to the locals and it's importance to Letterkenny.
The Station House Hotel was the venue for the tea and refreshments and this was followed by launch of the Letterkenny Community Heritage Group's new interactive Heritage Trail of Letterkenny.
A most informative and enjoyable evening!
🔗 • Link21st August 2026
“ I wasnt the only one “ these word were often spoken by Letterkenny man William Doherty . William served in the war . William returned from the war. He spoke these modest words in respose to questions asked of him about his experiences in World War One.
William was one of nine children born to Maurice and Eliza ( Lizzy ) Doherty of Sentry Hill in the town.
The Doherty family have an incredible story to tell of sacrifice in World War One.
They lived on Sentry Hill adjacent to the cathedral.
The family consisted of nine children , seven boys and two girls.
Their father Maurice was a local shoemaker.
When World War one broke out four of the boys served in the army following in the footsteps of thousands of others throughout the country. Major Baillie was appointed as recruitment officer for Donegal and he requested that recruitment drives were held after religious services on a Sunday for all denominations with bigger recruitment meetings taking place at the Market Square in Letterkenny often with a military band present and soldiers on parade.
While some young men joined up for political reasons either in support or in opposition to Home Rule most joined up out of a sense of adventure , the chance to travel and because their friends were joining up.One Irish soldier said : “ I went to the war for no other reason than that I wanted to see what war was like, to get a gun, to see new countries and to feel like a grown man “
When young men joined up to serve in the army they had to be turned into soldiers and this involved doing their basic training .
The Doherty brothers because they joined the Inniskilling Fusiliers would have been trained in Finner camp in Ballyshannon. When their training was finished three of the brothers were marched with their battalion all the way from Finner camp in Ballyshannon to Randalstown in Antrim taking three days en route to Belfast Liverpool and finally France.
With basic training completed they would have been sent to the battlefields.They were there exposed to the most horrific conditions under regular shellfire which was the biggest killer and facing German machine guns when they were ordered out of the trenches and ordered to advance at walking speed in a straight line across no mans land into the teeth of german machine gun fire
Seeing friends and comrades killed on a daily basis and many more suffering some horrific wounds on the battlefield with some disabled for life at a very young age.
They lived in appalling conditions with constant damp clothing and footwear, the effects of lice infestation in their clothing with rats everywhere thriving on decaying corpses in no mans land.
One army chaplain wrote “ you will never understand the horrors of war unless you see it for yourself”
The Doherty family paid a very high price during the war. Of the four brothers who served three were killed in action
Daniel was the first to die. Having achieved the rank of Lance corporal and serving in the 11th battalion he was killed on the first day of the battle of the Somme the 1st of July. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval monument. He was 26 years old.
James was the next to die. Having achieved the rank of corporal with the 11th battalion he was killed on the 16th August 1917. He also has no known grave and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot memorial in Belgium.
John who was a regular soldier before the war would have been the first sent off to where he was needed , serving initially in the horrific conditions in Gallipoli where there was a huge loss of life.
He was then sent to France. He achieved the rank of Company Quartermaster sergeant , a considerable level of resposibility.
While serving with the 1st Battalion he was killed on 22nd March 2018.
His grave was formally identified in 2024 in Savy military cemetery in France and some family members travelled to a dedication service in the cemetery.
Daniel and James have no known grave to this day.
William the fourth brother was the only one to survive the war. He was very badly wounded spending many weeks in hospital settings in order to recover from his wounds. He even suffered a bout of amnesia. He eventually made his way back home to Letterkenny much to the delight of his family and friends. William went on to work as a postman here in Letterkenny and lived until 1974.
It was William who often said “ I wasnt the only one “when asked about the war.
When we look at the Doherty family and what they endured during the war it is hard to imagine the pain and anguish they must have gone through with such a loss. We have a widowed mother trying to come to terms with the loss of three sons and also having to care for younger children at home. This was a woman who faced a daily battle to bring some sort of normality to the day to day life in her home for the rest of the family. Hopefully she got great support from the local community in the town at the time.
She did not even have a grave to visit to bring some level of comfort to herself and the family.
Eliza died in 1920 just two years after the end of the war.
The rest of the family Edward , Mary, Maurice Jr and Annie continued to live out ther lives in Letterkenny.
The WW1 monument in Letterkenny is dedicated to those who served and died in the war and no family deserves more recognition than the Doherty family.
We must never forget their sacrifice. Rest in Peace.
WE WILL REMEMBER YOU
The Letterkenny Community Heritage Group would like to note that the image in this article is courtesy of the Doherty family.
🔗 • Link21st August 2026
WORLD WAR ONE MONUMENT
Wounds of the World
This monument was erected to the memory of the local young men from Letterkenny who served in World War One 1914 -1918.
It consists of two hands joined in prayer on a plinth.
It is located in Cathedral square adjacent to the historic Conwal Parish Church of Ireland and St. Eunans Cathedral.
It is there in recognition of their service and sacrifice during one of the most brutal conflicts of the twentieth century.
It was commissioned by the Letterkenny Community Heritage Group.
When the war began there was a huge effort by the government to recruit men to join the army , this included recruitment rallys around the country with rousing speeches being made and often the presence of a miltary band , the biggest parades were held in Letterkenny Market Square , Donegal Town and Carndonagh. A Major Bailey was the army recruitment coordinator for Co.Donegal. There was also a presence outside churches like the cathedral and other Letterkenny places of worship on Sundays to encourage young men to join up. Men of all denominations joined up to fight .
While some young men joined up for political reasons either in support or in opposition to Home Rule most joined up out of a sense of adventure , the chance to travel and because their friends were joining up.
There was even a sense of urgency in some cases as the war was predicted to be over by Christmas.
One Irish soldier said : “ I went to the war for no other reason than that I wanted to see what war was like, to get a rifle , to see new countries and to feel like a grown man.”
Often maried men saw the chance of a good basic wage with an allowance payable to their wives and including a payment for each child. This was very tempting and caused a lot of men to enlist knowing while they were away fighting in this war their family was being looked after and have a sense of security.
They would have had their basic training in places like Finner camp in Ballyshannon , Enniskillen barracks and Ebrington barracks in Derry.
When basic training was finished they were then sent out to the battlefields of France or Belgium and further afield.
Nothing could prepare these young men from Letterkenny for what they were about to see and endure in the trenches.
This was war on an industrial scale involving high explosive shells , machine guns, chemical weapons and even the new fangled aeroplane.
Shells were the biggest killer , they could kill , injure and maim , many soldiers returned from the war with permanent disabilities.
They caused the biggest number of psychological trauma cases as well due to the stress and trauma of shellfire , seeing friends and colleagues being killed or seriously injured and thinking to yourself “ when is it my turn.?“
One soldier spoke of a shell landing in a trench and and killing several soldiers yet he was completely unharmed apart from being deaf for three days.
Machine guns were the next big killer , thousands of soldiers were killed when ordered over the top and out of their trenches towards German lines , most of these attacks achieved very little.
Many questioned the tactical planning and decisions made by senior officers in what they were trying to achieve.
One quotation from the time was about these young soldiers was “lions led by donkeys.
One German officer wrote to his wife during the Battle of the Somme describing these attacks , he said : they just kept coming , they just kept coming , our machine guns cut them down , our machine guns ran red hot.
Irish soldiers displayed incredible bravery on the battlefield and earned the respect and admiration of other regiments and officers commanding.
Gas was another horrific weapon , it caused a slow agonising death , it melted the lungs , caused blindness and severe burns on skin leaving many soldiers who survived the attacks and the war with life long breathing and sight problems.
They lived in appalling conditions with constant damp clothing and footwear, the effects of lice infestation in their clothing with rats everywhere thriving on decaying corpses in no mans land .
What helped them to cope was a strong sense of camraderie , dark humour and for many a strong sense of faith.
At one very large meeting in Letterkenny Market Square speakers outlined the atrocities being committed by German troops on Belgian civilians which led to a surge in recruitment numbers. Belgian refugees arrived in Letterkenny and were welcomed by the locals at the local railway station, they were given a hot meal in the old technical school on lower main street and were accomodated in new council houses in Ballymacool for the duration of the war.
Of course war comes with a price. Local brothers who lost their lives were David and Robert Dobson from Ballymacool , Charles and Paddy Doherty from the High Road , Charles and John Stewart from Rockhill house.
170 young men from the area joined up with 91 paying the ultimate price.
One of the most poignant losses of the war locally was 3 out of 4 brothers who served : Daniel , James and John Doherty from Sentry Hill were killed , only one brother William came back from the war having being badly wounded, a devastating tragedy for one family. Its hard to imagine the grief and pain the loss of three sons for this poor mother who was already a widow and had been rearing her family on her own. She did not even have a grave to visit locally. William the surviving son went through the horrors of war himself and then came home to a family without three of his brothers.
Only one son John has a grave in France.
Willam the surviving son went on to become a postman in Letterkenny, living until 1974.
(See seperate article on the website regarding the Doherty brothers)
One of the most well known local soldiers was Private James Duffy originally from Gweedore who ended up living in Bonagee Letterkenny.
James was awarded the ultimate award for bravery the Victoria Cross for his actions under fire as a stretcher bearer in Palestine when he went into No Mans Land under heavy fire and rescued two young soldiers bringing them to an aid station and thereby saving their lives.
A house adjacent to this monument in Castle Street in front of the cathedral has a plaque dedicated to his memory.
Women too played a part in the conflict , we know women locally in Donegal collected sphagnum moss which was used as a field dressing to treat wounds.
Many worked as nurses and nurses aides in military hospitals.
A nurse Black from Ramelton served in miltary hospitals in France during the war.
One young irish nurse who volunteered to work in a military hospital speaking about her first days there and while changing the dressing on a young soldier with a severe facial injury from a shell she felt very faint when she saw the injury and made a quick excuse to get out of the ward in case she would faint in front of him causing him more embarrassment.
Many women left behind on a farm or in a business also stepped up and took on the roles of their absent menfolk.
As the war finally came to an end in November 1918 with the signing of an armistice these young men returned home they found a different Ireland from when they left .
Support and sympathy towards those who had enlisted and gone to fight in the trenches was greatly reduced as people here had a change of attitude after the 1916 Easter Rising. Also the threat of conscription being extended to Ireland further alienated people from the government and its policies.
Many soldiers on return kept a low profile and never spoke of their actions during the war.
Many returning soldiers were already traumatised by the war. One Dublin wife said....
“When my husband came home from the war for the last time in uniform he came into the house , he spoke to no one but went upstairs to change and after a while came down carrying his uniform , we had a range in the kitchen and he went over to it and burned his uniform piece by piece and he never spoke of the war again”.
It was only in more recent years that we in this country began to acknowledge the sacrifice made by these young men and their families .
It is only fitting we have a monument here in Letterkenny to remember the 91 local men who died and also to remember those who served and were able to come back home after an horrific war.
There is a lovely memorial plaque and window in the Church of Ireland adjacent to the monument.
It is truly fitting that their service and sacrifice are never forgotten and this monument strives to achieve that.
Feel free to visit the monument , sit for a while and reflect on the sacrifice and service of these young men from Letterkenny .
Rest in Peace you are remembered.
See video on the monument on the Community Heritage website.
We would like to thank the Imperial War Museum for the use of their images in the video.
🔗 • Link3rd August 2026
Letterkenny Community heritage Group is excited to be involved in Heritage Week again this year!
We have two events on - The Dedication of the WW1 Memorial on Wednesday 19th of August at 7 30 pm, where a short service will take place, followed by the sounding of the last post. Refreshments will be served in Conwal Parish Church Hall following the dedication service.
Then on Friday 21st of August, at 7 30pm, we will have a walking tour of "The Foot of the Town", an overlooked part of our town, which falls into the "Heritage at Risk" theme of Heritgae Week this year. We will hear about the former RIC barracks and about many of the businesses and industrial work that was carried on in that area. We'll hear stories of some of the former residents of Lower Main Street and the history of the Oldtown, as well as finding out about the importance of the River Swilly and the rail network to this part of the town.
Then, we'll adjourn to the Station House Hotel where refreshments will be served and our new Heritage Trail Brochure will be launched!
Last year it was the launch of our new website www.letterkennyheritage.ie, and this year, we are following it up with the brochure which will have a QR code taking visitors to the videos on our website, informing them about each of the points of interest on the trail.
We're looking forward to seeing you at our Heritage Week events!
🔗 • Link14th July 2026
The Workhouse - Shadows of Poverty
St Eunan's College - A Seat of Learning
Sentry Hill - Watchers in the Mist
World War One Monument - The Wounds of the World
St. Eunan's Cathedral - Stones of Faith
Conwal Parish Church - Centuries of Service
Market Square - The Town's Living Room
Speer's Shop - Threads of Time
Blake's Bar - A Pint of Yore
Trinity Presbyterian Church - Lectern of Worship
The Old Courthouse - Judgement and Journey's End
🔗 • Link19th May 2026
There were three prize winners from 5th Class in Woodland NS in the recent art competition run by Letterkenny Community Heritage Group. The competition was seeking pictures from children in the local primary schools, to be included in the new Letterkenny Heritage Trail brochure. The standard of entry was very high and we are pleased to say that the winning entries form Woodland NS and Scoil Cholmcille are with the printers now to be incorporated into the new brochure.
A huge thank you to Enda Nicholls for supplying vouchers for Arena 7 for the winners of the competition.
Included in the picture from L-R Back Ms Breda Kelly, 5th Class teacher, MS Patricia Slevin, Principal Woodland NS, Ms Joanne McLaughlin LCHG, and Ms Eimer Shea, LCHG.
The three prize-winners are Emily, Alex and Farah.
🔗 • Link27th April 2026
Antheanne, a 5th class pupil in Ms Emer Byrne's class was awarded a prize of a voucher from Arena 7 for her beautiful picture which will be featured in the new Letterkenny Heritage brochure.
Present were Ms Emer Byrne, teacher, Antheanne, Joe Dorrian, Joanne McLaughlin and Brian Walsh of LCGH, and principal Pauric Cannon.
🔗 • Link22nd January 2026
Teacher, historian and author, Niall McGinley has been honoured with the installation of a seat in Sentry Hill, Letterkenny.
Letterkenny Community Heritage Group commissioned McCaul Memorials to create and install a granite seat in recognition of Niall's contribution to the people of the town through his work as a teacher and for sharing his passion for the history and heritage with the community.
Brian Walsh was the MC for the event and Johnny Joe McCollum, Chairperson of the Heritage Group, welcomed Niall and his family and thanked him on behalf of the people of Letterkenny for his contribtion to the history of the town through his writing, and for his enthusiasm for the subject.
Monsignor Kevin Gillespie, County Councillors Donal Kelly, Donal Coyle and Tomás Sean Devine were in attendance, as well as members of the Community Heritage Group and members of the public.
🔗 • Link21st August 2025
Letterkenny Community Heritage Group, in association with Letterkenny Toastmasters, hosted a "A Walk Around Letterkeny" on Monday 18th August as part of Heritage Week. There were four different stops with different aspects of Letterkenny's history and heritage discussed. A large crowd of about fifty people, gathered at Letterkenny Museum, formerly the workhouse, for the first of the stops. Jeremy Worth from the Toastmasters gave an account of what life was like in the workhouse in the 1800s, how the place was run and how the building has been used since the workhouse closed down in the 1920s.The tour then proceeded up the steps beside the Museum, to the peaceful memorial garden in honour of those who died in the workhouse, following the Famine.
From there, the tour moved, through Ard O'Donnell, to the grounds of Conwal Parish Church, where Brian Walsh, from LCHG gave a brief history of the church and Protestantism in Letterkenny. He also spoke about Dr John Kinnear, a Presbyterian minister who was the first cleric to be an MP and who championed the rights of tenants. Dr Kinnear is buried in the grounds of Conwal Parish church. Brian also gave an account of the building of the Cathedral of Saints Eunan and Columba and pointed out some of its most distinguishing features.
Onwards from there, down the hill to the Market Square, where Joanne McLaughlin, also from LCHG discussed the old practice of hiring fairs, which took place in Letterkenny and other locations in Ulster, twice a year from the 1700s to the 1900s. The Hiring Fair statue by sculptor Maurice Harron commemorates these events, and although the statue is placed in the Market Square, the hiring actually took place at Speers Lane, at the start of the High Road.
The tour proceeded down the Main Street to the Station House Hotel. Brian Marshall from the Toastmasters spoke about the development of transport in Letterkenny, and how the Port and the development of the railways brought prosperity and growth to the town.
Following the refreshments, we had the launch of the website. Stephen Coyle gave a brief overview of how the website came into being and he received a gift from the LCHG for all his work on its development. Johnny Joe McCollum thanked Joanne McLaughlin for her work in helping to bring the website to fruition and Brian Walsh, acting as MC drew the meeting to a close.
An enjoyable evening was had by all, and it was decided that the Walking Tour of Letterkenny could be an annual event during heritage Week from now on.
🔗 • Link6th August 2025
Join us on Monday 18th August for a walking tour of some of Letterkenny's most historic and interesting sites, followed by some refreshments and the official launch of our new website.
Meeting point: Letterkenny Museum
Time: 7:00pm
Venue: The Station House Hotel, Oldtown Road, Letterkenny
🔗 • Link5th August 2025
On Sunday 27th October 2024, Letterkenny Heritage Community Group unveiled a plaque in honour of Peggy Harkin at her late residence of 79 Lower Main Street, Letterkenny. Considering the inclement weather a large crowd had gathered for the unveiling of the plaque. Refreshments were later served at the Station House Hotel . Speeches were made by master of ceremonies, Brian Walsh, chairman, Johnny Mc Collum and committee member Joe Dorrian. Many locals recalled Peggy being a familiar figure in the town, always wearing her distinctive beret hat, riding her bike and carrying her medical bag.
At the gathering locals recalled Peggy being known as the “cycling nurse”. Peggy would be called out to many houses in the area day or night, no matter what weather was like. She would visit mothers and deliver babies. It was known Peggy cycled out as far as Glenswilly. One can only imagine how many babies Peggy delivered in the Letterkenny area. The committee contacted Letterkenny Hospital to ascertain further information on Peggy’s career as a midwife, unfortunately all records were either lost or destroyed. In general local residents remember Peggy to be a very kind and compassionate lady.
Peggy Harkin and her twin sister (Minnie) were born on the 27th July 1898 and she had two other siblings. Her father, John was a carpenter and her mother, Catherine was house wife. Peggy never married. It is believed Peggy became a midwife from the 1930 until she retired in the later 1960’s. Peggy died on 2nd of April 1975 and is buried at Conwal graveyard.
🔗 • Link29th June 2025
The Letterkenny Community Heritage Group, founded over a decade ago, is a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of Letterkenny, County Donegal. This is our story...
How often do you think about local history or heritage: quite a lot, every two weeks or hardly at all? Chances are, you think about it more often than you realise, because every time you think about a relative that used to live in some house or a shop that used to be in your town or an event that happened twenty years ago you are, in a sense, thinking about local history and heritage. Okay, so you're not digging a trench in some archaeological site or peering at a dusty document in an archive trying to decipher the writing with your half rimmed glasses dangling around your neck, but you are asking the same basic questions: who lived there, and what did they do?
There was a time when the only local history organisation in the county was the Donegal Historical Society, but in recent years a huge number of smaller, more locally focused groups have emerged. Amongst those is the Letterkenny Community Heritage Group, which was formed in 2011 when a group of interested parties met to discuss the possibility of setting up a local history or heritage group.
It took a little while to get things going, but the first mark the group made on the town was when the words of the song, 'Letterkenny Town,' were unveiled on the wall of Mac's Mace on the High Road. It was the first of many such events as the group sought to unveil some aspects of the history and heritage of the town to the good people of Letterkenny. A magazine, 'By The Way,' was published in 2013, 2014, and 2015, which contained many wonderful nuggets about the town's history including the the town's unexpected connection to the broadcaster and actor, Micahel Palin. In August 2013, a monument was unveiled at Sentry Hill to mark the spot where, during Penal times, a watchman would keep an eye out for advancing British redcoats while mass was being said at a nearby mass rock.
Perhaps the most poignant event was in August 2014, when a large crowd gathered near the Cathedral for the unveiling of a sculpture by local sculptor, Redmiond Herrity, to commemorate the 91 people from the area who died in World War I. It was a very moving moment when the 91 names were read out accompanied by the sound of a lone piper. Sadly, the sculpture was later destroyed in an act of pointless violence.
Our meetings in the Station House Hotel had a tendency to get distracted by some elongated discussions on some local historical issues. In 2015, in order to put a stop to that, we started the Letterkenny Debates. These debates took place as part of Culture Night and considered such issues as whether or not Theobald Wolfe Tone was arrested in Letterkenny, what was the oldest part of Letterkenny, the rights and wrongs of naming places after people, the impact of the local council on the heritage of the town.
In 2016, we had our first heritage weekend and launched our Letterkenny Heritage Trail as part of it. The trail covered twelve points of interest around the town and it was a always joy when some member of the group reported seeing some tourists with the brochure in their hands. The heritage weekends continued for a number of years and lectures were given on many topics such as the life and times of James McMonagle, the Battle of Farsetmore (1567), St. Conal's Hospital, the railways that once ran through the town and the old businesses that existed in the 1950s and the 1960s.
In 2018, we held a tribute night for Eunan 'Busty' Blake, and in the following years tribute nights were held for Letterkenny Comhaltas Charlie Collins Snr., Evelyn Gallagher and Hugh McLean. Wonderful murals by local artists Kevin Gallagher Snr. and Jnr. were created at the Station House Hotel and the Hugh Duffy Car Park. The group also played a prominent role in the organisation of the Letterkenny Festival in 2019. In October 2022, the Letterkenny Community Heritage Group hosted a conference with the intention of getting members of the various heritage and history groups in the county together to discuss our shared interests and cocerns.
October 2022 saw the launch of what was our most ambitious project to date: a publication about the Donegal Summer Cups. These tournaments ran annually from the mid 1940s until the late 1980s and attracted many footballing stars from England and Scotland. Founding member and driving force behind the group, Johnny Joe McCollum, used all his his county-wide footballing contacts to obtain information, photos and stories about the Donegal Summer Cups. European Cup winner Paddy Crereand lent his support to the project and penned a heartfelt foreword for the publication and many others, such as former Finn Harps captain Jim Sheridan and former Derry City goalkeeper Eddie Mahon, made valuable contributions. The launch itself was a glorious night of laughter and stories as old goals, own goals, and definetly 'offside' goals were argued about long into the night.
2024 saw us discuss the possibility of creating an old railway carriage for the town while reflecting on the life of Peggy Harkin, a midwife like no other and the contribution to the town of people such as John Gorey Curran, a contribution not lost on former Republic of Ireland, goalkeeper, Packie Bonner, who travelled to Letterkenny specially for the event.
Since 2011, the group has made a contribution to the town, but on the way, we have sadly lost some of our most cherished members. Jim Lynch was the Honorary President of the group and his contribution to the group, as with so many other groups in the town, cannot be understated or forgotten. Our former treasurer, Colm Ferry, passed away in 2019, and he too made an immense contribution to the town and to the group.
We are indebted to the councillors and staff of Donegal County Council because without them we could do nothing. And of course the people of Letterkenny and those that visit the town who regularly come out to give us such support and encouragement.
So that's the story of the Letterkenny Community Heritage Group so far. What does the future hold for those who are interested in the past? Who knows but we look forward to unveiling more of our town in the years ahead -- the past, it's where we all came from. Are you thinking about local history and heritage now?
🔗 • Link11th June 2025
On Tuesday 10th June, an exhibiton of a selection of Johnny Joe McCollum's photographic collection took place in the County Museum, High Road, Letterkenny. The photographs depict Letterkenny throughout history and provide a fascinating snapshot of life in the town, many years ago.
Brian Walsh acted as MC for the evening and he introduced Niall McGinley, historian, author and former teacher, who shared some of his memories amd insights into the life and times of some of the inhabitants of Letterkenny.
Refreshments were served and a very enjoyable evening was had by all.
The photographs will be on permanent display in the Courtyard Shopping Centre.
Check out more photos of the event here.
🔗 • Link21st May 2025
Letterkenny Community Heritage Group is very excited to to launch its new website!
Here we will have information about the heritage, social history, buildings of interest, and upcoming events in Letterkenny. We will have heritage trails for you to explore and links to Google Maps for ease of navigation around the town. Check out the videos about some of the highlights in Letterkenny, which help to bring the trail to life. Soon, we plan to bring our heritage trails to life with signs at historic locations around the town, with QR codes so that you can access more information on this site.
We wish to acknowledge the sterling work done by our website developer, Stephen Coyle. Stephen has done amazing work and has been so helpful and supportive to all of us in the group, as we get to grips with the new skills of website management.
A big thanks to the Heritage Keepers of the Burrenbeo Trust who provided us with training and funding for the production of our videos, and a very informative field trip to check out the wonderful Clones Heritage Trail.
Thanks also to Pauric McGranaghan of MG Media for doing a terrific job on the video production.
We hope you all enjoy navigating your way around the website, and that you will be well informed about our wonderful town!
🔗 • Link12th May 2025
The Hiring Fair, a statue in Letterkenny’s Market Square, was commissioned by Donegal County Council in 1994 and sculpted in bronze by Derry sculptor Maurice Harron. It represents a social phenomenon in Ulster from the 17th to the 20th century. Driven by hunger and poverty, many men and women hired themselves out as labourers, housekeepers, or potato diggers '(tattie hoakers'). Often, parents were forced to bring their children, some as young as seven years old, along to these hiring fairs so that they could go and work for farmers. This meant one less mouth to feed, and the money the children made could be used to pay the rent.
The largest of these fairs were in Strabane, Letterkenny, and Derry, with smaller fairs in Ballybofey, Limavady, and Omagh. The hiring fairs were also known as 'rabble days', and there was a general air of excitement in the town on the day. There were two hiring fairs in Letterkenny, held on 12th May and 12th November (or on the Friday immediately following the 12th, if the 12th wasn’t a Friday). Those seeking work stood at the head of the town in Letterkenny, where the High Road meets the Ramelton Road (known locally as the Port Road) at the old McCarry’s Hotel, now the Warehouse. They were inspected by their potential employers and their teeth and bodies examined to make sure they were healthy, and anyone showing signs of weakness or ill health was rejected.
In a 1906 issue of The Donegal News, a writer noted:
A sadder sight it would be impossible to witness […] it is pitiable enough to see these poor creatures, boys and girls, standing up like cattle to be examined and cross-examined […] cattle would not have been allowed to be treated as those poor young people.
Children and young people in the depths of desperation would be mocked by their potential hirers, and young women and girls were sometimes victims of sexual abuse. Patrick MacGill of Glenties wrote in his 1914 book, Children of the Dead End, that:
...to [the farmer] I was not a human being, a boy with an appetite and a soul. I was merely a ware purchased in the marketplace, something of less value than a plow and of no more account than a barrow...
This sculpture commemorates the countless children and young people who experienced the hardships of the hiring fairs.
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