Letterkenny's Hugh Devlin is making history again

Letterkenny native Hugh Devlin has recently taken over the reins as secretary of the County Donegal Historical Society and is looking forward to helping to bring it into a new era.

It’s a pivotal position that has old and new demands placed upon it as the society seeks to embrace the digital age while retaining relevance to its current membership. But the new man has a strategy, a skill that has served him well if both his professional and leisure time to date.

Hugh was born in Church Lane in Letterkenny, an area known today as the Cathedral Quarter, but reared in the Oldtown area where his parents had a family grocery business. His career path took him into mental health nursing, first as a hospital-based psychiatric nurse at St Conal’s Hospital,

Letterkenny and later as a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) in a Community Mental Health team in north Donegal.

In the intervening period, he attained a BSc (Hons) degree from the ATU and an MSc (Hons) degree at DCU. During his career, he witnessed the full transition from a hospital-based system of mental health care to a community-based system of care and feels it was an honour and privilege to be associated with the service during these years.

In his youth, his interests were varied and many, from playing sports, music, and participating in variety shows.

Draughts
Hugh has fond memories of participating in talent competitions in local festivals during the 1970s and in the Tops of the Town competitions in the 1980s but admits however, it is probably through his love of the game of draughts that he is probably best known.

“Having learned the game at home from my parents, I went on to win many international competitions, including the British and Irish Free Style Draughts Championship title which I still retain, and I’ve been rated amongst the World’s top 10 players.

“It’s a game that has taken me around the world, from Barbados to Las Vegas, and from Johannesburg to Lille. Perhaps my greatest honour was to serve as captain of the combined British and Irish team that contested an international series of matches against the USA in 2005, and in representing Ireland in the first World Mind Sports Games held in Beijing in 2008.”

He has also made room for his love of history which in itself has taken an interesting route.

“My interest in history has been long and varied. I had a paternal aunt who was a great history enthusiast, and in my youth, I could have listened to her all-day reciting stories from Ireland’s past.

Growing up in Letterkenny I personally knew many of the town’s historians like Hugh Conaghan and Sam Fleming, people who could bring every street and building to life with their stories. I found it all very interesting.

“I moved to live in Manorcunningham about 18 years ago and I attended the inaugural meeting of the local Raymochy Historical Society in 2007. In 2013 I was approached to undertake the role of secretary of the society, a position I accepted, and a position that I’ve continued to fulfil since. I’ve also worked with the Letterkenny Community Heritage Group and the St Conal’s Hospital Graveyard Restoration Committee. It’s a busy and interesting schedule alongside my family life with Vanessa and our three teenage children.”

Elected secretary
He attended the annual general meeting of the County Donegal Historical Society and the end of May and was elected as secretary, a role that had become vacant following the recent retirement of Una McGarrigle.

“Una has been a legend in the society for more than a quarter of a century and has left huge shoes to fill. It has been a great honour and privilege for me to accept this position in a society that has a long and rich tradition of studying and preserving the history and heritage of County Donegal.

“The work of this society is varied, from organising schools’ competitions, hosting lectures, organising outings to places of interest, running a museum, and the publication of its Donegal Annual for the past 76 years, amongst other activities.”

He points out that like many long-established organisations, there are challenges in keeping it fresh and relevant, and a need to evolve in changing times.

“The recent proliferation of local history and heritage groups in County Donegal is a very welcomed development and I’d like to see greater cooperation and engagement between them and the County Donegal Historical Society in a mutually beneficial way.

“The need to change from the traditional based print record to a greater digital online presence is another challenge and something that requires greater emphasis.

“Then there is the ongoing need to attract and retain new members to bring new ideas and skills to the society. I am very excited for the future of the County Donegal Historical Society and look forward to being part of its success going forward.”