'Rossnowlagh has a huge heritage and it deserves a decent facility'

Rossnowlagh is one of the best known coastal destinations in Donegal. But what exactly is it? A town? A village? A resort? And where is its main centre?

That is the conundrum that councillors in the Municipal District (MD) of Donegal are keen to entangle in order to meaningfully support community development in the Rossnowlagh area. 

Best known for its expansive beach, Rossnowlagh is hugely popular with surfers and other water sports enthusiasts. 

It has long been a holiday destination for people from across Ireland but particularly from Northern Ireland, with many owning second homes or mobile homes near the beach. Many more are regular visitors to the Sandhouse Hotel and other guest accommodation in the area. 

Indeed, Rossnowlagh is held in deep affection with its returning visitors, many of whom are families spanning generations. This contributes to the strong sense of community that is often lacking in resort towns. 

For the year-round community, the seasonal influx of visitors is a welcome boost for the local economy. However, it is not without significant challenges, and one of the most unpleasant aspects reared its foul head over the Easter holidays.

Cllr Barry Sweeny (FG) raised the matter at the April meeting of Donegal MD.

“Extreme dissatisfaction was expressed to me about maintenance of portaloos,” he said. “I am getting photos of them sent to me. 

“I know it doesn’t take much to make a mess of them and they are maintained a few times a week but this needs to be addressed.”

He acknowledged that Cllr Michael McMahon (SF) had, a recent MD meeting, brought a motion calling for permanent public toilets for Rossnowlagh.

But Cllr Sweeny believes there  is a need for an all encompassing community facility.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Cllr Sweeny had proposed a town hall type meeting to better understand the challenges and needs of the community. 

At the April MD meeting, he commended the Friends of Rossnowlagh community group for their efforts, from the recent coastal protection workshop to picking up litter and highlighting road safety issues. 

The group in conjunction with Donegal County Council has also been the driving force behind improvements such as the playground and eating area, and the hard stands for traders in the main car park. 

“They are doing great work,” said Cllr Sweeny. 

“You also have the surfing community, you have Liquid Therapy doing amazing work. And there is potential for a local heritage museum. 

“Rossnowlagh has a huge heritage of surfing and windsurfing and it deserves a decent facility.”

Regarding the problem with portaloos backing up at Rossnowlagh, Cllr Micheál Naughton (FF) questioned if the long term cost of providing portaloos was merited. 

“We have to look at the bigger picture of value for money. How much is it costing per year? That would go a long way towards getting permanent toilets.”

Cllr Michael McMahon (SF) concurred with his fellow councillors.

He explained that the sewer was blocked with sand, and this had led to the portaloos backing up. 

“This is totally unacceptable over the Easter week that there is raw sewage flowing out of it.”

Cllr McMahon raised a further issue, that of emptying bins. He said the Friends of Rossnowlagh were hoping to get a TUS programme in place, similar to that in Bundoran.

“We should all support them on that,” he said. “The ratepayers down there say they are not getting the value for what they have to pay.”

Cllr Niamh Kennedy asked for clarification on how to define Rossnowlagh - a village, a holiday village or a town - in order to maximise support and funding. 

She supported Cllr Sweeny’s call for a major community facility that would include toilets, showers and other elements, the finer details of which would be identified through community engagement.

“We have got so much going on there and we lack facilities at this moment in time,” said Cllr Kennedy. 

“If we could get a community facility there, pull it all together, we would be looking at something very positive. 

“This is what the people are looking for and I think we should support them in that.”

Such a facility would require input from various sectors in Donegal Council, including Environment, Planning, and Economic Development. 

Executive Planning Officer Aideen Quinn said that defining the boundary of Rossnowlagh was ongoing as part of the county plan.

“Once we have that boundary set, we will have that as the settlement area,” she said.

“I fully recognise that there is a need to build something there. Once we have the county plan in place, that framework would be a good starting point.”Cllr Sweeny proposed a town hall type meeting in Rossnowlagh as soon as was feasible. 

This was seconded by Cllr Kennedy.