Memorial event dedicated to late Noreen McGarvey as Burtonport Festival begins

A tribute to the late Noreen McGarvey will be held at St Columba's Community Centre in Burtonport. 

The event will take the form of a concert and a memorial service. On the night, St Columba’s Church Choir, Suantraí traditional group, Maghery Band and the Dungloe GAA Scór Group will perform. 

Then, there will be an interval and in the second part of the evening a memorial plaque will be unveiled, from the Burtonport Festival Committee. This will then be followed by Noreen's beloved Burtonport Variety Group taking to the stage to play some music.

The doors will open at 7:30pm and the show will commence at 8pm on Thursday. 

“Noreen was somebody who had all friends and no enemies,” Burtonport Festival Committee member David Alcorn, who worked alongside Noreen for many years, told DonegalLive. “She would help everybody and was a fantastic festival director.”

Noreen was also a member of Cruit Island Golf Club, and a part of various musical groups including Burtonport Variety Group, St Columba's Church Choir in Acres and a member of Donegal Parents and Friends for people with learning disabilities.

Noreen entered the political sphere in 1999 and served as a Fianna Fáil Councillor having been elected to Donegal County Council in 2019 and named as Cathaoirleach of the Glenties Municipal District in 2020, following a nomination to the position by fellow councillors Anthony Molloy and Micheál MacGiolla Easbuic. 

Noreen passed away peacefully last December in the care of the staff of the Donegal Hospice.