Cathedral Quarter column: The changing face of Letterkenny 12 years on

We recently marked the 12th anniversary of our project, which began as 'Save the Church Lane' but grew into something much bigger - Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter.

The campaign started on Facebook we now have over 9,000 followers on this platform. Other social media channels include Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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Back then, the historical houses on the Lane were in a bad state of disrepair and a real eyesore. Today, the street is an example of what can be achieved when local authority, property owners and a community group work together in the same direction and by the end of this year, at least three of these former derelict houses will have people living in them.

There are new businesses in the locality, whereas when we first began the project, it was just Universal Books here. But it was never just about fixing up old houses; it was about re-establishing a sense of community that many thought had disappeared in Letterkenny.

We have added murals, mosaics and flower boxes with the support of Letterkenny Tidy Towns, that was given the area a sense of vibrancy and colour. In addition to this, we have established a cultural programme of events which will start with St Brigid's Cross-making at the end of this month.

Our annual programme also includes Streetfeast, Heritage Week, Culture Night, our Literary Festival, before finishing up with the Carol Trail organised in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, Letterkenny CDP and the respective churches.

Our committee is small in number but very hard-working and very dedicated. But the biggest disappointment and our biggest obstacle to progress in our existence has been successive governments, who have proven to be quite useless. Our success has been due to the fact that there has been one person, day in, day out, working on the project, ensuring that things get done.

But instead of support, I have harassment from local Social Welfare officials. If you are looking for support to help your own area, don't count on help from the State. Those with a true understanding of Community Development employed by agencies in Donegal could be counted on one hand. It is not the fault of those locally.

Nevertheless, our organisation will continue despite non-action from 'Official Ireland'. I have been following my own personal rules for Community Development. One of these has its origins in British Intelligence during World War Two and is one for Latin scholars: "Illegitimi non carborundum".

Winter Photographs
January is generally the month when it is most likely to snow, and sure enough, we had a snowfall shortly after the New Year. While it does not last long, the snow transforms our landscapes and makes absolutely fantastic photos.

On the Sunday night of the heavy snowfall, I ventured out into the cold and began taking photographs of the area. There was no one around, and there were very few cars, if any. There is really something heavenly about St Eunans Cathedral, Conwal Parish Hall, Trinity Hall and the Celtic Cross at the centre of Cathedral Square.

Over that weekend, I posted these photos along with a 10-second video of the first snowfall of the year on our social media channels. The photos and video reached over 50,000 people on Facebook who were located all different parts of the globe. This demonstrates once again that if Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter is marketed more by our tourism chiefs, then it will attract tourists all year round to Go Visit Donegal.