The 2025 Big Barnesmore to Donegal Town Annual Cleanup was an impressive success again this year, and the Drumlonagher to Tullyearl Spring Cleanup just got bigger and better. Click on the arrows to see pictures from the clean-up:
For the Big Barnesmore Cleanup, volunteers assembled at 7am outside Biddy’s O’Barnes on Sunday, April 27, despite the miserable and wet weather conditions. As always, the 20-strong group of volunteers were from Barnesmore, Leghawney, Donegal Town and the surrounding areas, and they quickly dispersed along the main road from Biddy’s to Donegal Town, and worked hard on the task of picking up other peoples trash.
They were determined not to be discouraged by the pouring rain, and by 11am, the roadsides were immaculate again, with the bags of rubbish filled, collected and delivered to the designated collection point, where Donegal County Council would collect it the following morning.
Our group included regular volunteers and some new faces. We were especially impressed to see young people / teenagers giving up their time to take part.
Volunteers all wore high-visibility clothing, and they were reminded that their personal safety was the most important thing of all.
Once the work was done, some volunteers met at Supermacs Donegal Town for a friendly chat and the usual teas and coffees that are sponsored by Supermacs, as is the case every year.
Similarly, the Drumlonagher to Tullyearl Spring Clean was undertaken on Sunday, May 11, and it also started at 7am, with some volunteers joining the effort a little later.
Unlike the Barnesmore Cleanup, The Drumlonagher to Tullyearl Cleanup was undertaken on a beautiful Sunday morning which made the job a little easier. Volunteers were still buzzing with a sense of joy and pride at our Senior County Gaelic Team defeating Armagh in the Ulster Final the previous evening, and bringing the Anglo-Celt Cup back to Donegal for another year.
As is the case with the Big Barnesmore Cleanup, the Drumlonagher to Donegal Cleanup was also carried out in conjunction with Owen Howels from Donegal Tidy Towns, as is the case every year. This event received an added boost this year through the efforts of our committed volunteer Nuala Toland, from Leghawney Notes, who went further, by making this an interparish team effort, when she invited additional helping hands from Ballintra to join the effort.
Nuala decided to contact Kathleen Harron, Rena O’Malley and the Ballintra helping hands to invite them to collect the litter along the main road in their area, and she also contacted Donegal County Council to let them know that the simultaneous Cleanup was also happening in the Ballintra area.
Volunteers from Ballintra, and some from Donegal Town met at Kees Carpark at 7am to collect bags and litter picking equipment from Nuala. The Balintra volunteers began at Ballintra Crossroads and worked down towards the Mullinasole turn off, whilst at the same time, some Donegal Town volunteers started at Kee’s Eurospar Laghey, and worked towards the Tullyearl Roundabout, then on out the Bypass to meet the Donegal Town volunteers coming up from the Drumlonagher Roundabout.
By the time the volunteers finished, a great stretch of the Main N15 road was cleared of rubbish. This made a real difference.
Our Big Barnesmore Cleanup is going from strength to strength, since a small group of activists first decided to undertake the task on Sunday, April 14, 2019. The Drumlonagher to Tullyearl road is considerably shorter than the main Barnersmore road, nevertheless it is still a main access road to Donegal Town and is very important to maintain.
This year, there seemed to be a reduction in the amount of plastic bottles gathered, which is probably due to the impact of the new plastic bottle return scheme. Many items such as the usual food wrappings, vapes and car parts were lifted, but what was particularly disappointing, was the fact that large bags of used nappies were dumped at the scenic picnic area of Barnesmore, whereas on the Tullyearl bypass, round bale silage wrapping is being rolled into parcels and dumped at the roadsides, along with other domestic rubbish.
The big story this year is the great community spirit that was so obviously present for both cleanups, demonstrating that our local communities really care about their locality and have pride of place. We are so grateful our volunteers who are amazing and who make these cleanups both possible and successful. Unfortunately, we are unable to thank everyone, but we would like to extend our gratitude to Seamus McGowan, from Daytona Heavy Haulage, for sponsoring the safety and collection vans again this year. We are grateful to Cllr. Noel Jordan assists annually by making arrangements for the Barnermore rubbish collection by Donegal County Council, and also ensuring that we have plenty of equipment to undertake the task.
Sincere thanks also to Kenneth Foley, the owner Supermacs Donegal Town and his Area and General Managers Albanis and Raimonda Visniauskaite, for sponsoring refreshments for the volunteers, during and after both cleanups, and also Robert Kee and Sons, Laghey, for their support and their sponsorship of refreshments to our volunteers.
We are grateful to Owen Howels, form Donegal Tidy Towns for all his efforts and hard work annually. Owen also liaises with Donegal County Council regarding the supplies and equipment, and both Cleanups are undertaken in conjunction with Donegal Tidy Towns on a yearly basis.
As always, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Nuala Toland, from Leghawney Notes who promotes the cleanups, takes photographs, and who works hard at the litter picking, often going the extra mile until all the work is done. We are very grateful to Martin Burke, the Litter Warden and Donegal County Council for their amazing support and for collecting the rubbish from the designated collection points. Last but not least, a few words of thanks to Raymond Jordan helping me to organise and drive the rubbish pickup and safety vehicles, and for gathering the bags of rubbish and stacking them at the designated collection points.
The amount of rubbish collected this year, especially in Barnermore, seems to have reduced slightly, but much behaviour change is still needed. The rubbish cleanups are a real team effort, and they are a great example of our community working together to achieve something special by making our countryside pristine again.
Every cleanup makes a huge difference, and for anyone who would like to become involved in a local cleanup, please do and your efforts will make a real difference. The job of restoring our “Roadside Pride”, is still a struggle, but it is well worth doing.
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Donegal Live Camera Club
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