Local Girl Wins Popstar Competition
Zoe heading for London to record single

Zoe receives a gift voucher for Timony News from Louise Breslin and a case of Ribena along with a voucher for Golden Discs from Paul Cosgrove.

Zoe O’Donnell, aged 11 years of Drimark, Donegal Town was announced winner of the Ribena Purple Popstar Competition on 2 FM’s Breakfast show - ‘The full Irish’, on Friday morning 2nd May.
Zoe sang Lady Marmalade from Moulin Rouge live to the nation on Wednesday morning - then had to wait patiently until they announced the winner on Friday. Her prize was a trip to London where she will be given the opportunity to record a single and make a pop video. She will be given VIP treatment with a limousine at her disposal.
After her big win on Friday, she was interviewed on North West Radio by Gerry Glennon who gave her great praise for her singing talent. Zoe is a pupil of Scoil An Leinbh Iosa, Killymard where they were all delighted to hear the great news of her win.

Donegal Town Launches Spring Clean

The spring clean campaign was launched by Pat the Cope Gallagher. Also in attendance, Minister Mary Coughlan, Cllr. Sean Campbell; Mayor Ernan McGettigan and Council officials. Volunteers divided into five groups covering 3 approach roads, pier, Old Abbey and Bank walk. The committee was pleased with turnout of willing workers. A truckload of rubbish was collected, transported by Super Valu and disposed of by Co. Council. Another clean up is planned, details of this later.
The theme of the campaign is towards a cleaner and more colourful environment, and we appeal to residents, traders and visitors to make an extra special effort to keep up the good work for the coming months. Residents in the area are encouraged to be responsible for their own property, with attention to paint work, maintenance of fences and walls, removal of weeds and the daily collection of litter. Committee would encourage the use of window boxes and hanging baskets where possible. Insurance for cleanups, floral displays etc. is under negotiation at present.
Local Competition: Best kept Residential area, best kept street, best shop front. To be judged by a national adjudicator in June and August. The National competition will also be judged in June and August. With Community involvement and everyone pulling together; we hope to improve our points considerably this year. Students from Transition year, A.V.S designed a poster which they distributed to local businesses. It’s hoped that these posters will be displayed and heeded. Extra posters can be obtained from the Community Development Office, Castle Centre.
Sponsorship: some already received and more needed to cover planned floral displays, insurance etc.
Up coming events:
•Milk Ras 23rd May: • Garda Torch Race 15th June: • Special Olympics 16th-20th June: • Summer Festival 4th-6th July.
Donegal will be in the media spotlight on these dates.

Work Starts on New Development at Laghey

Work began last week on a new development at Robert Kee & Sons, Laghey. A two story building of 20,000 sq. ft will incorporte a restaurant, supermarket, garden centre on ground level, with 7,000sq ft. upstairs for renting as complementary units or office space. The building will have a passenger lift and be fully wheelchair accessible. Parking for 84 vehicles will be included, surrounded by an attractive green area. This €2.5 million investment is aiming for completion in early 2004 and will create twenty-five new jobs.
This development will continue a remarkable vote of confidence in the Laghey area by the Kee family, starting when Adam Mc Clay (great grandfather of current directors) commenced trading in 1875. The business was handed down to his daughter who married Robert Kee in 1930, hence the name R. Kee and Sons. The business consisted then of a general store catering for the needs of the village. Robert’s son, also Robert, then added a garage to the business, which generally dealt with motorbikes and tractors.
As Laghey village was then on the main arterial road into Co. Donegal, a petrol station was added in 1959. As the business progressed, a new supermarket was erected in 1978 - the present day SPAR shop. Further expansion continued and in 1986 a new workshop, stores and showroom were added to the garage business. In 1988 Robert Kee and Sons, which had operated as a sole trader became R A Kee & Sons Ltd.
In 1985, a service station was opened on the new N15 bypass and this has become one of Donegal’s landmarks.
In 2000, a garden centre was added, which was very successful from the start and extended in 2001 to treble its size. Also in 2001, the company opened a retail showroom in Letterkenny catering for the grass machinery and power equipment end of the business.
“Our existing business had outgrown the present premises and prompted us to move forward with this new development” said Desmond Kee. “The petrol service station and lawn mower/motor cycle shop will stay in their existing positions. The Spar supermarket and Garden Centre will move to the new development where we will be able to offer our customers a bigger and better service area, all under the one roof, with ample parking.”
Commenting on new aspects of the development, Desmond continued “The fully licensed restaurant will seat 60 customers and cater for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We thank our customers and staff for their loyalty down through the years and look forward to providing them with state of the art facilities and better service”.

A visit to Aras an Uachtaráin
By Francis Murphy

President Mary McAleese with Francis and
Susan McCahill, Care Assistant.

On Wednesday evening 26th March 2003, Susan and myself were on our way to meet President Mary McAleese. Susan and I are involved in ‘ATLAS’ programme for the Special Olympic World 2003 games and a lottery was held and we were chosen to meet with her. We left the Cleary Centre and headed to Dublin. We stayed overnight in a bed and breakfast. I sat up and watched television before I went to sleep. The next day Thursday I got up and had a shower and my breakfast. I then got dressed into my suit and got ready to go to Houston Station. We took our photographs at the station and we met up with some of the other ATLAS programme volunteers. We then got on board the double decker bus, which was only for Special Olympics volunteers, and then we went out to the Phoenix Park and into the grounds of Aras an Uachtaráin.
We were met at the door and taken into the house where it was explained to us to call her Mrs President. We lined up around the room and Susan set up the video camera in the corner and President McAleese came into the room and said hello to everyone and that she wanted to meet with us all. I shook hands with her and I thanked her for welcoming Susan and myself into her house. We also met Mary Davis, the head of Special Olympics Ireland and Denis O’Brien, the head of Eircom. After we had tea, buns, biscuits and 7UP and President McAleese joined us and when we were finished she went back to work. We then went for a tour around the house and seen the dining room, the drawing room, the meeting room and the archway. We took plenty of photographs inside and outside the house. I saw the fountain, I saw the massive big garden at the front of the house and the back of the house and it was a beautiful sunny day.
We then got back onto the double decker bus and went back to Houston Station. Susan and I then got back into her car and drove back to Donegal Town. I had a wonderful day meeting the President and she enjoyed meeting me and we are going to have a very good World Games in June 2003. I would like to thank Special Olympics for giving me this great opportunity to go up to Aras an Uachtaráin to meet with the President and also to thank the President for inviting all of us to her house to meet and look around.