The festive season is fast approaching and the Donegal Town Community Chamber and staff have been busy for weeks organising this year’s town decorations. As usual, they would like to make Donegal the best and brightest town in the north-west. Over the years, the businesses have been very generous in their donations to the lighting fund and very soon Colm Gallagher will circulate around town for contributions. Alternatively, donations may be dropped into the Chamber Office. The switch on takes place this Friday, 25th November, with a new attraction, the St Mary’s High School Choir from Belleek, serenading the crowds on the Diamond from 6.30pm - with the switch-on timed for 7.30pm. Santa and his guests will be in attendance and a great night is guaranteed for both children and adults – so please come along and celebrate the spirit of Christmas with Donegal Town Community Chamber, Santa, his elves and helpers.

Ardara Man on board cruise ship attacked by pirates

Survived rocket propelled grenade and gunfire

A Donegal member of crew on board a small luxury cruise ship will have quite a story to tell his friends and family when he returns home at Christmas. With reports emerging that are more akin to a Hollywood movie, Cathal Gallagher survived an attack by two boats of pirates off the coast of Somalia. The son of John Gallagher (Big Francie) and Annie Coyle, West End, Ardara, Cathal is the Computer System Officer on the Seabourn Spirit.
The cruise ship and her 150 passengers and 160 crew had embarked October 23rd on a 16-day cruise from Alexandria, Egypt, to Mombassa, Kenya. Cathal said that passengers were shocked but unharmed during the attack. The pirates were in two small boats and carrying machine guns and a rocket-propelled grenade. The crew used an on-board loud acoustic bang to lead the pirates to think they were under heavy fire. The Seabourn Spirit was able to eventually out-run the small pirate ships. “Everyone on board is OK. The ship suffered minor damage from the rockets and gunfire but is still very seaworthy. We had a protocol - which we never thought would be used - and a full emergency was declared. The Captain and crew were outstanding. We out-manoeuvred and eventually out-ran the pirates while taking heavy fire,” Cathal said.
Last month the International Maritime Bureau warned ships to stay as far away as possible from the Somali shore. There have been 23 attacks against ocean-going ships in the last year. A Seabourn spokesman said that the cruise line would have to review the incident and determine if it would sail off the coast of Somalia in the future. (Donegal News report)

PC Doctor wins top award

Monica Nugent (left) from Donegal Town who was overall winner of the Nick Love Spirit of Enterprise Awards receiving her award from Olivia Glackin of Glackin Buisness Institute, Letterkenny, who were the main sponsors, Minister Mary Coughlan, who was guest of honour, and Louise Brogan, enterprise officer with the Donegal Local Development Company Photo: Gerard McHugh

A business established in Donegal Town by Monica Nugent in 2003 has been awarded first prize in the annual Nick Love awards. Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan presented the Nick Love perpetual Trophy to Monica in the Abbey Hotel in Donegal Town and she also received a cheque for €1,000 and will receive €1,000 worth of financial advice from the Glackin Business Institute in Letterkenny.
Monica was obviously delighted to win the award. “This award is particularly special. I am honored that the commitment given by Nick Love to helping small businesses lives on through the continued support of his family and work colleagues. It is through his inspiration and the immeasurable help I have received from Louise Brogan and her team at the DLDC and the Leader + program that I am in business at all.”
Monica, who started off her business by selling and repairing PCs locally, has built the business into a firm that now provides technical support and PC sales to companies and individuals throughout Ireland. Through offering a remote access service and live technical support, her company can now fix and repair PCs faster, and at a more competitive price, than most.
Not simply content to run her own business, she is now also awaiting her final results for a Science degree from DCU which will no doubt complement her current technical qualifications. Originally named “MPN computer services” her business rebranded over the summer to “Ireland’s PC Doctor” and recently completed a nationwide advertising campaign.
“Donegal Town is a fantastic place to have a business. Too much doom and gloom is written about the town. There are many successful businesses operating here. When I see what many of my clients have achieved I know what is possible for me and others. The work carried out by the DLDC should act as an example to the rest of the country.”
For further information on Monica’s business log on to www.irelandspcdoctor.com or telephone 074-9740443.

The Mart Saga Continues

By Margaret Gallagher
On September 5th, the mart shareholders voted to rescind their contract with Keeney Construction. On that night there were many suggestions from the floor and the one that received most applause was that of John Cassidy which suggested that the mart talk to nobody “If we get out of this situation here tonight, we stay out – that’s what I’m proposing. We don’t need to entertain anybody – we have a grand wee site here and we keep our mart on it.”
Tomorrow night, Thursday 24th November at 8pm, a Special General Meeting of the shareholders of Donegal Co-Operative Livestock mart Ltd will be held in the Millpark Hotel. There are two proposals submitted for decision.
1. To determine the present status of, and to discuss and to conclude the offer of the construction of a new mart as proposed by Bennett Construction at a site already considered by the Mart shareholders.
2. To authorize the committee of the mart to enter into negotiations with Bennett Construction on the agreement of a contract to bring this proposal to a satisfactory conclusion.
This meeting seems to have caused concern among some members with reports of letters signed by multiple shareholders handed in to the secretary prior to the meeting. Sentiments expressed to Donegal Times seem to question the judgement of just speaking to one developer - instead of putting the site on the open market and discovering its true value.