OFFICIAL OPENING OF DONEGAL TOWN PLAYGROUND

The new €260,000 Donegal Playground, which has been well tried and tested since last September, was officially opened by Minister Mary Coughlan TD, with a large group of dignitaries, members of the public and children in attendance. Minister Coughlan paid tribute to everyone involved with the design and construction of this new recreational area. Commenting on a ‘fantastic facility’, she noted the state-of-the-art engineering and design that had produced a playground which can be used by all children, ‘there are facilities for toddlers, juniors and children with special needs’ she noted.
County Manager, Michael McLoone also noted the high standard of the facility and referred how appropriate it was that the location of the playground was in the Michael Cooney Memorial Park.
Finance for the playground was provided by funding agencies which included the National Children’s Office, the Peace 11 Task Force, DLDC, Leader +, local fund raising and donations from Magee, Britton’s Pharmacy, Timony News, Bluestack Challenge, support from schools, and a special donation of €25,000 from Hospira. Additional support and a €25,000 donation was also provided by Donegal County Council.
Deputy Coughlan was joined at the opening ceremony by Donegal Town Mayor Ciaran Twomey, Deputy Dinny McGinley, Councillors Thomas Pringle and Jonathan Kennedy, Michael McLoone (County Manager), Gary Martin (Peace II), Molly Reynolds and Frank Kelly of DLDC.
Chamber Chairman, Ernan McGettigan, extended a sincere thank you to everyone who assisted the project in any way. He referred to the funding agency, the local community, the St John Bosco Club for the site, the contractor - JJ Contracts, Council Engineers Peadar Thomas, Declan Gillespie and Sean Murray, Cavanagh Playground Ltd, FAS workers and supervisors, Raymond and Mary Ellen Tierney who open and close the playground, the Enterprise officer, Sian Breslin and the playground committee of Mary McGowan, Collette Ryle, Joe Murray, Malachy Sweeney and John Curran.
Gary Martin, representing the Peace II task force, captured the mood of the evening and the essence of the event when he referred to the children who were playing on the units in the background, blissfully unaware of the dignitaries and their speeches, commenting that ‘the children do not stand on ceremony’ - in this, they were giving a seal of approval to the new playground in the best possible way.

MAYOR’S AGM REPORT

Mr Chairman, Committee members, and ladies and gentlemen, first of all as Mayor I would like to welcome you all here tonight to the AGM of the DCC. Since my inception as Mayor 14 months ago, one could definitely say that I have had a roller-coaster ride, but I must say I have enjoyed every minute of the last 14 months, and I look forward to remainder of my term in office.
I have been over whelmed by the support that I have received from not only you the members of the Chamber, but the public at large, and for this I am truly grateful to you all. I have to be honest and say that I was equally surprised with the workload that comes with the chain of office, but I have no complaints as I have relished every moment of duty that I have had to fulfil as Mayor.
As I have fulfilled a lot of duties through the year, it will not be possible to go through them all, but I would like to share with you some of the, what I would call the highlights of my first term in office.
The first real line of duty and big trip I had to make was to our friends in Sene, a trip that was very enjoyable and very worthwhile, and I have to comment on the warmth and hospitality that we all received from our friends in Brittany, and as I said recently, when a delegation from Sene made a return trip to us here in Donegal for the 15th anniversary of the twinning, I sincerely hope that we keep our ties bound firmly together, as I feel we have a lot learned of each other and a lot more to learn, and it would be wrong for us to lose that friendship and link that we have made.
I have also travelled to London, where I received an invitation from the Kelly family to represent Donegal Town on the opening of another one of their successful business ventures, to New York, where the Donegal Association invited me to a presentation function, and, late last year, I made another return trip to France, this time with my friends in the County Donegal Railway Restoration to visit the hugely successful French Vivarias narrow gauge line just south of Lyons on the Rhone Valley. This was fact-finding mission, which was very worthwhile, and we hope to return again before the end of my tenure.
Outside of the travelling, I have received numerous invitations, ranging from new business openings, to book launches, and also festival openings.
One most enjoyable weeks I had was last summer when the O’Donnell clan gathered here in town, this was a great success and I would like to publicly congratulate all involved for making it so. At the time of my election I said that I would focus on ensuring that Donegal Town would be next to get a county library into our town, and I have kept in close contact with the county librarian Miss Eileen Burgess with its progress. It is at the advanced stages of site selections, I was delighted to see that both Minister Coughlan and our local councillor Jonathan Kennedy have taken up the mantle to push with this along with myself.
I would like, at this stage, to thank the Community Chamber for any assistance that they have given to me during my first year in office. As most people would be aware, I earlier this year resigned as a director from the Community Chamber, and I want to make it quite publicly clear here tonight that I did not resign due to any personal disagreements with any of my then fellow directors of the chamber, as I know of the work and commitment that each director gives, and gives on a voluntary basis, and I totally acknowledge, thank and congratulate them for their efforts. My resignation was in frustration at the rules and regulations with which the chamber seems to have surrounded itself. I am not stating tonight anything that I have not already said, and I totally stand over any comments or suggestions that I made.
I have quite clearly stated to the chairman of the chamber, that for the organisation to continue to enjoy the success that it has achieved, it will have to open its doors to the business people of Donegal, as I feel that the businesses are not given enough commitment and support from the chamber, and I feel that the only way that this can be done is for the chamber to go back to the start, and look at the constitution and the basis that this chamber was founded.
I have quite clearly stated that community issues should be dealt with by the community directors and that the business issues be dealt with by business directors, and they work in tandem together. I feel that until the business people know that they are going to have a strong voice and be able to make their own decisions within the workings of a chamber, then this chamber, with its present format, will not get the vital and financial input from the business community that it needs. I would worry that Community Chamber is leaving the door open for another body to be formed to represent the businesses of this area, which would be a severe financial and body blow to the chamber. And so I implore the chamber and its directors to take a good hard look at what they see as the future for this body, and make the right decisions, as there has been too much hard work been done to throw it all away.
I would like to finish this report, by saying a few words about the Office of the Mayor itself. As I have already stated in my report, it is a huge honour for me to act as Mayor of this great town, and I wear the chain with immense pride and respect, but I have made quite clear in the past that personally I feel the role of Mayor should be more than just an honorary position.
I feel that the Mayor should be there to work for everyone in the locality, and to do his or her best in representing the area at what ever level is asked, I do feel that the mayor should have in future a broader spectrum and portfolio to work from other than the honorary duties.
I have been only too delighted to make a lot representation to different bodies on behalf of residents of Donegal Town, as I feel if my help can make their life a little bit better and comfortable than I am only too delighted and honoured to be asked to assist. I also feel it is time that the chain of office be given back to the people of Donegal, as I do not think it is right that any body should put a claim or try to covet the chain of office, as I believe that it belongs to the people of Donegal Town and nobody should have to pay to vote for what is already theirs. I would ask the chamber to take this into account when the time comes to elect the next Mayor of the Town.
Ladies and gentlemen I thank you for your time and attention, and I look forward to the remainder of my term in office as Mayor of Donegal