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Scéal Dún-na-nGall ar an Idirlíon / County Donegal on the Net News
| Vol.2 No.6 September 2000 (This page is archived as it initially appeared online - any broken links are subsequent to publication) The Donegal Association of New York is on a recruitment drive and would like new members to participate in social events as well as attend monthly meetings. The Association is 104 years old and would like all Donegal people in New York to join the Association! Anyone with a link to Donegal through birth, parentage or marriage is welcome. Even if you cannot join please contact the Association to help create a extended community and take part in their social events. Contact Sean McGovern @718 464-2358 Alternatives to Pylons Campaign Heats Up! It is not often that I have to eat my words but my comments in the last Newsletter on Tom Gildea and Harry Blaney not speaking in the Dáil during the last year were, in the case of Tom Gildea at least, a little presumptious. While Deputy Gildea may not have spoken he has been working away behind the scenes to secure a number of improvements in the County which were announced in late July, including extensions to Killybegs Harbour and road improvements in his constituency. Subsequently Deputy Gildea met with the County wide Committee of the Alternatives to Poles and Pylons group and listened to their fears and objections to the erection of 100 kilometres of of overhead power lines from Binbane to Gweedore, the Derryveagh mountains, Creeslough, Churchill and Letterkenny via new electricity sub-station at Arduns. Deputy Gildea announced his full support for the group's objectives to route these power lines underground or under the sea. Over seven hundred people attended a benefit concert in aid of the Alternatives to Poles & Pylons Campaign on the 27th of August. Those who gathered in support of the Campaign were treated to a wonderful night of music, song and verse from Máire Brennan & Band; Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh & Dermot Byrne; Terry Monaghan, Pól Brennan and Cathal ó Searcaigh. The large attendance clearly illustrates local support for the Campaign. A week later Poet Cathal O'Searcaigh and artist Deirdre Brennan (sister of the famous singers Enya and Maire Brennan of Clannad) denounced the sacrilege which they fear will be visited on Donegal by these monstrous pylons on Gaeltacht radio. Deputy Gildea joined them by telephone and again gave his whole hearted support to the objectors to the scheme. What can the people do? They are saying loud and clear, just as the people of Counties Cork, Mayo, Waterford and Roscommon are saying, 'We do not want these power lines to go overground'. The Government, the masters of the semi-state Electricity Supply Board, should listen - the people have spoken and no matter what the reason - be it health fears, the loss of the beautiful landscape, the devaluation of property and the loss of tourism $, they must listen. Indeed it would be a foolish Government who ignored the will of the people. Fine Gael TD Dinny McGinley wrote to the ATP Campaign in late June voicing his support for the ESB's plans but seeing the overwhelming support which the Alternatives to Pylons Group is receiving in the County he has made a dignified U-turn and is now in support of the Campaign to put these lines underground. The President of Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams, has written to the campaigners to voice his support while Sinn Fein TD for Cavan/Monaghan, Caoimhim O'Caolain, has offered his vote of support in the Dail should this become an election issue. The local Green Party have also voiced their support for the anti-pylon Campaign. The ESB's says that it would cost too much to put these lines underground but there has been no independent analysis of the cost of an underground line which would in fact provide more local employment than the ESB's overground plans. There already exists 65km of an old railway embankment through Donegal which could be used to house the lines. The people want these power lines put underground and the ESB's says that they would not be able to detect faults along an underground system. We must point out that there are companys already in Donegal who can design and manufacture systems to detect faults in electricity lines underground! And let it also be noted that some of the world's leading companies in the laying of electricity and high tech cables are from Donegal - we have the know how here in the County which we can offer the ESB if they care to listen. In this day and age there are better and more environmentally friendly ways of achieving increased power supplies than by stringing these monstrous pylons across our beautiful Donegal. The people demand a quality electricity service, indeed the ESB is obliged to supply just that but their rights in carrying out their obligations do not override those of the people of Donegal and the generations not yet born. There will be a march along part of the proposed route on the 24th of September starting at an Chuirt Hotel, Gweedore at 5.00pm. For further information - Stop the Pylons - Put them Underground! Check It Out!! Walk Donegal Website Donegal Artists Abroad Donegal artist Eamon O'Kane will be having two solo exhibitions of his work in New York State during September 2000. THIS INDENTURE - 2nd -24th September at Donskoj + Co. Gallery, Kingston, New York 12401, New York, USA and EXTENSION - 7th September until October 13th 2000 - Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street, New York, NY 10019, USA. In 1998/99 O'Kane was the Research Fellow in Painting at Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education, England. He is currently an assistant lecturer in the Art and Design department of Limerick Institute of Technology, Ireland. Taipeis Gael, the Glencolmcille tapestry collective, are currently exhibiting "Weaving our future from our past" at the Allied Irish bank, 405 Park Ave New York 10022. The exhibition features work by Maire Mc Ginley, Margaret Cunningham and Dermot Cannon. The exhibition is open daily from 9.00 a.m. - 3.00 p.m. and runs until October 30th. & @ Home The Killaghtee Gallery has gone online. New Donegal Books In the 1890s, Hugh Dorian completed a memoir which he entitled "Donegal Sixty Years Ago". Hugh Dorian, THE OUTER EDGE OF ULSTER: A MEMOIR OF SOCIAL LIFE IN NINETEENTH CENTURY DONEGAL, edited by Breandán Mac Suibhne and David Dickson presents this work, nearly a century later, and provides a picture of 19th-century Donegal society. Buy this and other new books about the County in the Donegal on the Net Bookshop. Coming to An Grianan Theatre Thurs 21 Sept 8pm Drama: Belfast Theatre Co present Moscow Stations - An absorbing human drama woven around the fall of the old USSR. Thurs 28- Sat 7 Oct at 8pm An Grianan Productions presents Big Maggie by John B. Keane. This classic of modern Irish drama, directed by John Breen and starring Nuala Hayes, marks the second outing from An Grianan Productions who begin their 3 month national tour in Letterkenny. Tues 10 Oct 8pm Dance: Dance Theatre of Ireland: Only Human - A new creation from Dance Theatre of Ireland using multi media to enhance the dancers performance. 300 jobs to go at Fruit of the Loom in Buncrana Fruit of the Loom has decided to close its operation in Buncrana and lay off 300 people. The company said the job losses would be in two phases with 170 to go in November and a further 130 jobs in March. The unions involved have sought emergency talks with the company's manager in a desperate attempt to save the jobs. Since December, 1998 four Fruit of the Loom factories have closed in Donegal with the loss of over a 1000 jobs, 640 of them in Buncrana alone. We're Recruiting! Searc.ie is recruiting - Do you want to live in Donegal and work as part of a dynamic, project driven team in a Digiteach environment? Can you multi-task in multimedia? Do you answer your emails before you eat breakfast? An bhfuil Gaeilge agat? We want to hear from you! Send your CV in the body of an email to Searc.ie Junior Web Developer Computer programming graduate - HTML; CGI; Java; ASP; SSL & C++ to develop web solutions in association with Project Manager and Web Designer. Location: Fintown Business Development Manager Your work will involve setting up a sales campaign for Searc.ie. Ideal candidate will be a business /e-commerce graduate; fluent in Irish, car owner/driver with a enthusiastic spirit. Attractive remuneration package for the right candidate, including commission. Location: Fintown Multimedia\ Web Designers We are seeking experienced Multimedia designers to join our team. Experience in any 4 of the following would be of interest: HTML, Javascript, Visual Basic, E-Commerce, Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop. Location: Fintown Senior local authority official faces dismissal On August 14th Environment Minister Noel Dempsey approved a recommendation from Donegal County Council for the dismissal of its most senior planning officer, Gerry Convie, following allegations of irregularities in the handling of planning applications. Mr Convie, who has held his position since 1980, was suspended from the Council over a year ago following allegations of a conflict of interest in a housing development in Magheroarty. An internal investigation was set up following complaints over the granting of planning permission. It was eventually halted by An Bord Pleanála which ruled it out of character with the area and a threat to the culture of the Gaeltacht. This September Gerry Convie was granted leave of the High Court to challenge his suspension. This means the Council cannot dismiss him until the issue is settled in court and this could take a year. Planning Applications along Donegal's coastline have risen by almost 200% in the last 5 years and Donegal County Council has allowed 95% of them to go ahead. Coast Watch Ireland says the Donegal coastline is being destroyed and Independent TD Tom Gildea has now called for public hearing into planning in the County. What a Summer! As usual the weather took its fair share of the conversation in Donegal this Summer. While we had more sunshine than for several years (and more than most parts of Ireland this year) we also experienced some of the weirdest and wildest storms. The night of the 25th of August saw torrential rainfall which almost swept away the foundations of houses near ditches and literally washed the contents of boreens down onto the main roads so that children's bikes and toys were seen swimming along the roads of Donegal. This storm was superceded in strength by that which struck on the 7th of September when flash floods, thunder and fork lightning made rivers burst their banks and, in one case, washed away part of a new bridge between Doochary and Fintown which had just been opened earier in the summer. The old people talk about signs in the weather and my delight at seeing 3 double rainbows in the past few months has paled, as double rainbows, they say, are a sign of worse storms to come. For a full round-up of Festivals taking place in Donegal see Autumn Festivals. Don't miss the Fiddlers' Festival in Glenties 4-7th of October. Advertisement 
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