by Paddy Walsh
IT’S over seventy miles from Elizabethtown to the Letterkenny Township in Penn-sylvania in the U.S.A. Add a few thousand more – as in over 5,000 kms – on to that and you can land in Philadelphia and travel by train to the borough that was once twinned with the Letterkenny the rest of us are more familiar with and, thanks to the initiative of parties on both sides, will be again.
A journey recently undertaken by Cathedral Quarter innovator, Donnan Harvey, that has helped push the re-twinning proposals further along the tracks.
And while he didn’t quite make it to the Letterkenny Township, he did meet a number of exiles from his native town that made it seem like home from home.
“I ran into people like John McDaid from Rahan and ‘Donegal’ Steve Larkin who is a cousin of the Larkin clan. They both live in the Philadelphia area and have been there since the 1990’s,” says Donnan.
Both men attended the specially convened conference in Elizabethtown that formed the central plank of Donnan’s visit and were joined by another Letterkenny man, Sean Cafferkey who along with his, Britanny, resides in nearby Harrisburg. The couple met in Korea and only relocated to Pennsylvania last Christmas.
The conference, entitled Elizabethtown & Letterkenny – The Sister City’s – Past, Present & Future, was held on the third day of Donnan’s visit and while he was able to address it directly, the wonders of technology allowed the Letterkenny Municipal Mayor and Deputy Mayor, councillors Gerry McMonagle and Ciaran Brogan to deliver a political and personal perspective on the pending twinning arrangement.
And while the Elizabethtown architect of the proposed move, Kim Winey, got a first hand taste of Letterkenny, its past and its present, during a visit last year, the representatives of her home borough were able to listen to an online address by historian and author, Kieran Kelly, outlining the history of the Cathedral Town.
“As a new day of our friendship has dawned, it was magnificent that Letterkenny natives, John McDaid, and ‘Donegal’ Stevie Larkin, members of the Donegal Diaspora living in Philadeplphia, were in the room to witness this special moment.
“After our ground breaking conference, we were given a guided tour of Winters Heritage House Museum where we learnt all about how the founding fathers of Elizabethtown lived. The day was brought to an end with a ‘Pennsylvania Potluck Dinner at the Coble House hosted by members of Winters Heritage House Museum where Letterkenny natives, Sean, John and Stevie and myself felt very privileged to be at.”
Over the preceding and subsequent days, there was much more for Donnan to engage in including a religious service at the Donegal Presbyterian Church which is over 300 years old and was founded, as the name suggests, by emigrants from this county.
He also spent time with Sean and Brittany who had, he said, come to symbolise the renewed friendship between the two areas.
“Sean has not forgotten his roots, even purchasing a block in support of the Jim Lynch Community building at Letterkenny Community Centre. Steve Larkin and John McDaid did likewise.”
During a busy schedule, Donnan also met two representatives of the Jane Austen Society North America Eastern Pennsylvania Branch and a representative of the Maryland branch to inform them of the Letterkenny and Donegal links with the renowned English author.
“I believe they are hoping to organise a trip to Letterkenny to visit the various places associated with the writer and her nieces and to hear more about this connection”
Another local face Donnan came in contact was Louis Bradley. ”Louis lived at number 11 Church Lane and he and his family left when he was nine years of age.
“I also ran into Benny Russell from Trentagh and Trevor Alcorn from Termon who was in Pennsylvania on his holidays. And when I was in Philadelphia I met up with Mary Finnegan whose mother hailed from Creeslough.”
Niall O’Donnell, who along with a Letterkenny group visited Elizabethtown some years ago, commissioned local artist John Baird to provide several prints of his work. And they were presented to Donnan to take with him on his visit and now occupy pride of place in the borough featuring as they do some of John’s iconic images.
A trip to remember and one that will undoubtedly have furthered the objectives of future exchanges and that ultimate aim of a renewed twinning to bridge the communities of Letterkenny and Elizabethtown.
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