By Chris Ashmore
NO time frame is being given regarding plans for a new-look Market Square in the heart of Letterkenny – despite the fact that a winning design was chosen back in 2021.
Councillors were informed this week that Donegal County Council is currently “awaiting approval” from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to award the construction contract.
The latest delay stems from the fact that the contractor who was initially awarded the contract for the re-imagined Market Square subsequently withdrew, and this meant the local authority had to turn to a second tender submitted and to get the go-ahead from the Department.
“There have been a lot of false starts,” Cllr Gerry McMonagle commented following a presentation to councillors on various capital projects at a plenary meeting of the council in Lifford yesterday.
Seeking a timeline on the development, he wondered whether works could at least be started on clearing and preparing the site.
“There will be a lot of work to get the site ready. Money was allocated years ago,” he noted.
Brendan McLaughlin of the council’s Capital Projects Delivery Unit acknowledged that the Market Square is “a slow burner” and had been “a saga” to get to this point.
He stated that there is no funding for any advance work, and was reluctant to give a timeframe.
He added that they are “at the mercy of the Department” and the council will “look at the mobilisation of the contract” as soon as it can.
He also pointed out that the tender is now a year old “and a lot has happened in the meantime”.
Given the rise in construction costs, he hinted there “could be issues there too.”
The latest figures from the council now put the project cost at €3.5 million, up from €2.6 million a few years ago.
It is expected that 75 per cent of the funding will be under the Urban Regeneration Development Fund with 25 per cent being put up through Donegal County Council.
The new Market Square will be named in memory of local man Barney Doherty to mark his contribution to the town, particularly in his role as Director of the Letterkenny Folk Festival for many
years. Mr Doherty passed away in 2001.
Meanwhile, there has been a broad welcome from councillors to the news that Fáilte Ireland has agreed to fund a revised planning application for the €12.5 million Fort Dunree project.
In July 2025, An Coimisiún Pleanála refused planning permission for the restoration and upgrade of the existing visitor experience at the historical Inishowen attraction on the grounds that it was not satisfied that effluent from the proposed development would not pose a risk to the pollution of Lough Swilly.