ARRANMORE Island’s RNLI all-weather lifeboat volunteer crew responded to three calls for assistance over the Christmas period. On Tuesday 26, Wednesday 27 and Friday 29 December the volunteer crew answered their pagers to help others in need. The first two call outs were to assist in medical evacuations from the island and the third to bring […]
Stranorlar charity shop places third in Christmas window competition
A Christmas window display in Stranorlar has attracted national attention placing third in a competition run by Charity Retail Ireland. Cúnamh Finn Valley thanked everyone who voted for their Christmassy display. The judges said they were blown away by the creativity of this year’s entries. First place went to the St Vincent de Paul shop […]
Don’t ‘suffer in silence’ this Christmas, say gardaí
GARDAÍ in Letterkenny are urging anyone in need of support over the festive season not to suffer in silence and reach out to them. While Christmas time is a happy time for the majority of people, it can also be a challenging time for others because of grief, financial worries, domestic abuse, loneliness and various […]
Moya Brennan’s new music to highlight the feeling of loss at Christmas
DONEGAL folk singer Moya Brennan has released a new single ‘I Still Believe’ and a new album ‘Nollaig Gaelach’ to highlight the feeling of loss around Christmas. Moya’s brother Leon passed away in December 2021, and her uncle Noel (a founding member of Clannad) passed away in 2022, as well as the losses of her […]
‘Tis the season for festive trends
The most wonderful time of the year has arrived. The festive season is filled with social gatherings, parties and events… oh what fun! However, these events require a lot of planning, particularly when it comes to your outfit and sometimes… the struggle is real. When we think Christmas, we associate it with sparkles, bold prints […]
Bishop McGuckian urges people not to forget the story of Christmas
THE Bishop of Raphoe Alan McGuckian has urged people not to forget the story of Christmas and to ponder the extraordinary love that descended from the heavens into a humble manger. In his Christmas message to all parishes around the diocese, he said those who might be lonely, sad or desolate at this time, need […]
Long-lasting memories don’t come wrapped in rolls of Christmas paper
By Sabrina Sweeney Christmas can be a funny old time of the year, full of contradictions. I’ve spoken to so many people over the last couple of weeks, all saying they wish for a return to a more relaxed time, with more energy left to enjoy the build up to the festivities. Advertisement There was […]
Dreaming of a white Christmas
FOR those dreaming of a white Christmas it doesn’t look likely it will be on the cards this year with Met Éireann predicting wet but mild conditions. This week we took a look back through the archives to see when the hills of Donegal were covered in white for Christmas. One of the heaviest snowfalls […]
Parenting: Enduring the mischief of Elf on the Shelf
By Louise Flanagan The Elf on the Shelf is one of the most contentious Christmas traditions out there. A lot of parents bemoan the festive arrival of an elf in their home – probably because he gets up to all manner of mischief throughout the month of December. Advertisement We have an elf in our […]
Thousands of Ukrainians to spend second Christmas in Donegal
BY JEROME HUGHES HAVING fled her war-torn country in October last year, Scoil Cholmcille pupil, Yeva Borodina, has had a difficult childhood but her future is looking brighter. The 10-year-old Ukrainian is about to spend her second Christmas in Letterkenny with her mother, Tetiana. Advertisement Unfortunately for Yeva, her father remains back home in Zaporizhzhia, […]