Aoife Doherty delves into the archives to bring you the news and images from yesteryear.

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August 16, 1975

THE GREAT LETTERKENNY WATER MYSTERY CONTINUES

THE great Letterkenny water mystery seems to have baffled everyone, even the experts.

It was long since claimed that once new pipes were laid from Lough Salt and Lough Keel that the town would have a liberal supply; the water supply problems would disappear for years. But this week the Town Surveyor, Mr C.V. McLaughlin made it clear that there was no guarantee that a 24 hour supply could be given to the town even for the days and nights of the Folk Festival, when one councillor said that there would be the biggest crowd ever in Letterkenny.

And yet it was claimed that the water was coming into the town reservoir at an unprecedented rate and that on occasions it was rising so fast it was spilling out over the top of the reservoir.

Mr McLaughlin explained that with the new system they were having “teething problems” and that they were working “hand in glove” with the County Council officials on the water.

Cllr James Larkin thought there must be an explanation as to why the water was overflowing the reservoir one day and on another day there was a shortage. How could it drop so suddenly to a dangerous level?

BIGGEST EVER LETTERKENNY INTERNATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL

LETTERKENNY’S International Folk Festival, 1975 will be by far the biggest and best ever. The courageous organisers have plunged deeply into a tremendous undertaking that will bring 13 different folk dance and singing groups from abroad to provide music and entertainment on the streets of the town and in the hotels, pubs and halls, for four days and nights beginning next Thursday.

This promises to be by far the most magnificent and the most ambitious Folk Festival ever staged in the country, and should attract huge numbers of visitors to participate and enjoy it all. The festival pace will be hectic, for the programme is crammed with four very full days and nights entertainment that touches all ages.

The festival committee has had to book accommodation in the town for over 350 foreign visitors involved in the festival and it is estimated, (conservatively too) that the cost of staging it all will run to more than £13,000.

The committee has tackled nothing on this huge scale in all of its six years, but has had to meet with a tremendous demand from various groups abroad who have been interested in coming to Letterkenny.

Never before has Donegal seen anything on the scale of this year’s Letterkenny Folk Festival which is indeed truly international in flavour. And from each foreign country will come people who are deeply interested in the traditions of their own country and ready to exhibit them in song and dance to one another and to the people of Donegal and the neighbouring counties.

This Festival has been imaginatively inspired and executed and should be a memorable one.

GLENSWILLY MAN’S TOO LONG-JUMP

A GAA star who was too good for the expected standard of an athletics meeting, ended up with a fractured ankle recently.

He was Joe Kelly, the well-known Glenswilly based player, who fields with Termon and cross-channel with Tirconaill Gaels.

He travelled up to a football competition and sports meeting outside Glasgow.

Joe was competing in the long jump and right away went for a good leap of 21 ft. 6 ins. But the pit was only for 20 ft. and he came down too hard, fracturing the leg that will necessitate it being in plaster for 16 weeks.

Back in Donegal, Joe is doing the rounds of the football games and there is a message of goodwill from the emigrants in Glasgow for him.

August 18, 2000

MORE STUDENTS DROPPED OUT OF LETTERKENNY COLLEGE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE

THREE out of every five students who enrolled in Letterkenny Institute of Technology five years ago “dropped out” before completing their courses, according to the findings of a report published this week.

Details of a study of achievement rates in eleven institutes of technology shows that non-completion rates were highest in engineering and computing where more than half of the students quit before taking their final exams.

The draft study tracked the academic progress of 11,175 students who enrolled for the first time in eleven ITs in 199596. More than half (52.07 per cent) graduated on time, a small number graduated later or were still in attendance in 1998-99 and just over two fifths (42.61 per cent) did not finish their courses.

Overall the highest non completion rate was in Letterkenny at 60.56 per cent.

Mr Paul Hannigan, Director of Letterkenny Institute of Technology, said that the colleges had been aware of the issue of noncompletion of courses by students for some time.

RELIEF ALL ROUND AS LEAVING CERT RESULTS REVEALED

THE two months of suspense for Donegal’s 2,228 Leaving Certificate pupils ended on Wednesday, with the majority of pupils, teachers and parents across the county well pleased with the results.

There were sighs of relief, tears of joy and in some cases disappointment after a quick calculation of the points gained brought the realisation that a particular course was not attainable. However, the wide availability of alternative routes to degree courses consoled those who had not gained sufficient points for entry to university.

In general, teachers and pupils at the county’s 24 second level schools were happy with their results and they now sit back and wait for the first round of offers from the Central Applications Office (CAO) on Tuesday next.

St Eunan’s College Leaving Certificate students looked nervous as they walked through the doors of the college on Wednesday morning, but there were smiles all around when they came out.

One young man from Letterkenny got 7 As, only two behind Ireland’s best overall result which was nine A1s.

Principal Fr Carney was pleased with the overall results for the class of 2000.

ADULT ACTION URGED IN LETTERKENNY

A senior garda officer in Letterkenny has urged parents and publicans to come together to take responsibility for the ongoing problems of underage drinking in the town.

The appeal follows a marked increase in the numbers of children congregating at underage ‘drinking parties’ at different locations around the town, particularly on weekend nights.

Superintendent Jim Gallagher said: “We urge parents to be more vigilant. They should know where their children are at all times, particularly at night.

“There is a problem with underage drinking in Letterkenny. We believe that adults are buying the drink from off-licences for supply to these children, and where there is evidence of an offence we will take appropriate action if any person is found supplying alcohol to minors.”