Róise Collins delves into the archives to bring you the news and images from yesteryear.
Saturday, February 14, 1976
BIG ANTI BLANEY VOTE AT FIANNA FAIL ARD FHEIS
Fianna Fail has said very empathetically that it does not want Donegal Deputy Neal Blaney back in its ranks. The vast majority of the 3,000 delegates from around the country at the Ard Fheis in Dublin voted on Sunday overwhelmingly against inviting him back into the party.
The result, on a show of hands – only a handful were in favour – was met with cheers from the delegates.
For Mr Blaney it is the gravest blow in years to his political future. Many of his supporters have been buoyed up by the cultivated belief that whenever Mr Blaney himself thought the moment opportune he would move back under the Fianna Fail umbrella. Now that umbrella gas been very firmly and decisively whipped away.
For them the question being asked is where now does Mr Blaneys future lie? They feel that as a lone operator in the Dáil and in the centres of power, his sole unsupported voice is too weak and too seldom heard. It seems quite clear that he will be unable to link up with any other Dáil party.
And he had not found favour with Sinn Féin – either wing.
HELP FOR DEAF CHILDREN FROM YOUNG LETTERKENNY MOTHER
THROUGH the efforts and dedication of a young Letterkenny mother the only school in the country outside of Dublin and Cork, is helping four or five young Donegal with varying hearing defects.
She provides classes for them through her own choice and decision in her own home at 50 Hawthorn Heights, Letterkenny.
She is a fully qualified teacher with her B.A. and B.Comm degrees and her Higher Diploma and was on the staff of a secondary school prior to her marriage.
Mrs Kathleen McGlynn was brought face to face with the problems of deaf children when she discovered her son Peter, now six years old, had defective hearing. With her teacher husband she did everything that was possible to help him.
With a number of other Donegal children he eventually was given a place in a Dublin school for the education of deaf children. But the parting from parents and family was always emotionally disturbing for the children. Many tears were shed as they travelled to Dublin.
And while they were given every care and attention at the residential school, they felt the separation from home. Mrs McGlynn undertook a parents correspondence course with the University of California for teaching the deaf. And she has successfully applied it.
TELEFIS EIREANN SHOWS LETTEREKENNY’S “BETTER” SIDE
“LETTERKENNY is very beautiful and everything that everyone said it would be.”
This was the comment of former Miss World, Mrs Reita Powell (née Faria) who had officially opened the 1975 Letterkenny International Folk Festival and participated so much in the various events of the festival, much to the pleasure of the organisers and the people.
“The nicest part of Donegal” was the comment, and this was the theme of the Tom McGrath – produced half hour film on the festival shown on RTE last week. Everything was nice and rosy and perhaps intended to heal the wounds created by the now notorious Mac Lochlainn film on Letterkenny which aroused so much better comment in the locality.
The happy film on Letterkenny was welcomed generally. A very big number of people switched to it and found it entertaining, and painting a good picture of all the bright and joyful moments. There was accent on the number of foreigners attracted to this remote North West corner of Ireland. How could this possibly be true? Would Dubliners believe it? Even to them Donegal was so far way. How could they possibly attract Russians, Bretons, English, Latvians, Maltese?
Friday, February 23, 2001
Boston Scientific takeover of Letterkenny firm is ‘major boost’ – IDA
THERE was a significant development for Letterkenny industry this week with confirmation that one of the world’s largest medical device companies is to acquire Interventional Technologies as part of a $345 million deal involving its parents company in the US.
Boston Scientific which employs 13,500 people worldwide has announced its intention to acquire IVT Inc of San Diego, California by early May. The company employs 65 people at a subsidiary IVT Europe in the IDS’s Business Park in Lisnennan Letterkenny.
The move has been described by the IDA’s Regional Manager Mr Joe McHugh as a major boost for Letterkenny and Donegal. The fact that a large company like Boston Scientific will leave a presence in Letterkenny can only augurs well for the future. In November IVT announced plans to create a further 90 jobs over the next three years in Letterkenny. This will bring the number of people employed in the firm to 150. The move is recognition of the tremendous work of the management and staff over the past eight years he said.
BORDER SECURITY STEPPED UP FOLLOWING OUTBREAK OF FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE
TIGHT security measures were put in place yesterday on all border crossings in Donegal to prevent the spread of the highly contagious foot and mouth disease detected in Britain this week.
Garda resources were stretched to the limit to ensure that more than 100 border crossings in Donegal were manned to prevent animals or animal products reaching the state from the North or Britain.
It is now against the law to bring even a packet of bacon, a litre of milk or a yoghurt from the North into the country. The main supermarkets have agreed to withdraw pork products from Britain from their shelves and there will be a ban on milk sold here that is sourced in the North.
Chief Superintendent Nacie Rice has called for the co-operation of everybody in the county to prevent the spread of the disease.
“The impact of foot and mouth disease reaching this country would be disastrous for everyone in both urban and rural Ireland. Everyone must do their best to try keep a ring around the country to prevent the disease getting in,” the Chief Superintendent said.
