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Ireland’s Own
Donegal Democrat The Official picked up his pen, adjusted his spectacles, and looked over the man standing before him. The man sat uncomfortably; all too painfully aware of the poor first impression his ragged clothing and unshaven appearance gave. “Name?” “Padraig Mac Gabhainn” “Paddy, eh? What was that surname again?” “Mac Gabhainn.” “I see. And […]
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Car Madness
Donegal Democrat I was damn near killed last Sunday. Outside Virginia in Cavan, the car in front suddenly pulled into the side, and in front of it, coming at us at high speed was a genius on the wrong side of the road. Our car almost ended up in a ditch swerving to avoid the […]
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Country matters
Donegal Democrat According to the Census figures, the combined population of Glencolmcille, Kilgoly and Malinbeg electoral areas on a Sunday last April is 1,498 people. In the six years since the last census, the population has slipped slightly from 1,562, a dip of about four percent. The emigration patterns are a bit different these days, […]
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What I did yesterday
I saw a football match on Sunday. Not Cork V Kerry, something far more important. Naomh Columba’s played Naomh Conall in the first round, second leg of the Donegal County Football Championship.
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Wake up and smell the coffee
Donegal Democrat Whenever Americans asked me why I’d left such a beautiful country and county to live in the concrete jungles, I used remind them of the old Connemara proverb: ‘You can’t eat the scenery.’ Later, when asked by those I knew had been to Ireland, I said it was because I couldn’t find a […]
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Ros na Rún abú!
Donnegal Democrat Have you noticed how Eamon Ó Cuiv seems to look and sound more like his grandfather with every passing year? It can be a terrible distraction when you’re trying to listen to what he’s saying rather than how he’s saying it. Last weekend for instance, ‘Dev Óg’ made a speech about the role […]
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A Ramble in the Park
A few years ago, I saw Ireland play Mexico in Giants Stadium in New Jersey. In Croke Park on the August Bank Holiday, it was hotter, more exciting, and the surroundings were grander.
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Much Ado About Nothing
Donegal Democrat The silly season is well and truly upon us. It’s that time of year when the Dáil has closed down for the summer, and there just aren’t that many stories to report any more. To everyone who compains there’s nothing but bad news in the papers, this might be a good thing. For […]
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New Names for Old
Donegal Democrat ‘Translations’, the Brian Friel play touring the Gaeltachts of Donegal and Scotland at the moment, tells the story of one culture disappearing as another imposes its names on the places a people live in. Names that mean something, names that tell something of the history of a place, are replaced by meaningless strings […]
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Euros by any other name
Donegal Democrat Have you managed the euro conversion yet? No, I don’t mean he onerous task of converting all our notes and coins to euros. Lets be honest, most of us took a bit more cash than usual from the ATM on New Years Eve, in case the banks had problems switching over, had it […]
