By Pat McArt
When Donnan Harvey started his “Save the Church Lane” campaign in his native Letterkenny many people, and he openly says this, thought him “off his rocker”. The houses there were derelict, some abandoned, and there was zero interest in doing anything about it in official circles. So, it seemed to be a case of a modern day Don Quixote tilting at windmills.
How wrong everyone was.
Today the Church Lane is unrecognisable, a changed, vibrant location where renewal and regeneration are visible everywhere.
And Donnan Harvey was – is – the catalyst for that change. And the area that has now been re-branded Letterkenny’s Cathedral Quarter.
On Wednesday night he took me on a tour for his latest project – a “Jaunt Around the Cathedral Quarter” as he wants to develop walking tours of this historic part of old Letterkenny town.
Donnan explained: “The history of this place is so rich and varied yet so few people, even our own townies, know little about it. For instance, the “Church Lane” got its name from the Church of Ireland at the top of the lane which was built in 1636.
“And of course the Catholic Cathedral, which took a decade to build, is our iconic building in that its location on high ground and its tall spire are the first thing most visitors will see on their way into town.”
As we walked around Donnan, who is secretary of the Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter, was spewing out facts. Pointing to the statue in the forecourt of St Eunan’s Cathedral he pointed out that it was of the man who initiated the building of it, Bishop O’Donnell who was appointed Bishop of Raphoe at 28 which, it is believed, made him the youngest bishop in the world at the time. He later became Cardinal O’ Donnell.
And an odd little fact is the architect was a guy called William Hague – the same name was the guy who led the Conservative Party in Britain a few years ago. Any connection between the two has yet to be established.
What Donnan – and others – find fascinating is that the Church Lane really is the gateway to the religious and educational heart of Letterkenny.
Here’s the list – the Gospel Hall, the Church of Ireland parish church, St Eunan’s, Loreto Convent, the Bishop’s Palace, Trinity Hall, the Presentation Brothers, St Colmcille NS, Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, and St Eunan’s College. All that in one small area of a big town.
He states: “The whole idea of the “The Jaunt”, as I am calling it, is to bring the stories of this place alive. For instance it’s claimed that the remains of the famous Rapparee, Redmond O’ Hanlon are buried in the Church of Ireland graveyard. There are connections with the famous writer, Jane Austen there too. At the top of the Lane there is a plaque which commemorates James Duffy who won the Victoria Cross in World War 1 and came back to a changed Ireland where he was looked at with suspicion for having fought for the British. His heroism was all but ignored.”
The connection with hiring fairs, the site arrest of Wolfe Tone according to his son, famed artist Harry Clarke’s stained glass windows, the execution of Padraig Pearse and his brother Willie and various other events also get honourable mentions during our jaunt.
So, what s behind the project? What brought it about?
Donnan again: “When some of the Ukrainian people came here, to make them feel at home we took them around to show them a wee bit of our history. There are murals which have recently been done to depict the old and the new. We showed them the house where our most famous footballer, Seamus Hoare – he played for Donegal and Ulster – was born and raised. And so on. We were trying to make them feel at home.
“The thought occurred to me then that with the growing tourism now and with so little to offer our visitors that we could use this as a wee fund raiser for the Cathedral Quarter while at the same time providing a worthwhile service to our tourism industry. It’s as simple as that. And it only takes about 30 minutes of anyone’s time.”
The first tour will begin on July 10th at 8pm. The plan is to keep tours running until mid September,
For more information contact Donnan Harvey on 086 345 2457 or through Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter social media pages.
