Friday, 30 April 2021
“Donegal reflects the best that Ireland has to offer” says Minister Charlie McConalogue TD, as he along with Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Cllr. Rena Donaghey, officially unveiled the new place brand for Donegal at an online event today.
“From its people and natural beauty to investment opportunity and connectivity, Donegal embodies all that is great about Ireland” said the Minister as he spoke at today’s online launch adding “Donegal has retained its culture, heritage and distinct assets which encapsulate everything that is good about Ireland”.
He also referenced the growth of new and emerging business sectors in the region while traditional sectors such as craft, agriculture and fisheries have evolved through innovation, embracing technology and a focus on sustainability.
As relocation from congested urban centres has given rise to remote working coupled with significant regional investment commitment to support this trend, the launch of the new Donegal place brand showcasing the region as a great place to live, work, invest, study and explore, is especially timely.
Today’s official unveiling of the new Donegal place featured a celebration of Donegal life, success, education, culture and music. The new place brand driver ‘Ireland’s DNA’ is an energetic, vibrant and authentic message which succinctly communicates Donegal’s offering and will help to facilitate its role as a key driver of regional growth in Ireland over the coming years.
Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Cllr Rena Donaghey welcomed ‘’recent positive announcements of investment in Donegal along with recent business expansion plans, stating that ‘’this really is a time of huge excitement for Donegal and our new place brand provides a wonderful platform to help showcase Donegal to a national and international audience’’
With Donal Kavanagh of Highland Radio compering, a number of Donegal ambassadors shared their own stories of life in Donegal and how the county has been key to their success. Killian McLaughlin, founder of the Wild Ireland Animal Sanctuary spoke of realising a lifelong dream to set-up an animal sanctuary attracting attention from around the world.
Rosie Temple of Magee1866 spoke of the strength of the Donegal brand internationally and how her iconic brand has remained true to its Donegal origins across five generations.
Paul Hannigan President of Letterkenny Institute of Technology outlined of the importance of collaboration between education and industry and the important role which this educational institute has in developing and nurturing future generations of talent in the region. A story of outstanding business success in the form of Pramerica, was told by Ciaran Harvey and Charlene Kennedy, where a small tech start-up grew to into a fortune 50 business and helped to consolidate Donegal’s title as a ICT and Tech hub in the North West.
Chief Executive of Donegal County Council, John McLaughlin spoke of how the new place brand will become a key vehicle to promote the region under a unified voice and assist in delivering the Council’s objectives of driving population growth, promoting economic development and job creation.
Donegal.ie is the online home for the new place brand and will be a vital resource for a wide audience such as investors looking to establish a base in the region or remote workers considering seeking to relocate to Donegal to avail of one of the many co-working digital hub across the county. It will also be an important hub for the people of Donegal seeking information on services and opportunities for upskilling and career development. The new place brand will create a ‘sense of place’ for Donegal online as a central information point and networking hub to attract residents, investors, explorers, students and workers.
