Monday, 25 September 2023
Thursday, the 14th of September, saw Donegal communities all across the world come together across social media to celebrate #LoveDonegal day 2023.
This year’s campaign had an overwhelming response with an incredible reach of 85 million across social media platforms including LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram on the day. #LoveDonegal and #DúnnanGallAbú was trending across Ireland throughout the whole weekend with users from every corner of the world engaging and flooding the internet with stories, images and videos focused on why Donegal is so special to them.
Individuals, organisations, and businesses from near and far celebrated everything Donegal and how important their connection to the county is. The momentum continued over the course of the weekend with events showcasing the county’s strong links to diaspora across the world, increasing the global reach of #LoveDonegal to an impressive 123.9 million by Sunday night!
These events included the inaugural ‘Disrupt By The Sea 2023’ held on Friday, September 15th In the picturesque location of Rathmullan House where six impressive entrepreneurs battled it out in the Shark Tank to win investment of up to $100,000. Sean McVeigh from Precision Sport Technology won the coveted first place prize as well as the ‘Audiences Choice’ award.
Donegal’s strong connections to our diaspora was celebrated on Saturday, September 16th at the annual Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Awards, held in the Gateway Hotel in Inishowen. The night celebrated three prestigious and esteemed members of our diaspora, their life-long accomplishments as well as their commitment and contributions to the diaspora. The 2023 award recipients included John T. Fries, Caroline McLaughlin and Dr. William C. Campbell.
The 2023 #LoveDoneagl Campaign was co-ordinated by Donegal County Council. Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Cllr. Martin Harley believes that #LoveDonegal day shows the strong connections that the county has across the world saying “the high levels of engagement with diaspora both nationally and internationally, particularly in global regions such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, India, and across Europe shows the impact Donegal has on people near and far, through the generations. With so many people across the globe participating, it really promoted Donegal as an ideal place to live, to visit, to invest, to work, do business and to relocate to through the special significance our magnificent county has”.
As mentioned on ‘The 2 Johnnies’ live 2fm radio show on #LoveDonegal Day, there has never been a single person from Donegal who isn’t profoundly proud to be from Donegal!
