Welcome

Our town is Carndonagh.

We lie in the heart of Inishowen, Co. Donegal.

In November 2012, from the 19th to the 30th, we witnessed the beginnings of a project that is deeper than ‘grass-roots’.

‘Our Colours, Our Sounds’ was a unique project that aimed to promote and celebrate cultural diversity, whilst creating a colourful, vibrant town centre.

The project used a ‘whole town’ approach, empowering and encouraging individuals and groups. The project highlighted Carndonagh’s cultural make-up, shared who we are as a town ‘now’ and celebrated our local and diverse cultures and histories.

Audio recordings of local people sharing personal and cultural stories were collected. These were played in participating shops/businesses during the two week event. This part of the project may well become an important social archive and living cultural record of how peoples in rural Donegal are changing and integrating as part of today’s Ireland.

Each shop window in Carndonagh’s town centre, ‘The Diamond’, was a work of art in its own right. Aspects of cultures which make up our community in Carndonagh today were explored, celebrated and displayed through artworks by local children, young people, artists and creative people living in the north Inishowen area.

This is the first event of its type in Ireland. It turned the entire town centre into an exhibition and celebration of culture using art and sound. The project drew attention to the town centre of Carndonagh as a ‘cultural hotspot’, the ‘Diamond’ of Inishowen, while it highlighted our local creative talents, and strong community spirit.

Who we are as a Community today

Cultures and nationalities living in and around Carndonagh today include Irish, Polish, Filipino, Latvian, Lithuanian, Spanish, Chinese, Scottish, American, English, Moldavian, Zimbabwean, Indian, German, Moroccan, Romanian, Nigerian, Dutch, Asian and French and Greek Cypriot.

That’s 21 diverse cultures living together at the heart of Inishowen.