Letterkenny Town Park

Letterkenny Town Park (Irish: Páirc Baile Leitir Ceanainn) or Bernard McGlinchey Town Park, as it is officially known as, is a public park located in Letterkenny, County Donegal. It is located at University Hospital Roundabout, adjacent to St Conal's Hospital.

Letterkenny Town Park
Letterkenny Town Park
TypePublic Park
LocationLetterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland
Area10 acres (40,000 m2)
Created12 May 1999
Operated byDonegal County Council, Letterkenny Municipal District
StatusOpen all year

It was the largest public park in Letterkenny and in County Donegal from 1999 to 2009 until Ballymacool Park opened in the town on 24 May 2009.

History

In mid-1995, the North Western Health Board leased "The Show Field" at St Conal's Hospital to the local council so as "to provid[e] this very considerable community amenity to the people of Letterkenny" with the intention to develop a town park.[1]

The park is situated on the site of an 18th-century woodland. It was officially opened on 12 May 1999 by TD James McDaid.

The theme of the 40,000 m2 (10-acre) park is "Peace". The park is laid out with a herb garden, flower beds, mature and new trees, an orchard area, playing areas, bowling green, walks and playgrounds, has leaf-shaped gates at several entry points and has a tea room which opened in 2008.

In 2008 Letterkenny Town Council were urged to carry out a review of the park's security following a public sex act and bouts of anti-social behaviour, bullying, and vandalism.[2]

In January 2017, vandals defecated on a children's slide in the park. The human excrement was first noticed when a group of parents scented a disgusting odour in the vicinity. They later discovered that the faeces had been smeared on the inside of the slide. Local politician Gerry McMonagle said: "There was a particularly bad smell because it was an enclosed slide and faeces were smeared down it.". The discovery of the faeces made the national newspapers.[3] It led to calls for CCTV cameras to be installed in the park; this eventually came to pass.[4][5][6] McMonagle said: "This is not an isolated incident, this is a regular occurrence. This is not the first time that human excrement was spread in that park ... There has been a litany of incidents ... There have been cover-ups."[7] Another local politician, Dessie Shiels, warned of another public park in the west of the country having experienced the placing of melted razor blades into children's slides, saying: "We don't want what happened in Galway to happen here."[7]

In mid-2018, work commenced on a multi-play unit in the play area of the park.[8] A new Letterkenny Outdoor Gym (for which Healthy Ireland provided funding of €40,000) also came into use within the park's boundaries about this time; the groundwork had been begun earlier in the year, though its opening was announced then delayed on several occasions.[8][9][10][11]

Monuments

A Garden of Remembrance opened in honour of the memory of members of the Gardaí and Army who have given their lives in service of the United Nations. A stone bench was unveiled in the park on 10 July 2007 to honour James Duffy (VC).

Events
Levity II Luminarium at the park on 15 July 2007

The park is the venue for the Party in the Park festival where local bands perform each August and also holds French Markets during the Year.

From 12 to 15 July 2007, a Levity II Luminarium was opened in the park. The luminarium is an inflatable environment, a participative sculpture made of translucent vinyl which has attracted nearly 2 million visitors in 34 countries around the world.[12]

References
  1. McLoughlin, Laura (23 July 2020). "The Way We Were - 25 Years Ago: July 22, 1995 - Town park lease". Donegal News. p. 18. The North Western Health Board has agreed to lease land at St Conal's Hospital to Letterkenny Urban District Council for development as a town park. Mr Donal O'Shea, CEO informed the Board on Monday that the Council was not able to buy the property known as "The Show Field" but the Hospital Standing Committee considered the possibility of leasing the property to UDC with a view 'to providing this very considerable community amenity to the people of Letterkenny'.
  2. Lewd sex act shocked local people, Main security arrangements at Town Park to be reviewed Archived 2013-02-17 at archive.today, Donegal Democrat, 12 June 2008
  3. Devine, Catherine. "'Children were put at risk and parents were disgusted' – Vandals soil slide at popular town park", Irish Independent, 4 January 2017.
  4. Farrar, Carolynn. "Donegal Cllr seeks CCTV for park after vandalism: Council staff were on site Tuesday morning morning to power-clean and disinfect the play apparatus.", Donegal Democrat, 4 January 2017.
  5. "Council workshop to consider cost of installing CCTV in park", Highland Radio, 11 January 2017.
  6. "CCTV cameras for park after 'disgusting' incident at children's playground", Donegal Daily, 4 April 2017.
  7. "Alleged 'cover-ups' conceal anti-social behaviour at Letterkenny park", Donegal Now, 12 January 2017.
  8. "Multi-play unit to be installed at Bernard McGlinchey Town Park", Highland Radio, 4 May 2018.
  9. "Outside gym to be established in Bernard McGlinchey Town Park", Highland Radio, 6 January 2018.
  10. "Outdoor Gym at Bernard McGlinchey Town Park to open next month", Highland Radio, 10 February 2018.
  11. "Brand new Bernard McGlinchey Town Park Outdoor Gym to be officially opened this week", Donegal Now, 22 May 2018.
  12. Earagail Arts Festival: Levity II Luminarium

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