Main pic: The virtual golf game at The Plaza Youth Club and, inset, founder Chris Flanagan.
A Buncrana businessman will open a state-of-the-art youth club after his daughter told him there was “nothing to do” for young people in the town.
It all kicked off a year ago when Chris Flanagan did some further research and found that, outside of sports clubs, there was a huge vacuum for youth services in the area.
Tomorrow, he will officially open the Plaza Youth Club and Café in the partially revamped Plaza Ballroom which was devastated by a fire in February, 2019.
The impressive 3,000 square foot facility will include a PlayStation Club with reclining sofas, a piano cafe, a huge virtual golf game, classroom (learning hub) and a pool room.
“It all started 12 months ago when my daughter told me there was ‘nothing to do’ for young people in the town who were not into sports,” Mr Flanagan told Donegal Daily.
“It rained for 325 days last year, so I decided I would build a state-of-the art youth club for the young people of Buncrana.”
The computer games room at The Plaza Youth Club.
He said the standout feature of the new club is the cafe, which accounts for around a third of the space and will also have an acrylic ‘glass piano’ and seating for up to 40 people.
“We will also have a Playstation club that can seat up to ten, and includes four gaming PCs for kids who are into the unlimited world of gaming,” added.
“There will be an area for boardgames and a more interesting section is the virtual golf. There, you can play golf virtually on any course in the world. The classroom can seat up to 28 kids, if anyone wants to come in to give a class or grinds etc. I also commissioned an artist, Brian Scampton, to do murals all through the club which will feature local scenery and attractions.”
He said the venue will initially open from 12 noon to 6pm, but he wants to extend the opening hours to cater for ‘kids hanging around the streets.’
“This place is for kids who are not into sports, as there’s not that much for them to do. It’s really bad for young people’s mental health to be sitting in their bedrooms alone and this is an effort to get them out to interact with friends and play the same games, and there will be good food there too.”
The new pool room at The Plaza Youth Club.
Mr Flanagan stressed the renovation works were carried out by local tradesmen, and that all materials were purchased in the area. He also thanked Currys for their generous €1,000 donation towards the project. And, he is seeking to hire a full-time youth worker to run the facility. If interested, or know of someone who is, email Pixelbrick1@gmail.com
The official opening will begin at 7pm and feature live coverage on Highland Radio, along with entertainment from a live pianist. Guests attending the event will also be offered free food and refreshments.
Buncrana gets new youth club after businessman steps in to help local teens was last modified: March 19th, 2026 by Staff Writer
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