{"id":263177,"date":"2026-01-25T12:04:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T12:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/263177\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T12:04:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T12:04:17","slug":"photo-special-four-decades-of-donegal-through-the-lens-of-declan-doherty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/263177\/","title":{"rendered":"Photo special: Four decades of Donegal through the lens of Declan Doherty"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE Regional Cultural Centre (RCC) will present an exhibition by former Donegal News photographer, Declan Doherty.<\/p>\n

\u2018Declan Doherty\u2019s Donegal\u2019, a landmark retrospective exhibition celebrating more than 40 years of photography by acclaimed local press photographer Declan Doherty. The exhibition officially opens on Saturday, January 31 at 6pm and runs until Saturday, March 14.<\/p>\n

Featuring over 400 photographs presented both digitally and in print, Declan Doherty\u2019s Donegal captures life across County Donegal from 1980 to 2023, portraying the people, places and everyday moments that define the character and community of the county. The exhibition also includes selections from two significant RCC art commissions, Building the RCC created for the centre\u2019s 20th anniversary, and Imaging Donegal \u2013 N56, a major public art project.<\/p>\n

Curated by former RCC Director Shaun Hannigan, the exhibition highlights Doherty\u2019s role as one of the most important visual chroniclers of Donegal life over the past four decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeclan has spent years quietly recording life in Donegal,\u201d said Shaun Hannigan.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis photographs show people going about their daily lives, as well as important moments in the county\u2019s story. Taken together, they form a strong record of how Donegal has looked and lived over the past four decades, and I was delighted to work with Declan on bringing this exhibition together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Declan Doherty\u2019s photographs have been widely published in local and national media, including the front page of The Irish Times. He is also a recipient of the Press Photographers of Ireland Prize for Best Feature.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy aim was always to record what was happening around me in Donegal,\u201d said Declan Doherty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese photographs show ordinary moments over a long period of time, from daily life to bigger events, and how things gradually changed. I am glad to be able to share the work and to see it brought together in this exhibition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Declan Doherty\u2019s Donegal is open every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday from 9.30am\u00a0to 5pm, Thursday from 9.30am to 9pm and Saturday from 1pm\u00a0to 5pm. Admission is open to all, and everyone is welcome to attend.<\/p>\n

For further information, visit regionalculturalcentre.com<\/p>\n

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The late writer Brian Friel and his wife Anne relaxing at the MacGill Summer School in 2011.<\/p>\n

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A hairshirt budget back in 2013.<\/p>\n

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Donegal manager Jim McGuinness in action for the county back in 1998.<\/p>\n

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An arms find on display at Letterkenny Garda Station, 1989.<\/p>\n

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The first sod is turned for the construction of An Grianan Theatre, Letterkenny, back in 1998.<\/p>\n

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Danny McDaid competes in the Donegal Cross Country championships back in 1988.<\/p>\n

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Islanders at the opening of the Tory Island Social Club over four decades ago.<\/p>\n

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An arms find on display at Letterkenny Garda Station, 1989.<\/p>\n

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The late Jim McCormick watching a Letterkenny Folk Festival parade back in 1993.<\/p>\n

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Gardai dispose of a poitin find in Letterkenny back in 1998.<\/p>\n

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The demolition of Oatfield Sweet Factory, Letterkenny, back in 2014.<\/p>\n

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Danny McDaid competes in the Donegal Cross Country championships back in 1988.<\/p>\n

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Soldiers taking part in a major Irish army exercise near Gartan back in 2009.<\/p>\n

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Fr Kieran McAteer leads a Corpus Christi procession in Letterkenny back in 1986.<\/p>\n

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Members of the Irish Aer Corps bring bales of hay to starving sheep on Rathlin Island, Glencolmcille, back in 1999. The island was cut off due prolonged storms.<\/p>\n

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Devastation following a car bomb in Clady, Tyrone, back in 1986.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE Regional Cultural Centre (RCC) will present an exhibition by former Donegal News photographer, Declan Doherty. \u2018Declan Doherty\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-263177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}