After more than four decades capturing the very pulse of Donegal and its people, photographer Declan Doherty has compiled a collection of his work.
A photojournalist with the Donegal News regional newspaper, the Letterkenny native recently closed the door on his office darkroom for the last time, having retired.
However, those not familiar with his work now have the chance to see it up close and personal at the Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny.
Declan Doherty’s Donegal contains 400 photographs from the hundreds of thousands of images he has captured during those years.
It is, without doubt, the most concise photographic collection of the county, its people and the events that have shaped it over the past half-century.
Lieut Mike Sullivan and airman Adrian Thompson of the Irish Air Corps deliver bales of hay to hungry sheep on Rathlin O’Birne Island in 1999 following a prolonged spell of bad weather. All photographs: Declan Doherty 
Nabla Doohan, the Queen of Tory island, 1993 
The late Donegal musician Ted Ponsonby and his daughter Sarah in 2001 
Spectators enjoying the Mary from Dungloe festival carnival parade in 1994 
Ramelton ladies Chrissie Sandilands and Elizabeth Wilson casting an eye over the Lennon Festival carnival parade in 2004 
The Sam Maguire cup visits Tory Island following Donegal’s win over Dublin in 1992 
Jessie Buckley in Dunlewey, Co Donegal, 2023 
The late playwright Brian Friel and his wife, Anne, at MacGill Summer School in Glenties in 2011 
Starlings gather at Donegal fire service headquarters, September 2025 
William Boomer, right, and Michael ‘Rosie’ Curran after voting in the general election of 1992 in Gortahork 
Meryl Streep arriving in Donegal for the local premiere of the film Dancing at Lughnasa in 1998
From stunning shots of Hollywood actor Meryl Streep visiting Glenties at the premiere of Brian Friel’s film Dancing at Lughnasa in 1998 to local elections, tragic events and everything in between, Doherty acted as the eyes of a generation of readers.
His work has also appeared on the front pages of many of Ireland’s national newspapers, including The Irish Times, during those four decades.
Curated by the cultural centre’s former director Shaun Hannigan, Doherty’s work is one of the last true photographic compilations to cross seamlessly from black-and-white film development to digital photography, always keeping the subject to the fore of his frame.
It is well worth travelling to Co Donegal to see before it closes on Saturday, March 14th.