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Visitors to Donegal seeking a response from this beautiful county of mountains, loughs, rivers and valleys will not be disappointed. Traditionally, the native Donegal hospitality is second to none. Each little village and town has its own vibrant personality, embracing the stranger and beckoning him to return - something borne out by the vast numbers of people from all over the world who come back on a regular basis.

However, while much hackneyed tourist information is freely available on places like Donegal Town, Letterkenny, Ballyshannon and Bundoran, seldom (if ever) do we see any reference to the Finn Valley…an omission that Finn Valley Online aims to turn on it's head.

Many people will remember the legendary Hollywood movie "Brigadoon" starring the late Gene Kelly, still occasionally screened on television. The film concerns the mythical Scottish village of Brigadoon, which by some evil magic curse became enchanted centuries ago. The community remained unchanged and invisible to the outside world, except for one special day every hundred years, when it could be seen and visited by outsiders. Visitors might be allowed to stay, but if anyone ever left Brigadoon, the miracle would be broken - and that would be the end of them all!

We in the Finn Valley are still waiting for our magic day, when we too can come out of the mist like the Brigadoonians, and see the good people - who are allocated large budgets to promote Irish tourism - notebooks and cameras at the ready, heading our way. Until that day comes, may we present to you, in words and pictures, our own homespun version of events, past and present. We believe that as well as being a great place to live, the Finn Valley holds some of the best (albeit least publicised) tourist attractions in Ireland. We hope you will agree.

The Wind Farms (seen on the horizon)

Many local historians, past and present, have done a tremendous job of documenting segments of Finn Valley history, much of it passed down from memory. However, like the stitching together of some giant patchwork quilt, the area we know today has been made up of numerous types of 'material', some of them rich and luxuriant, others of a poorer, more harsh quality, but nonetheless important. Carefully stitched together, they produce a region rich in history, tradition, folklore, language, music and commerce - and a wonderful community spirit.

Such is our wealth of history that no individual or group could hope to record a fully comprehensive account. What Finn Valley Online hopes to achieve is simply to share with the outside world some of those issues - then and now - which have formed the backbone of our region.

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