Rathmullan Tidy Towns group organised six Upcycling Craft Classes, facilitated by Moira McHugh of
Perfectly Thrifted Interiors, Rathmullan, supported by Inishowen Development Partnership, Seeds of
Change Small Grants Programme.
Most of the items were home sourced: old paperbacks, used clothing unsuitable for further wear,
buttons, ribbons from packaging and greeting cards, washed tin cans, twine, etc. all repurposed and
saved from going into landfill. Classes were open to all genders, with participants, from the
Rathmullan, Milford, Ramelton and Letterkenny areas, sourced from articles in local press, social
media and by word of mouth. The bonding and social interaction was very positive throughout,
while promoting overall wellbeing and social interactions.
The Classes took place during March and April 2024 and the programme also afforded the committee
the opportunity to participate in a free training programme in Atlantic Technical University (ATU) learning how to
make a short video about the project on your phone. This was facilitated by Póca Productions and was screened
at the Disappear Here Film Festival in The Ballyliffen Hotel on Sunday 6th October and is currently available on our YouTube channel.
We further reached out to collaborate with a similar Cross border group from Culmore, Co Derry
and had two successful meetings away and at home, sharing crafting techniques on
crochet/needlework and art, while we at home promoted our upcycled craft and sewn items
(supported by Rathmullan/International Fund for Ireland Connecting Communities). Quite a few of
the Derry ladies had not been to Rathmullan before, so it was a wonderful opportunity to show off
our Heritage and seascapes during a Walk & Talk around the village, based on our Award Winning
Heritage booklet. Each of the participants was gifted a ‘Goodie Bag’ containing the Heritage book, a
reusable water bottle and information on the benefits of recycling, upcycling, clean water and waste
disposal and more, all of which are so vital for the wellbeing of our communities and climate change
moving forward. We’re very grateful to Donegal County Council Public Participation Network &
Waste Awareness departments as well as Clean Coasts for these valuable support materials. We
look forward to creating similar bonds with other communities in the future.
We were subsequently invited to make a presentation of upcycled/recycled items from all of our
classes at the ChangeMakers Annual Seminar and Seeds of Change Awards presentation in An
Grianan Aileach Hotel (17 May 2024). Hazel Russell (Hon Sec) & Eilis McGlynn (Chairperson) on
behalf of the Tidy Towns group were delighted to attend the Seminar to accept a ‘Seeds of Change
Award’ in recognition of hosting the Upcycling Craft classes, as well as creating the Cross Border
community connection with the Culmore Ladies Craft Group. We also received our first
Sustainability Passport Certificate (Route 2 Reusing & Recycling).
www.changemakers.ie/home/sustainability-passport/
Our Cross Border collaboration was further boosted on Tuesday 31st July, when we once again
travelled to Derry to join the Culmore Ladies group for the day, visiting the Craft Village, The Fashion
Hub, Holywell Trust Café and St Columb’s Cathedral to enjoy the Festival of Cloaks. This outing was
again facilitated by the Rathmullan the Way Forward International Fund for Ireland (IFI) Cross Border
Connecting communities and funded by Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme (SICAP)