Avril McMonagle is the manager of Donegal County Childcare. She is passionate about child and family policy from a variety of perspectives.
A busy woman, Avril is constantly trying to improve the lives of children across the country, and is the author and editor of several educational publications.
Avril with her family
Not one to be shy, she has spoken out about issues facing children and families on many national platforms, including RTÉ’s Prime Time, TV3’s Ireland AM, and Vincent Brown’s People’s Debate, but to name a few!
This is Avril’s Donegal…
(1) What is your favourite place in Donegal and why?
Inis Eoghain Head loop walk at Shroove – an 8km wild and remote walk that never fails to put things into perspective. You pass the point from where St Columba left Ireland on his way to Iona from where, on a clear day, the west of Scotland is visible.
This is closely followed by standing on top of Mount Errigal – just spectacular.
(2) If you could change one thing about Donegal what would it be?
A train service is top of the list – we really need to make more noise about this as it impacts on so many aspects of Donegal life, access to health treatment, employment, social activity, tourism and so on.
Of lesser consequence is that I spend too much of my life driving up and down to Dublin for work eating junk from service stations along the road – I should know better and it needs to stop.
(3) Who is the one person in Donegal that you look up to and why?
No one person – the people I look up to and that inspire me are not in the public eye. Mothers who fight tirelessly for the rights of their children with disabilities, the strength and tenacity of parents who have to live through the excruciating pain of losing a child to suicide or an accident of modern life, parents who struggle to keep their children on the right path in a world full of social pressures and women who have the strength to walk away from a toxic marriage and don’t give a toss about what the neighbours think.
(4) Daniel O’Donnell or Packie Bonner?
Has to be Daniel – a genuine ambassador for Donegal.
(5) What has been Donegal’s proudest moment in recent years?
Without doubt, this was the extraordinary day that was 22 nd May 2015 – the day that Donegal voted ‘YES’ to equal marriage. By openly endorsing an honourable moral attitude that values equality and respect for all God’s children, this day was a massive victory for Irish democracy and for Irish society.
I felt so proud of our country and of Donegal in particular where the majority of our citizens unapologetically rejected discrimination, prejudice and bias to protect the rights of the minority. This vote was predominately argued, fought and won by the young activists that campaigned for change in our country.
(6) What was Donegal’s saddest moment?
There can be no one moment – if the moment affects you personally, then it becomes your saddest moment and everything else pales by comparison. Earlier this year we lost a young, humorous, gentle and much loved member of our family to the blight that is suicide – whilst life goes on, there is a piece missing that can never be replaced.
For our county, the number of our young people losing their precious lives to both suicide and road traffic accidents is beyond sad.
(7) What is your favourite Donegal-made product?
So many – Greencastle Honey, Gourmet Marshmallows by Mallow Mia from Newtowncunningham, PureBred Gluten Free Bread from Ardara, Daniel Doherty’s buns and any Donegal fish product- to name but a few!
(8) Who is Donegal’s greatest ambassador around the world and why?
Would have to be Moya Doherty of Riverdance – a worldwide acclaimed theatrical phenomenon.
(9) Who is Donegal’s most successful businessperson in your opinion?
Again, for me this is ordinary people that we rarely hear about. I have huge respect for those people who set up small businesses in Donegal – it’s tough competing and making a living in a border county and hats off to those who try to make a living independently and create employment for others in doing so. There are people all over the county running small entities with limited or no financial assistance and the personal risks they take deserves huge credit and support.
So in the interests of family harmony (and an optimistic chance getting a free set of snow tyres this winter!) – I’ll give an unashamed plug to Garrett and Sharon Mc at AWS Tyres, Quigley’s Point – a nationally safety accredited local business that has grown in strength and level of service during the toughest years of the recession. Due to my unique talent to locate and drive over nails on roads all over Donegal, I have been rescued and sent on my way on many an occasion!
(10) Who is your favourite Donegal sportsperson of all time?
At risk of being the only Donegal person to answer the question and not mention a GAA player … All the unknown men and women that provided years of entertainment around Donegal at ‘The Flapping’ – unofficial horse racing on beaches such as Ballyliffen, Rathmullan and Downings or any old field full of holes and hollows that was provided by a local farmer.
A Sunday excursion in the summer full of unique sounds, smells and horsey people who weren’t in it for the money! Wonderful, dangerous but exciting childhood memories before health and safety went mad.
(11) What is your favourite Donegal restaurant?
Castle Grove House, Letterkenny – I just love the tradition and ‘oldness’ of the place – always think I’m in Downton Abbey and do my best to act accordingly.
(12) Donegal’s golden eagles or basking sharks?
Basking sharks. The amazing aquatic sea life at Malin Head in particular has huge tourism potential.
“The view from my kitchen – how lucky am I!”
(13) What is your favourite Donegal saying or expression?
‘He/she is neither use nor ornament’, ‘I’m foundered’,’ Ye’d think he/she was dressed wi a turf grape’– always make me laugh!
(14) What is the biggest challenge facing the people of Donegal today?
So many challenges. As already mentioned, our poor public transport system is a major impediment to our county and its people. The high level of unemployment and emigration and the lack of new employment opportunities is an ongoing challenge.
The unknown implications of Brexit is also worrying for our very peripheral county and its people.
(15) What is your favourite Donegal food?
Just about any Donegal seafood – salmon, monkfish, crab, prawns, lobster – preferably all presented in a good chowder with brown bread. And my Mammy’s white stew – a unique delicacy made every Tuesday in a big pot in Quigley’s Point.
(16) Is there anything that really annoys you about Donegal or its people?
Although it’s by no means exclusive to Donegal, if I had a euro for every time someone told me ‘but that’s the way it’s done …’ I have learned in my work life that some successes in Donegal are based on relationships, not on rules … I don’t like this way of working.
It can distort thinking in terms of what is fair and right and is a distinct disadvantage to those of us that find fence sitting a tad uncomfortable and who strive to avoid the inelegance of licking footwear.
(17) Do you have a favourite local band?
I’m afraid I’m not very well up on the local band scene. A sad but honest reflection of a pitiful social life.
(18) What’s the most rewarding part of working within Donegal County Childcare?
The early childhood sector has evolved rapidly and come a long way in the past 15 years.
Witnessing the fantastic progress made by early childhood services against all the odds and the positive benefits that this has on the lives of children in our county is a honour to be part of.
(19) Is there anything that inspired you to pursue a career in child welfare?
I have always possessed a clear understanding of the critical nature of early childhood – who we are now, how we cope with life, how we treat others and our vulnerabilities and self-image are all imprinted upon us in childhood. I love the quote ‘It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men’ …
Unfortunately, policies that would enable all children to have a better childhood in Ireland play second fiddle to just about everything else. Childcare is not sexy, children can’t vote, children don’t have a voice and worse still, all things children are seen as a ‘wimmin’s issue’.
Policy makers wring their hands in despair and pledge to support fixing an array of societal ills visible in adolescence and adulthood. This is futile unless they speak out against the sticking plaster level of investment in childcare, early education and policies to support families.
If only our legislators would put their collective weight in a bipartisan manner behind our most important future societal asset – our children; then some of the things they make a living out of ‘calling to fix’ may never have been broken in the first place.
(20) Is there anything about Donegal that you are very proud of?
Our people and our down to earth nature. The sense of community in tough times, our sense of humour, our ability to banter mercilessly and our common sense.
To keep up to date with Avril’s work you can visit Donegal County Childcare Committee’s website or Facebook.
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