The area fondly known as 'The Rosses'
in North West Donegal is a place like no other. Its unspoilt, rugged beauty
is a reminder to us of how life once was on the Emerald Isle. It is an area
that has retained its character and charm in the face of a relentlessly changing
modern world.
The lucky minority who have had the opportunity to experience the
way of life still preserved in The Rosses make a point of coming back time and
time again. The area is alluring to those who spend a lot of time in the
limelight as it is the perfect place to get away from it all. You never know
who you might bump into in the hills of Donegal...
Daniel O'Donnell
Daniel was born in Dungloe and grew up in Kincasslagh, Co. Donegal. His interest
in music began as a teenager, when he enjoyed traditional Irish dancing at
the local village hall. His career started to take off after he recorded and
released Johnny McCauley's My
Donegal Shore in 1983, with £1,200
of his own money, selling most
of the copies himself.
He has had twenty UK Top 40 albums
as well as fifteen Top 40 singles and has sold 10 million albums worldwide.
He has also charted 18 albums in the top 20 of the US Billboard publication's "World
Music" albums chart.
Enya
Enya is the Republic of
Ireland's best-selling solo artist and one of Ireland's best known musicians.
As a musical group, Enya is collaboration between three people: Enya herself,
who composes and performs the music; Nicky Ryan, who produces the albums, and
Roma Ryan, who writes the lyrics in various languages.
Enya is one of
the biggest selling female artists in history, and was the world's biggest selling
female artist of 2001 and 2002. She has been unofficially ranked as the 12th
biggest-selling female artist in the world in 2006.
Gay Byrne
Gabriel Mary Byrne, known as Gay Byrne and nicknamed Gaybo (born 5 August 1934)
is an Irish broadcaster. He was the presenter of the Late Late Show, from
1962 to 1999 except for one year. He also presented a regular morning radio
show on RTE.
He is credited with being a catalyst in the transformation of Irish society
since
the 1960's. For many years he has been an iconic figure and he has been referred
to as "the most famous man in Ireland.
Shay Given
Seamus "Shay" Given (born 20 April 1976 in Lifford,
County Donegal) is an Irish football goalkeeper. He currently plays for Newcastle
United and Ireland, and is regarded as one of the finest and most reliable
custodians in the game today. He is also vice-captain of both his country
and club.
For Ireland, Given has been capped over 70 times and
was
his country's starter at the 2002 World Cup.
Matthew
Broderick & Sarah Jessica-Parker
Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American film
and stage actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as the title character
in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and as the adult voice of Simba in The Lion King.
He is also acclaimed for his role in the 80s classic, Wargames.
Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25th 1965) is a Golden Globe and Emmy-winning
American actress, with a portfolio of television, movie, and theatre performances.
She is best known for her role as newspaper relationship columnist Carrie Bradshaw
on the HBO television series ''Sex and the City''.
Packie Bonner
Patrick Joseph ("Packie") Bonner (born May 24, 1960 in Donegal, Republic
of Ireland) is a former football goalkeeper for the Republic of Ireland, who
earned 80 caps after making his debut on his 21st birthday. Many remember Bonner
for his famous penalty save from Daniel Timofte of Romania in the 1990 FIFA World
Cup finals.
On 2 February 2003, Bonner was named as technical director and goalkeeping coach
for the Football Association of Ireland under Brian Kerr. He did not keep this
position when Kerr was sacked and replaced with Steve Staunton. In addition he
has worked as a football presenter with TV3 Ireland.
Paul Brady
Brady began performing as a hotel piano player in Donegal
at the age of sixteen and graduated to being guitarist, during the 1960s,
in two rhythm and blues bands: Rockhouse and the Cult.
In 1976, Brady recorded
an album with Andy Irvine that he now regards as his best. Welcome Here Kind
Stranger, released in 1978 was the summation of his interest in Irish music
and was followed in 1981 by the appropriately named Hard Station, Brady's
engagement with commercial rock.
Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea has a long and distinguished acting career in film, television and
theatre, and he's well known as one of Ireland's most talented, captivating and
versatile actors.
Since 2001 Stephen Rea has appeared in well over 20 films, playing
everything from the factual based character of Danish nuclear physicist Niels
Bohr in the BBC/PBS production of Copenhagen (2002), to a murderous, sadistic
surgeon who broadcasts his crimes live on the internet in the thriller FeardotCom
(2002), to the classic portrayal of Leopold Bloom in the film Bloom (2003), based
on James Joyce's novel Ulysses.
Mickey Harte
Mickey Joe Harte (born 1973) is a professional singer-songwriter
from Lifford, County Donegal, Ireland. He was chosen to represent Ireland
in the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest with "We've Got The World" (written
by Martin Brannigan and Keith Molly).
He won this through telephone votes by viewers of the Radio
Telifís Éireann reality show, "You're A Star", which
set records for Irish TV ratings over the period of November 2002 to March
2003.
