Carndonagh celebrates €1m in ‘shop local’ sales with Golden Ticket Treasure Hunt

Carndonagh - previously named Ireland’s most enterprising town - is celebrating reaching a milestone of €1million in sales of its local gift card with a Golden Ticket Treasure Hunt.

Golden tickets have been hidden at locations around the town with clues to be released on Visit Carndonagh’s social media channels over the coming weeks.

First introduced by the Carndonagh Traders’ Association in 2021, after winning the Bank of Ireland Begin Together Award as the most enterprising town, the Carndonagh Gift Card's goals included supporting economic growth, protecting jobs, encouraging ‘shop local’, and positioning the town as a tourist destination.

READ NEXT: In pictures: Hundreds of children test knowledge at Inishowen Credit Union Schools Quiz

After launching the physical Carndonagh Gift Card in 2021, the Traders’ Association continued to develop the initiative, introducing an in-person sales point to buy the card in 2021 and a digital version of the card in 2023.

The Carndonagh Gift Card was the third town to join the Town & City Gift Cards network in Ireland, which has now expanded to 16 locations. The Irish Town & City Gift Cards network announced €17.4m in sales in the country in 2025, an increase of 65% on 2024, which it estimates will drive 335,000 specific visits to high streets in 2026, based on estimates of 3 trips into town per card.

To celebrate reaching the €1 million milestone, Visit Carndonagh is launching its Golden Ticket Treasure Hunt, with golden tickets hidden at locations around the town. 

Tina O’Donnell is the chairperson of the Carndonagh Traders’ Association and said:“We wanted to mark our €1million milestone in a way that’s fun, inclusive, and rooted in place. The Golden Ticket Treasure Hunt is a thank you to everyone who has supported the gift card since day one.

“The Carndonagh Traders’ Association was set up in 2018 to promote the town and support its businesses. As an association, we’ve always taken an innovative approach to supporting our local businesses. We were regional winners in the Bank of Ireland Enterprise Town Awards in 2019, which enabled us to develop our own tourist office. In 2020, the gift card was integral to us winning the Bank of Ireland Begin Together Awards as most enterprising town.

“Carndonagh is a small town with a population of around 2,800. Around 40 businesses accept the card, including the likes of shops, pubs, restaurants and service businesses. It’s a real positive for our businesses, because it’s an initiative that drives tangible revenue, so we can keep businesses in the town open, employing local people.

“In 2021 we introduced a sales point at the Visit Carndonagh Tourist Office, which was the first Town & City Gift Cards in-person sales point in Ireland. Our sales point is vital as it enables consumers to pick up a gift card for birthdays, thank you gifts and other life occasions as they need it, which is vital in Ireland. There is a good variety on the card, so a recipient can go for a meal, go shopping or buy their fuel or oil. 

“We’re also fortunate to have good support from local organisations using the cards for reward and incentives. Given our location, there are no big industrial estates around here with hundreds of staff. For us, ‘corporate’ buyers can be a small café with 8 staff that is buying eight €500 Gift Cards for their staff during the year, or a family-run printer giving staff members a €1500 card each at Christmas.

"The increase to the Small Benefit Exemption in 2025 made a real difference, too.“As a Trader’s Association, the Carndonagh Gift Card remains the most successful initiative we’ve undertaken as a group. We can’t believe the sales of the Carndonagh Gift Card, and reaching that €1million milestone in 2025 is amazing – it feels like a great achievement for a small town of 2,000 people.”

Colin Munro is the CEO of Miconex, who provide the technology for the Town & City Gift Cards network in Ireland and said the Carndonagh Gift Card is a force for good in the town: “As one of Ireland’s most enterprising towns, Carndonagh has been a trailblazer for ‘shop local’ in Ireland, and has continued to innovate and develop its program for the benefit of its local businesses, and the wider community. €1m in sales for the Carndonagh Gift Card is a strong result, and demonstrates the power of local gift cards to transform communities in Ireland, whether small towns or big cities.”