‘It was a complete surprise’ - Tommy Curran rewarded for his 40 years service

Tommy Curran admits he was taken by surprise when he was announced as the recipient of a Druid Craft Achievement Award for his contribution to local papers over the past 40 years. 

Tommy attended the Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair for the adjudication and presentation of prizes at Féile Scoildrámaíochta Ghaoth Dobhair, the local schools' drama festival organised by An Cumann Scoildrámaíochta. 

On an evening when he attended to take photographs of the prize winners, as he has done many times before, just before the adjudication it was announced that Tommy would be the recipient of a special award. 

Come August, it will be 40 years since Tommy first started compiling the local notes, as well as photos, from west Donegal and this work in putting the area on the map, was the reason for the award. 

“I didn’t know anything about it at all, until that night when I received it, “ Tommy tells DonegalLive. “I was in shock, I didn’t expect to get any awards.  Noel Ó Gallchóir, who is the festival secretary at Féile Scoil Drámaíochta, Ghaoth Dobhair, came on stage and instead of talking about the awards he began talking about a person here and he was taking photographs of this drama festival for the past 35 years, and it dawned on me he was talking about me.” 

Tommy, who was backstage with camera in hand, was presented with the Druid Craft Achievement Award, with the engraving Tomás Ó Cuireáin, ‘As do shaothar iriseoireachta sna páipéir áitiúla, Féile Ghaoth Dobhair 2024 - for his contribution in the local papers.’

Noel, a former principal of Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair, presented the award to Tommy and referred to his “excellent, comprehensive, accurate and consistent reporting of local matters in the weekly Gaoth Dobhair notes in the local papers since 1984. Tommy is an obliging, charitable, and pleasant person.”

Noel spoke of the thousands of Tommy’s photographs published in the papers from black and white, to colour. Particular mention was made of the special full-page or two-page features covered by Tommy regularly – local festivals, special birthdays, anniversaries or family celebrations, important milestones in the parishes of Gaoth Dobhair and Gort a Choirce, and interesting and notable stories of local importance. 

“I have always liked writing, I like attending events and functions too and taking photographs,” Tommy says.

Noel told of the many personal, well-researched and moving obituaries that Tommy has written that have been a great source of comfort to the family and relatives of the bereaved. 

“I would get the number of a relative or family member and contact them,” he says. “In later years, I would attend the funerals and take notes as finding phone numbers was near impossible.”

When speaking about how he started doing local notes Tommy said: “Noel’s father, Shean O’Gallchoir, had been doing the local notes, then Noel did it after his father passed and then rang me and asked if I would be interested and it started there.  

“I began writing the Gaoth Dobhair notes. For the first few years, it was just notes and then as the years progressed I began attending events and then I was writing a report and then I started taking photographs.

“I am very grateful to Noel for conferring the award to me and I would like to thank all those who send me messages on social media, phone calls and texts. I would like to extend my thanks to everybody.”