Watch: Minister cuts ribbon of new Jim Lynch Community Building in Letterkenny

The Jim Lynch Community Building was officially opened at Letterkenny Community Centre.

The grand opening was attended by family and friends of the late Jim Lynch, who was a long-serving Letterkenny town councillor and community volunteer. The ribbon of the new building was cut by the Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary. A plaque dedicated to Mr Lynch was also unveiled.

The launch of the new community building included speeches from Mr Lynch’s daughter Ríana Lynch, Letterkenny Community Centre’s Management Committee Chairperson Philip O’Kennedy and Cathaoirleach of Letterkenny-Milford MD, Ciaran Brogan. Cafe Sonder in Letterkenny, owned by Martin Anderson, provided refreshments.

The building is a new space dedicated to connection, collaboration, and community spirit. The grand opening honoured the legacy of the late Jim Lynch and marked the unveiling of a vibrant hub designed to serve as a gathering place for generations to come.

The now-completed €1.4 million building project has state-of-the-art changing facilities and a spacious and bright meeting room. The sod turning took place at Letterkenny Community Centre in March 2024, with the 'Buy a Brick' campaign launched to help raise funds for the project.

The community building will be suitable for public events, meetings, and functions and will be able to host events for up to 70 people. It will also be available for birthday parties and there are plans to erect a stand in the future.

A bilingual sign was added to the Jim Lynch Community Building by CBM Signs. Funding for the sign came from an allocation of €1,192 from Foras na Gaeilge Business Support Scheme.

Jim Lynch was a Letterkenny town councillor who sat on the local authority in the town for 29 years. Originally from the Ard O’Donnell area, the former principal of Cloughfin National School was first elected to Letterkenny Urban District Council in 1985. He remained a councillor on Letterkenny Town Council until it was abolished in 2014, having served as the mayor of the town in 2009. Elected as a councillor for Independent Fianna Fáil councillor, he later sat as an independent.

Mr Lynch was well known for his community work in the Letterkenny area and had a particular interest in the town’s heritage and environment and the development of the cathedral quarter. He was active in the Letterkenny Tidy Towns Committee and also edited the Letterkenny Christmas Annual. He also served on the Letterkenny Community Centre Committee, the International Folk Festival and the Letterkenny Reunion committees.

Jim Lynch passed away in September 2022 at the age of 75.