‘Reimagine Moville’ project set to deliver a final event this Saturday with members of the community sharing their visions for the future of the town

Improving workability, vitality and the sense of belonging in the heritage town of Moville is one of the three projects currently receiving development funding under the Irish Architecture Foundation’s (IAF’s) Reimagine Hometown Architect initiative.

The project aims to reimagine the town, first designed 250 years ago, and create the heritage of the future whilst respecting and complementing its built and natural environment.

Reimagine Moville is delivering an entirely grass roots, ground-up engagement placemaking process, all about bringing light and life to the people and public spaces in this place, so that everyone feels at home.

They are using tried and tested, powerful and empowering ways that work, and will be publicly presenting the culmination of their community-led vision for the town this Saturday, September 7.

Since the Reimagine Moville launch in April, Moville residents and key stakeholders have been on a sustained journey of engagement, empowerment and envisioning a new future together, through a series of interactive, participative conversations for change.

The Reimagine Moville core team - placemaker-architect Mary Kerrigan, Clódagh Warnock of Ceolan Heritage Group, Anthony Doogan of Moville Community Complex Development Company and Ceolan Traditional Music and Harp School - has delivered eight innovative, progressive participative workshops (included one Away Day to Letterkenny). These workshops attracted over 160 participants ranging in age from eight to 92 years old, across all sectors and walks of life.

These have taken the group to the point of collectively envisioning the new future for Moville. Since the end of July, three focus groups from a diverse range of community stakeholders have been hard at work focusing on three different areas of the town.

As the culmination of the project, the focus groups are now set to present their collective creations developed throughout the engagement process in an exciting event taking place Saturday 7 September from 11am to 3pm. Together they will create experiential representations in some of the planned town's best public spaces.

This event aims to set the agenda for the sensitive, community-led revitalisation of Moville - a transformative moment in its history.

The process in Moville also has potential to serve as a model for other towns looking to address challenges like vacancy, exodus of young people, and integrating asylum seekers.

Architect Mary Kerrigan states: “Already, the level of commitment is astonishing and wonderful things are emerging, including the active involvement of Ukrainian refugees - with one group meeting in the hostel where some of this community now lives. At a time when the decline of town centre community living in Ireland arguably underlies other profound challenges for the nation, the process underway at Reimagine Moville is a beacon and a directly relevant model for dealing more effectively with dominant issues across the country.

“That Donegal County Council’s Regeneration Plan for Moville is about to begin its own statutory public consultation process is a very happy coincidence. The Reimagine Moville process and the willing involvement and active participation of the Council’s Town Regeneration Officer and the Council’s wider Rural Regeneration team throughout offers deep learning for other local authorities.”

The collective creations of in-public, in-place new future for Moville will run as an overlapping sequence:

11am - 1pm Market Square/Malin Road/Bredagh River

12pm - 2pm James’s Street/Car Park/Bath Green/Waterfront

1pm - 3pm Moville Pier/Quay Street/River Row/Glencrow Church