‘Our Donegal lives are intertwined with Derry – I keep a second purse for my sterling change’

For many people living in Donegal, cross-border trips to Derry are part and parcel of life

Kathy Donaghy at the Derry Girls mural in Derry city

Kathy Donaghy

For many years, travelling the long road from Dublin to Donegal by bus as a student, my first glimpse of the River Foyle and the lights of Derry city meant one thing: home.

I grew up on the Inishowen Peninsula, following the path of the river out of the Maiden City across the border into Donegal. My home sits at the widest point of the Foyle as it flows swiftly into the Atlantic Ocean. The city is a 25-minute drive away.