Market days, the Kent, modes of transport, bygone businesses – this gallery shows how central the Diamond has been to life in Carndonagh over the years, and how much it has changed.
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An image of the Diamond from the Lawrence Collection, ca. 1900-1910.
The Diamond was the location of a marketplace for local goods, known as the Kent.
An early photograph of Market Day in the Diamond, circa 1921.
One of Butler's postcards of Market Day in the Diamond, c. 1940s.
'Butlers Studio, Carndonagh'
Cardinal Mc Rory visited Carndonagh. This scene shows a large gathering in the Diamond for the occasion, late 1940s.
The lower Diamond c. 1900 with businesses in view: Mc Donough & Co, Philip Doherty's and Canny's Hotel.
The Diamond, early 1900s.
Gent's Outfitters.
Premises on the south side of the Diamond.
Two ladies sit on the bench outside O'Doherty's Hotel.
A photo of a busy Fair Day in the Diamond, late 1940s.
Stalls being readied for vegetables as dry goods arrive by bus to the Carndonagh Fair, 1929 (Fr. Browne Collection).
Another corner of the Diamond showing sheep arriving from the fair from Malin Head, 1929 (Fr. Browne Collection).
A quiet day at Bank Place, Carndonagh.
Another postcard of the Diamond from Butler's studios, 1960s.
Butler's postcard of the Diamond from the Pound Street end of the town, on a bright summer's day.
The Court House on the eastern end of the Diamond was built to replace the Session House.
A view of the west end of the Diamond, running down to the Malin Road, 1940s.
Another Market Day in Carndonagh, 1940s.
The caption on this image reads 'Market Square, Carndonagh', as opposed to the Diamond.
J. McDonough, general merchants (drapers, booksellers, stationers, china and glass dealers, hardware merchants, ironmongers, milliners and dressmakers, tobacconists, grocers, wine and spirit merchants).
Another postcard of the Diamond, Carndonagh, with a view of Bank Place and Pound Street.
The Diamond, 1919. The caption on this postcard reads 'In remembrance of the days we spent around old Carn town.'
Another view of Market Day in Carndonagh, c. 1930s. Note the upturned farmers' carts.
A clear day in the Diamond, c. 1960. Horses and carts have been replaced by cars and tractors, and electricity lines zig-zag across the town.
November 1953. Chritmas shoppers standing outside shop windows gazing at turkeys is a common sight, but here's a far more uncommon spectacle - a turkey standing outside a shop window gazing in! The turkey, snapped by Journal photographer in the Diamond, Carndonagh, had been fed a few times on the footpath by staff in this drapery shop and it had acquired the habit of frequenting the spot and lookin in the window with hope, no doubt, of more food.
A postcard of the Diamond, c. 1960s.
A 3D model of architect Gary Doherty's plan for the 'new' Diamond, which was opened by President Mary Robinson on the 6th of June 11997. The design is considered a horizontal sculpture, with a feature of the Donagh Cross as the centerpiece.
Facing East towards Pound Street, 1980s.
View of the Diamond from the southern end. Vehicles clearly indicate 1980s, with the old concrete structure still in place.