Noel Cunningham says his primary purpose in life is to promote Donegal. And really, he has the ideal reach to do so. From being on the ground in the hospitality sector to speaking on national broadcast media, he has many platforms covered.

He is the general manager of Harvey’s Point Hotel and Restaurant, located just 10 minutes outside Donegal town, and a showbiz guru on Ireland AM and The Today Show. “They kid me in RTÉ and Virgin Media TV, they get complaints from people saying that this guy is always giving airtime to promote Donegal, get him off,” laughs Noel.

“Donegal is a destination, we were for a time almost the forgotten county. We were tucked away up here, people thought we were the back of beyonds. Now with the Wild Atlantic Way and the great work by Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, at long last people are talking about Donegal.”

Home and away

Although Noel’s passion for his home county is extremely evident, for a time he did indeed spread his wings. Having studied hotel management, he went to live and work in hotels in the UK, Europe and southeast Asia.

His return to the northwest of Ireland was unfortunately under tragic circumstances, but ever the optimist, Noel focuses on the positives. “Sadly my sister and her husband were killed in a car accident here in Donegal. I came back home 21 years ago. They had small children, our lives were thrown into disarray.

“But while we’re planning, God is laughing. My nephews and nieces would have grown up while I was away, but now I’m very much a part of their lives and that’s great.

“My sister’s children are wonderful and have done so well, so I’ve had many blessings. If you asked me 25 years ago would I be sitting in Harvey’s Point talking to you, I would have said, ‘No way, I’ll be in Southeast Asia, that’s where I’m going to make my home’. But of course, here I am in Donegal and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he smiles.

No business like…

Even before Noel returned home, he used to comment in the Irish media on show business, and it all started with none other than Princess Diana!

“I sat on a charity with Diana the Princess of Wales. I did an interview in relation to that on Irish radio, years and years ago when I was still living abroad, because somebody had heard me talk at an event the princess had attended,” he explains.

“Then somehow or other I was asked at different times when I lived abroad to comment when they needed comment on Royal matters. When I came back home they knew I was in Donegal, so it became more common that they would call on me and from that I’ve done all sorts of things.”

The guru has been on Come Dine With Me, Celebrity Family Fortunes and a judge on Ireland’s Ultimate Debutante, and makes no secret of the fact that his ambition is to be a contestant on Dancing with the Stars – so watch out!

Proactive

As bright and sunny as Noel is, in equal measures he is both realistic and proactive. On several occasions he has been approached by various parties to stand for politics. Although he hasn’t taken up the offer, he says that he would be interested in the Seanad.

As a gay man Noel is very frank about the challenges that faced and still face people in this country, and would like to use the Seanad as a platform to raise awareness of issues facing homosexual people, particularly those younger in years.

“I spent years in a very cold, unpleasant, unwelcoming Ireland and that’s why I left, that’s why I ran away. But of course, when you run you bring your problems with you. It was that treatment of gay people and that notion that we chose to be gay, the bullying and the abuse you got was just unbelievable. Sadly it’s still going on.

“We think that’s all fixed now. That’s why I say I would like to be in the Seanad. That would be one of my platforms, because in schoolyards all over Ireland today, ‘gayboy’ is still the most potent arrow shot across the bows at young people by other young people.

“We are not as liberal, as wonderful and as accepting as we might want to believe we are. Gay marriage, that’s only part of the story. We have an awful lot more work to do.”

Just like the promotion of his home county, Noel is sure to take an active role in challenging these injustices.

“We can all be hurlers on the ditch. We can all say, ‘Oh my God, why doesn’t the Government do something about it?’ At the end of the day we have to ask ourselves, what am I doing? What am I saying? Am I a voice for those young lads today who are getting abused in a schoolyard? Am I man enough to say, ‘Hold on a minute, live in your glass bubble, but this is happening and it has to stop’.”

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Ask them all 'Where's Donegal?', it's still a mystery