07/09/2026
A group of businesses in Buncrana are joining together to launch a new physical and digital Gift Card in a bid to lock €500,000 into the town in the first year.
The Visit Buncrana Gift Card is being led by Buncrana Businesses Together as an upgrade to their paper vouchers which were introduced in 2025 and generated over €100,000 revenue for the town in 9 months.
Funded by 10 key businesses in the town; Beyond Light Therapy, Callaghan Jewellers, Coyles Homevalue, Healthwise Tierney’s Pharmacy, HML Plant Hire and Construction, Inishowen Gateway Hotel, Lake Of Shadows Hotel, McDaids Bathroom Plumbing and Tiles, McKennas Londis Filling Station and PD Plumbing Supplies, the forthcoming Buncrana Gift Card will be accepted by over 60 Buncrana businesses, including shops, restaurants, hotels, pubs and services, making it suitable for locals and visitors alike.
Set to launch in the autumn, the Buncrana Businesses Together Gift Card will be purchased locally and online. Additionally, local employers will be able to use the Gift Card for employee bonuses to staff, tax free, using the Small Benefit Exemption which allows up to €1,500 to be given to each employee, each year, across up to five incentives
Paul Brogan, owner of Food For Thought, was instrumental in the formation of Buncrana Businesses Together and the paper vouchers. Paul said: “Buncrana is a vibrant, welcoming community where everyone works together. There is real pride in Buncrana and this was at the heart of setting up Buncrana Businesses Together and our paper vouchers. The vouchers have brought in €100,000 in local spend so far at a time when businesses needed real support but there was lots of work involved in the paper vouchers.
“When the Buncrana night-time initiative approached us about setting up a high-tech physical and digital Visit Buncrana Gift Card, it was a no-brainer. Our new Visit Buncrana Gift Card will be secure, convenient and easy to use. We have a €500,000 target for the card in the first year, ringfenced into our economy for the benefit of our businesses but the sky is the limit. Buncrana is on the up and the Gift Card will play a big part of our success as a town. We’re in it together.”
New physical and digital gift card redeemable at 60+ local businesses; set to generate €500,000 in its first year