It is one of the original networks of Regional Technical Colleges established in Ireland. Messrs Mehon and MacPhillips were brought from as far as Kilkenny as contractors of the building. The regional opened in 1971, with Danny O'Hare as first principal. The regional was also referred to as Donogh O'Malley Regional Technical College, Letterkenny, until 1992, in honor of Donogh O'Malley, T.D., the reforming Minister for Education. Its earliest history, founded so soon after the cataclysm of France in May 68, was marked by dispute and unrest. In the 1970s, the Donegal News reported that "About 39 men walked off the site... of the new School of Technology, Port Road, Letterkenny on Monday morning". The "stoppage of work", the newspaper said, was a "protest". In 1994 following concerns about the management of the regional, the management board was replaced by a commission appointed by the Minister of Education. In 1996 the minister restored the governance and management to the RTC. In late 1997, as with the other Regional Technical Colleges, it was renamed the Letterkenny Institute of Technology.
* Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Skills
Courses
The institute offers over 130 programmes that range from one to four years in business, law, computing, engineering, nursing, veterinary nursing, design and science. The courses are offered at levels 6 through 10 on the NQAI framework. Courses are offered in a semesterised and modularised method. Specialist courses that may be found in LYIT include the Bachelor of Science in Fire Safety Technology which is the only one of its kind in Ireland, other specialist degrees also include Bachelor of Science In Analytical and Forensic Science. The Institute is one of only two institutes in Ireland to offer degrees approved by the King's Inns. The BA in law has been approved degree status by the society. The Institute also co-operates closely on many courses and much research with Magee College, part of the University of Ulster, in nearby Derry The institute also offers support for businesses through specialized short-term courses, collaborative research, and the Co-Lab.
Achievements
In 2007, LYIT came joint second with Tallaght IT to the Galway-Mayo IT in The Sunday Times University Guide 2007, which ranks the top universities and ITs. This shows the part Letterkenny has played in the development of the North-West. Letterkenny also has the country's best record for providing third-level education to disadvantaged students.
Sport
The college offers various sports teams and has reached many awards and trophies in recent years: In 2017, the basketball team won a Division 2 College title, while the following year the ladies' basketball team won a College title as well. The association football team finished as losing finalists in the CUFL League Finals in 2018. The ladies' soccer team won both the championship for all of the Division 1 Colleges league and the O'Regan Plate competition in 2018. Though it is unable to compete at the top level of Gaelic football - where the traditional university teams and a small selection of lesser third-level institutions are to be found - LYIT does manage to put together a team at times. It would, however, be rare to find a player in it who has attained any recognition at the elite inter-county level of the sport. For any such players as these, one might have more luck searching the teams of the Universities of Galway or Dublin. Nevertheless, men representing LYIT did win a Trench Cup in 2019. They then opted to contest the 2020 Sigerson Cup, not once meeting any of the universities and coming undone against an unfancied IT Carlow, in part through lack of discipline, and with the game taking place in their own province at that. LYIT hurling's last success was winning the fourth tier Corn MacDiamada competition during the 2015/16 season.
Associated college
The Coláiste Turasóireachta Na Cealla Beaga, founded in 1969, and adopting its current name in 1992, is an academic school of the institute, in accordance with the Institutes of Technology Act 2006. The School of Tourism is located on a five-acre site on the Shore Road overlooking Killybegs Harbour. The School is a hub of activity providing business and practical training which prepares graduates for a wide variety of careers in culinary arts, hospitality management, and tourism.
