Have you found your favourite flavour yet?

It’s been a big week for Donegal food – we have a World Champion Chowder Chef and now we have McDaids Football Special Ltd ice-creams in their four most popular soft drinks flavours – Football Special, Banana, Cream Soda and Pineapple.

Just 13 stores had the coveted ice-creams last week, now there are 22 locations stocking McDaids desserts across the county.

Football Special Ltd. have published a new list of retailers before the weekend. As the sunny weather moves in from Saturday everyone will surely be craving some delicious Donegal ice-cream.

Kernans Tullygay
Kernans Newton
Checkout Oldtown
Jaycees Meadowbank
McElhinneys Xl Manor
John Callaghans Burt
Grove Service Station Bridgend
Border Stores Killea
Supervalu Buncrana
Sweeney’s Ballyraine
Kelly’s Mountain Top
Spar Glencar
Christopher Gallaghers Lifford
Mickey Joes Country Store Carrigart
Whoriskeys Ramelton
Kernans Euro Spar Ramelton
Eunan Gormleys Butchers Ramelton
Hays Milford
Rockets ice cream Parlour Letterkenny S.C
Lafferty’s Vivo Creeslough
Boyce’s Centra Carrigart
McBrides Downings

The McDaids range was officially launched on Monday June 12th at an event at Rockets Ice-cream Parlour in Letterkenny, with guests enjoying samples of the new flavours based on the iconic drinks.

Experimenting with flavours and tastes is a core part of the McDaids corporate philosophy. In the past, they would have added Football Special and Cream Soda to make milkshakes during the summer and Edward McDaid himself makes ice-cream at home for family consumption.

Once they developed their range of syrups for slush machines, this gave them the opportunity to expand to new areas.

You can now get Football Special in a variety of foods and flavoured items that are being sold in Donegal and all over the world. Seamus McDaid is selling Football Special in Yonkers, The Bronx and Manhattan and is determined to extend the brand in the US and back home.

The capacity to expand the brand locally did not exist until Jim Chambers developed Rockets ice-cream and Jim is now manufacturing the Football Special ice-cream brand under licence. 

Jim has a detailed knowledge of refrigeration and would have dealt with Edward McDaid when they had a shop in Ramelton many years ago. This is an exciting new development with an artisan ice-cream being produced locally with unique flavours.

Guests at the launch included St. Bernadette’s Special School Middle 3 Class and their teachers Karen McAleese and assistants Ger Ruxton and Mary Mcgee. The young pupils all agreed that the ice-cream was lovely.

St. Bernadette’s Special School middle 3 class enjoyed their ice-cream at Rockets

Ger Ruxton, Karen McAleese and Mary Mcgee – Teachers at St. Bernadette’s Special School

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