Author name: highlandnews

The Finance Minister says the Government stands behind public service broadcasting and is ready to provide interim funding in the budget. RTE has lost over €4 million in revenue in TV licence sales due to the ‘hidden payments’ scandal involving top presenter Ryan Tubridy. TV licences sales for the second week of August were just […]

Registrations have opened for the people of Donegal to take part in the Big Beach Clean 2023. The event is part of a global initiative with Clean Coasts and the International Coastal Cleanup. As well as receiving a free clean-up kit, participants will have the opportunity to submit data on the type of rubbish they

There has been public dismay in the Twin Towns as two well known walkways have been defaced with graffiti. Gort Scith and Drumboe Woods have been spray painted with messaging ranging from football slogans to IRA references. Frank Kelly played a major role in the development of Gort Scith. He called the act senseless and

It’s anticipated the Brian Friel Centre in Glenties will open in October 2025 to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the death of the renowned playwright. The Brian Friel Trust has signed a lease Agreement with Donegal County Council to establish a dedicated centre at the old Courthouse in Glenties while a stage set is to

When asked this evening at the MacGill Summer School if his party would enter into Government with Sinn Fein, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue says it is too early to discuss the prospect. Polls have shown that the popularity of Sinn Fein has increased in Ireland over recent years. Fianna Fail Minister Charlie McConalogue however, says

The MacGill Summer School has been told that the Government has made an “absolute hames of the housing crisis,” making “mistake after mistake.” He says private landlords have been run out of the market by Government who have not used the powers that were available to them. Senator Michael McDowell says how the housing crisis

Donegal Senator Niall Blaney has given a guarded welcome to the news that Donegal will be a stand alone garda division. The senator had talks with Minister James Browne in the Seanad back in June, in which he raised a number of concerns regarding policing in the county. He says the first battle is won

NBI and Údarás na Gaeltachta have announced a partnership to support the rollout of broadband in Gaeltacht areas. Údarás is providing parcels of land at key locations for the installation of the core fibre optic equipment to facilitate the delivery of the service.   CEO Thomás O’Siochan says they will provide whatever assistance they can

The chair of Letterkenny Pride says while it’s taken a long time to organise a Pride event in the town, the level of support coming from local businesses and others shows that there is and has been a demand for such an initiative. A parade and other events will take place in Letterkenny tomorrow as

A man’s been arrested in County Derry in connection with criminality linked to PSNI data breach In a statement, the PSNI say detectives investigating criminality linked to last week’s freedom of information data breach have carried out a search in the Dungiven area today, and made an arrest. The 50 year old man was detained

The forthcoming US President Election became a topic of conversation at the MacGill Summer School last night after Congressman Brendan Boyle, a Democrat with strong Donegal connections delivered the annual John Hume lecture. During the question and answer session after the lecture, Congressmann Boyle was asked if he would consider throwing his name into the

Met Eireann is urging take people to care today with Yellow Rain Warnings covering the whole country. The first, covering the area south of Galway Dublin line will kick in at 2 o’clock this afternoon. Donegal and the rest of the country will be affected from 5 o’clock this evening, with heavy rain and possible

The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and the Omagh Bomb is a reminder of how far Ireland has come in terms of peace. That’s according to US Congressman Brendan Boyle who has described the Omagh bomb as a “cruel, heinous, disgusting attack.” Tuesday marked 25 years since 29 people, including a woman pregnant

The EU Commissioner says they cannot move forward with the European Green Deal without farmers. Speaking at this week’s MacGill Summer School in Glenties, Commissioner Mairead McGuinness acknowledged that farmers are anxious about their future. The European Green Deal is a €1 trillion programme which commits Europe to become climate neutral by 2050. Commissioner McGuinness

An East Derry MLA has been in repeat contact with the NI Environment Agency over concerns of the occurrences of toxic algae along the Derry coastline. Incidents were recorded at Castlerock, Portstewart, Benone and Downhill. MLA Caoimhe Archibald says that there is a clear need for action on water quality and it should be treated

Works to reconstruct the footpath outside St. Eunan’s College in Letterkenny are set to commence in the coming week. The footpath, which deformed due to the pressure of cars and busses dropping students off to school, is currently sealed off as a health and safety measure. Cllr. Donal Mandy Kelly has welcome the development and

A status yellow rain warning will take effect tomorrow in Donegal and all other counties in the Republic of Ireland. The warning will begin at 5 o’clock tomorrow evening for the county and cease at 6am Saturday. There are warnings for potential spot flooding and difficult travelling conditions. Cathal Nolan from Ireland Weather Channel says

The MacGill Summer School has heard that China is not a supporter of Russia and does not support Putin’s threat of nuclear weapon use. Retired Colonel, Zhou Bo when asked if China was really on Russia’s side said; ‘no.’ He says in writing an article telling Putin to not use nuclear weapons that he was

The Donegal based president of the Garda Representative Association has welcomed the decision not to amalgamate Donegal into Sligo and Leitrim to create a new three county Garda Division, but says there are still some serious issues with the proposed new Garda Operational Model. Brendan O’Connor told Greg Hughes on today’s Nine to Noon Show

Strike action by retained firefighters is being suspended from midday. It follows around 12 hours of talks between the union SIPTU and the Local Government Management Agency at the Workplace Relations Commission. The discussions, around pay and issues related to recruitment and retention of on-call firefighters, ended overnight. SIPTU Divisional Organiser Karen O’Loughlin updated members

Works have commenced this week to see the installation of eco-toilets in West Donegal. The first was installed in Gola Island, with the second to be placed in the carpark of Donegal Airport. Cllr. Micheal Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig has welcomed the facilities, saying it will be a game-changer:

The installation of a third defibrillator in Milford has been welcomed by the community. It is located outside the Milford & District Resource Centre. Manager of the centre, Declan Meehan, says the purchase was made possible thanks to the Rags to Riches charity shop on Main Street. He added that training has been provided to

Works have commenced at Carndonagh Community Hospital to see the welcomed restoration of the Chapel of Rest and improvements to the Ard Aoibhinn dementia unit. Inishowen Cllr. Albert Doherty says the works have been highly anticipated. Over €4million was awarded in funding to address issues highlighted at the hospital. In October of last year faults

On day one of the MacGill Summer School which focused on the Ukrainian war, a number of children who have sought refuge in Donegal spoke of their new life in the county. They each relayed their thanks to people for welcoming them into the local community. Andrew starkly recalled how he witnessed his life in