Author name: oisinkelly

A Donegal County Councillor claims the local authority has served notices to a number of caravan owners at Port Arthur beach asking them to vacate the area. Locals has expressed concerns last month that holiday makers in caravans and tents were dumping rubbish and human waste at (and close to) the beach. However Councillor Micheál […]

Letterkenny General Hospital management has admitted that more anti-flood measures are now needed at the site after this weeks flooding. In a statement the HSE West said the clean up from Tuesday is now complete. The hospital says at the moment it is not known how much Tuesdays nights flood damage will cost, but management

The annual Apprentice Boys of Derry parade is taking place in Derry today with motorists being advised to expect delays and diversions. It’s the largest loyal order parade in Northern Ireland, with 140 bands and Apprentice Boys’ Clubs expected. PARADE ROUTES There will be smaller parades in the morning prior to the main parade, which

 Despite it being the peak of the tourist season, one of the county’s biggest attractions is to close next week. Donegal County Council says that in the interests of public safety access onto the walking trail on Sliabh Liag will be closed during the week commencing Monday. The council says the closure is allow the

One man had been removed to Letterkenny General following the collision between a lorry and car outside Dungloe earlier today. It is understood he was the driver and sole occupant of the car. His injuries are not thought to be life threatening. The crash happened on a bend just outside Dungloe that has been the

The Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation says Killybegs will be severely hit by new restrictions being imposed by Russia. The one-year ban will affect all meat, milk and dairy imports from the EU, US, Australia and some other countries. It’s a response to sanctions imposed by Europe over events in the Ukraine – and the move

A protest is taking place outside the entrance to Magee College in Derry this lunchtime after Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry ruled out an expansion of the college. Sinn Féin MLA Maeve McLaughlin, one of the organisers of the protest says the expansion of Magee college must go ahead. Speaking to Highland Radio News

Donegal County Council has described the deaths of thousands of fish washed up on Tramore Beach in Downings as a “natural occurrence”. The dead fish were photographed yesterday. In a statement, the council says “It was discovered that dead sprat had washed up at one particular point of the beach. This is believed to have

Around 45 thousand rural broadband customers are about to be hit with a price hike of 180 euro. The Irish Independent says a government subsidy paid to Three is about to expire – meaning rural broadband customers will be hit with a 75 percent price incease – as well as a slowdown in service. The

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is calling for funding to be released to alleviate hospital overcrowding. Figures released this morning show an 8% increase in overcrowding last month, compared to July 2013. At Letterkenny General Hospital, the increase was 63%, rising from 79 in July 2013 to 129 last month. The highest percentage increase

Concern is being expressed this morning that cancer patients using the Oncology Department at Letterkenny General Hospital may be referred to other hospitals because of medical staff shortages. Donegal North East Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has written to hospital manager Sean Murphy seeking clarification on the issue, following discussions with what he has termed ‘informed’

A prosecution solicitor has informed a judge that fingerprint evidence in relation to a police investigation of a murder in Derry last year, was still outstanding. The disclosure was made during a video-link remand hearing in the case of Kieran McLaughlin from Elaghmore Park in Derry. 59-year-old Kieran McLaughlin is charged with the murder of

Loyal orders have issued a consultative document setting out guidelines for lodge members and bandsman taking part in parades in Derry. The Maiden City Accord has the support of the Apprentice Boys of Derry, the Orange Order and the Black Preceptory. It comes ahead of this weekend’s Apprentice Boys Parade in Derry, one of the

A Donegal Cllr has blasted the Council after the Dungloe Library was closed yesterday. The library currently only has one staff member, which means whenever she is ill or on holiday, the facility has to close. It currently only opens on certain days a week which is advertised by the Council and it is also

Donegal County Council are reassuring the public that they are working around the clock to repair damage caused by flash flooding this week. The council says it received 40 emergency calls from the public as roads, buildings and drains were damaged throughout the county: Many areas throughout Donegal were damaged by flash flooding earlier this

Plans have been announced for a food bank in Letterkenny, with a new committee hoping to liaise with St Vincent de Paul and other organisations to identify people in need and distribute food which would otherwise go to waste. The initiative is being spearheaded by the group “We Care”, which is currently looking for a

The Aranmore Lifeboat was involved in the rescue of two people who were cut off by the tide at Maghera Beach near Ardara last night. The lifeboat was launched at 10.20 after the copastguard was alerted to the situation. Spokesperson Nora Flanagan says it was another successful launch during what has proven to be a

Gardai have renewed their appeal for information about a fatal road collision on the road between Donegal Town and Ballybofey last evening. A man in his early 80s died in the two car collision, a woman in her 60s was injured. The road reopened last night after an examination by Garda technical experts, and on

A former Junior Minister for Planning has said that the Emergency Department of Letterkenny General Hospital should not have been allowed to be located where it is. The carpark of the A & E Department was flooded on Tuesday night after 40 centimetres of rain fell in 40 minutes. It was the second time the

Fears are growing for the future of the tax office in Derry. The Revenue and Customs department has invited 44 staff at the office on the Duncreggan Road to apply for voluntary redundancy. A spokesperson said the situation was brought about by more people doing their tax business online. Jobs could also go in Newry

Police in Strabane are warning parents after they discovered a new batch of dangerous legal highs. The warning comes following the discovery by the PSNI of a number of empty legal high packets in a number of different areas in Strabane and Sion Mills. This new legal high is known as “Magic Dragon”. It is

A man in his 80s has died after the car he was driving was involved in a two car collision near Barnesmore Gap yesterday afternoon. The accident happened at around 330pm yesterday afternoon on the Donegal Town to Ballybofey Rd, just 3 miles outside Clar. The man in his 80s, who has not been named,

Gardai have made an appeal for information after a stabbing incident in Letterkenny yesterday evening. A 26-year-old man from the town was stabbed in the Market Square area at around 6pm. The man remains in Letterkenny General Hospital in a stable condition. Eyewitnesses say the 26 year-old man appeared to have been stabbed in the

Donegal County Council have closed the road between Cranford and Carrigart and Devlinreagh where a bridge is in danger of collapse. The road has been closed for safety reasons, and remedial works will take up to a week. An alternative route is available from Milford to Carrigart via the R246 and the L-1132 Kerrykeel to

The Manager of Letterkenny General has played down the flooding at the hospital last night. An investigation has been opened after the Emergency Department was closed for three hours last night after torrential rain. The carpark was deluged by water which then flowed into the waiting area of the Department. Management have said ‘considerably less’

Convicted drugs mule Michaela McCollum Connolly is likely to serve the remainder of her prison term in Northern Ireland. Tyrone based Michaella and Scottish woman Melissa Reid were sentenced to six years and eight months imprisonment in December for attempting to smuggle 11.5 kilos of cocaine, worth 1.8 million euro on a flight from Lima

An investigation has been opened after Letterkenny General Hospital in Donegal was hit by flooding for the second time in a year. Its emergency department was closed for three hours last night – as emergency services worked to remove floodwaters after torrential rainfall. Management says its investigation is at an ‘early stage’ but ‘considerably less’

It’s emerged that Donegal is one of just two local authorities in the country which had no “brown bin” kerbside collection in 2012. That system is being introduced in Letterkenny at the moment, and will then be extended to other areas of the county. Figures published this morning by the EPA show that in 2012,

A south Donegal man who suffered extensive self inflicted burns yesterday evening has passed away in a Dublin hospital. Gardaí say the man, aged in his early 60s, threw petrol on himself and set it alight at his home near the village of Ballintra at about 8 pm. He was airlifted to to St James

The group responsible for Letterkenny General Hospital says it would be happy to co-operate with any independent inquiry into flooding at the facility. The COO of West-North West Hospital Group’s Tony Canavan says he understands peoples concerns about the site in – which has been hit by flooding twice in a year. An estimated 40

A public consultation on a Draft Ministerial Direction as it relates to windfarm development in County Donegal has now opened. Last month the minister advised the council that changes to the county development plan that imposed new strict restrictions on windfarm development were at odds with national guidelines. The changes to the County Development plan