Author name: oisinkelly

The condition of a young Donegal man who was seriously injured in a fall while on holiday in Spain has improved. 19 year-old Oisin Merritt had been in a coma since he fell from a balcony while on holiday with friends in Santa Ponsa on June 9th. At one point close family members described his

Sinn Féin has questioned whether Phil Hogan is suitable to serve as Ireland’s next EU Commissioner. The environment minister is considered the favourite to be appointed for the EU job as part of the cabinet reshuffle. But Sinn Féin claims one of the minister’s appointees to a top state position should never have been given

The process of burying the last of a pod of Pilot whales that perished having beached in Falcarragh will conclude this evening. The last four whales which remained alive succumbed to the tide this evening. They were part of a pod of 13 that beached on Balliness Beach yesterday morning. Despite the best efforts of

All five Garth Brooks concerts have been called off. Aiken Promotions says it has exhausted all avenues regarding the staging of these events at Croke Park – and no concerts will be taking place. The performances were due to take place later this month. Aiken Promotions – who says it’s very disappointed for the 400,000

There is an appeal for witnesses following a robbery at a house in Glen in Inishowen. A sum of money was taken in the incident at around 4am in the early hours of Monday morning. Two men, who may have been involved were seen acting suspiciously on bicycles in the area an hour later –

A Donegal Deputy has questioned why the government continues to sit on a report examining the future of small schools while seemingly enforcing recommendations contained within it. Fianna Fail Education Spokesperson Deputy Charlie McConologue says it is unacceptable the report, which was concluded for over a year and a half ago has not yet been

A Donegal Senator has been charged with a number of driving offences. Senator Brian O Domhnaill wasn’t in court in Letterkenny yesterday when the case against him was called. He is charged with a number of alleged offences in the Tullygay area of Letterkenny on September 2 last year. Mr O Domhnaill, whose address was given

Promoter Peter Aiken is on his way to the states to try to convince Garth Brooks to play 3 concerts here. Its after Dublin City Council confirmed last night that only the 3 licenced gigs could go ahead. Its now up to Garth to decide if he’s going ahead with the shows, having said it

Eight whales have now died in Falcarragh after thirteen of the animals became stranded on beach yesterday. The remaining five surviving pilot whales are said to be very weak and are going to be allowed to die of natural causes. Up to 100 locals gathered at Balliness Beach yesterday to join a rescue effort after

A bomb alert in Strabane which forced a number of families to leave their homes overnight has ended. Police and the Army were called to examine a suspicious vehicle in the Ballycolman estate last night. Police said two controlled explosions were carried out at the scene but the alert has now ended after nothing untoward

The Donegal Road Safety group PARC has welcomed confirmation today that L plate drivers will face penalty points and a fine if they are caught driving unaccompanied. New drivers will then have to display an ‘N’ plate for two years once they get their full licence, and will face restrictions on some areas of driving.

A Sinn Féin MEP has expressed her concern that an image of her was placed on a bonfire in Bangor, County Down. Posters of Martina Anderson and Alliance MLA Anna Lo have been spotted on a number bonfires since. The Alliance Party’s Stewart Dickson said this sent out a hateful message to the community while

It seems the efforts of up to 60 locals to save a pod of whales that beached in Falcaragh will have been in vain. 5 whales died this morning but a massive community effort saw a further seven returned to the sea. However, the whales have beached again and it seems most likely they will

Gardai are warning that the large numbers that have descended on Falcarragh are creating a health and safety danger. Hundreds of people have traveled to the area to catch a glimpse of a pod of whales that became stranded on the beach earlier. 5 of the whales are dead on the beach, another 8 have

Police in Derry are appealing for information about an indecent assault on a woman in the city centre. In the early hours of Monday June 30, a woman in her 20s was approached at William Street by a man who started to talk to her. As she moved away, the man grabbed her around the

The majority of the thirteen whales that were stranded on a Falcarragh beach have now been returned to the water. Up to 60 locals gathered at Balliness Beach, Falcarragh after a walker spotted the stranded animals this morning. Five of the whales are dead – it is hoped that those that were returned to the

Gardai are warning people to be on the lookout for green 1986 Opel Astra car which has been seen acting suspiciously in East Donegal in recent days. In the most recent incident, a car matching that description was seen today in the Gartan / Churchill area with four men in the car. Gardai were notified

President Michael D. Higgins has been invited to attend the Orange Order’s annual parade in Rossknowlagh next year. The Grand Master of the Orange Lodge of Ireland Edward Stevenson issued the invitation at Saturday’s march, the only demonstration in the Republic and one of the biggest of the marching season. The President is awaiting a

Donegal County Council is urging all property owners who have yet to pay their Non Principal Private Residence charge to do so before the end of the summer. The council says the charge has been payable since 2009, and anyone who hasn’t paid since then now owes just over €4,000. However, from September, that will

There are fears that Asda decision to reduce its workforce across the UK could mean job losses in Strabane. The chain confirmed yesterday said it would cut 1,360 posts across Britain and Northern Ireland as part of an overhaul of its store management structure. There has been no confirmation as to where the cuts will

Car sales in Donegal were up 76% on first day of the new 142 registration period compared to the same time last year. The figures have been welcomed by SIMI which says they show an increasing number of consumers are returning to the market. SIMI’s Suzanne Sheridan says the growth in Donegal is off a

A young Killybegs man who died while on Holiday in Spain has been named locally as Ryan O’Shea. It is understood the 19 year-old died following a fall at a resort close to Terremolinos. Ryan is a member of a well known fishing family – he was on holiday with family members when the accident

A Donegal County Councillor has said that re-offending criminals should be sentenced to ‘hard labour’. Councillor Patrick McGowen says that simply sending reoffenders to prison for a few weeks or months doesn’t work. He says people are being robbed and terrorised in their homes across Donegal, often by people who have already been jailed for

A Donegal man has died while on holiday in Spain. The 19 year-old from Killybegs died at a resort close to Torremolinos. It is not yet known how the young man died. He has not been named. We will have more details later:

The body of a man, who had been missing since the weekend, has been found near Downings. Michael Green, from Rathmullen, had been missing after his empty yacht had been moored in Sheephaven Bay for over a week. The alarm was raised when the coastguard became aware that his yacht, named Wood Magic, had been

A Donegal North East Deputy has said that Fine Gael elected representatives in Inishowen need to clarify their position on Cockhill Bridge. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said that it is understanding that local Fine Gael elected representatives have been giving assurances that a new bridge at Cockhill will be funded by this Government. But in

A Donegal Senator has accused the Government letting down rural Ireland. Brian Ó Domhanill says the Government should have implemented recommendations made by the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas. The commission, chaired by former footballer and GAA pundit Pat Spillane, made a number of recommendations about services and facilities in rural communities, and how they

There were 19,808 people signing on the Live Register in Donegal at the end of last month, 581 more than the May figure, but down 1,670 on June 2013. That’s a year on year fall of 7.8%. The biggest percentage decrease was recorded in Killybegs with 1,194 people on the register, a fall of 9.4%.

The Denis Donaldson inquest was told today that criminal inquiries have now extended to another police force’s juristiction.. Garda Supt Michael Finan said that there had been “a recent significant development” in the investigation which had travelled outside the state since the last inquest hearing on March 27. Assistance requests were being prepared for another

Dublin City Council has refused an event licence for 2 Garth Brooks concerts at Croke Park. 3 of the 5 gigs scheduled for later this month have got the go ahead. The city council has yet to issue it’s formal decision, but the GAA has confirmed the gigs for Monday the 28th and Tuesday the

Just over a million euro is coming to Donegal through the government’s Capital Sports allocation programme. The biggest allocation is to Castlefin Celtic Football Club which receives 100 thousand euro while Drumkeen United gets 90 thousand euro. Other beneficiaries include the Sheephaven Sub Aqua Club, the Lifford and Rosses Athletic Clubs Mountcharles Rowing Club and