Author name: oisinkelly

  A Donegal TD is calling on the National Transport Authority to brief local politicians about what is being done to replace Lough Swilly bus routes after the company ceased trading at the end of last week. Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn says despite numerous calls and e-mails and attempts to raise this in the Dail […]

The funeral of East Derry MLA David McClarty takes place today. Mr Mc Clarty, who was 63 and from Coleraine died on Friday after suffering from cancer for some time. His funeral service will be held at Killowen, followed by burial in Portstewart. The Independent Unionist MLA left the Ulster Unionist Party in 2011 after

A Donegal councillor who has not attended HSE Regional Forum meetings for over a year and a half says he has saved the tax payer around €7,000. Cllr Frank Mc Brearty says he was going to Galway to ask questions that can best be answered over the phone and via e-mail by people in Donegal.

A young man is being treated at Letterkenny General Hospital after he was airlifted from Mount Errigal last night. Two men were out walking on the mountain when one of the men got into difficulty at the top of the summit shortly after 7 o’clock. Members of the Donegal Mountain Rescue team and the Rescue

Calls have been made on the Minister for Communication, Energy & Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte to keep the Lettermacaward Post Office open. In a letter sent to the Minister by Councillor Terence Slowey he pointed out that Doochary and Fintown Post Offices had closed in recent years. He also informed the Minister that a number

Police in Omagh have issued an appeal for information in relation to a missing teenager. 19-year-old Charles McCausland, was last seen in Dromore at approximately 6pm yesterday heading towards the Fintona direction on foot. Police have said they are concerned for his health and welfare and are trying to locate him. He is described as

A 28-year-old man arrested in Strabane by police investigating dissident republican terrorist activity has been released without charge. He was arrested on Friday and taken to the serious crime suite at Antrim police station for questioning. As part of their operation on Friday, police searched a number of houses in the Castlegrange area of the

Lawyers for the family of Sinn Féin official and republican informer Denis Donaldson have said they would take legal action to secure his journal. They warned they would act if Gardai did not hand over the diary Mr Donaldson was writing shortly before he was killed. He was shot dead at a remote cottage near

  NAMA has identified a total of 118 “potentially” suitable properties to transfer to Donegal County Council for use as social housing. However since the process began, a demand has been confirmed for 68 of the properties in Donegal but none have been handed over. Once demand for a property has been confirmed by the council,

An investigation is underway into a fatal farming accident in Co Donegal. It’s understood a man, in his seventies, was crushed by a tractor on a farm in the Moville area. Gardai say the death is not being treated as suspicious. An investigation by the Health and Safety Authority is underway.

  A United States-based entertainment law company has confirmed it is opening offices in Derry creating  75 jobs over the next five years. The firm’s founding partner Russell Smith told ‘The Lawyer’ that the New York-based firm had been in negotiations with Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) to open a base in Derry/Londonderry, which would be

  If you’re out celebrating this Easter weekend remember to drink at your own pace. That’s the warning from Drink Aware who’re advising people the more they drink, the longer it will take for alcohol to leave their system. It takes your body roughly one hour to get rid of one standard drink. The Gardaí

After four years of planning and fundraising, Raphoe will finally open its new community playground today. The opening takes place later this afternoon. The new state-of-the-art playground is located beside the community’s local boxing club who donated the land. After the land was donated, the hard-working committee set about fundraising for all the playground equipment.

Police investigating dissident republican terrorist activity have arrested a 28-year-old man in Strabane. A number of houses in the Castlegrange area of town were searched yesterday evening. A fortnight ago there were two pipe bombs found by police in town, which were believed to have been targeting officers. It’s understood this arrest is in relation

A man in his 40’s has died following a collision in county Tyrone last night. The crash- involving a motorbike and a tractor- happened on the Belfast road at Fivemiletown just after 8 o’clock. The driver of the tractor was not injured. Police in the North are appealing for any witnesses to contact them.  

Former Anglo Irish Bank directors Willie McAteer and Pat Whelan have been convicted of providing illegal loans to the Maple ten to prop up the bank’s share price. The two former Anglo executives have been remanded on bail for a sentencing hearing on April 28th. There was no visible reaction from Pat Whelan and Willie

952 local authority homes are to be brought back into use under a new Government scheme, 56 of them in Donegal. 15 million euro will be spent renovating the vacant houses and apartments around the country, with 358,000 euro allocated to the Donegal projects. The properties will be allocated to people who are currently on

Bus Eireann has told Highland Radio that work is underway to ensure that there is no disruption to school transport when the Lough Swilly Bus Company ceases trading this weekend. Bus Eireann says 2,000 schoolchildren hold tickets issued by Bus Éireann for use on over 50 school bus routes and a number of public scheduled

More than 300 call centre jobs are to be created in Derry by an American corporation. Convergys is to set up a customer service centre in the city in collaboration with phone network EE. The Derry centre will open in spring and the new posts will be created over the next 12 months. Convergys Corporation

The Unite trade union have said there may be a possibility of Ulsterbus or Bus Eireann taking on the routes left from the Lough Swilly bus service. It was confirmed yesterday that the Lough Swilly Bus company will cease trading this weekend with the loss of 80 jobs. The owners of the company are refusing

A man accused of murdering 29 people in the Omagh bomb atrocity was sought by police for five years, Belfast High Court has heard. Seamus Daly lived “under the radar” near the Irish border before he was arrested at a retail centre car park in Newry, County Down, prosecutors said. It was confirmed charges were

With the Lough Swilly Bus Company facing closure at the weekend, the government is being urged to ensure that there is continuity of bus services in Donegal, particularly on school runs. Donegal North East TD Charlie Mc Conalogue is Fianna Fail’s Education Spokesperson, and he’s already been in contact with the Department of Education and

The National Roads Authority has confirmed that there is no money available for what have been identified as two crucial road projects in North Donegal. In response to queries from Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn, the NRA says that while plans are in place for works on the Bongee link in Letterkeny and improvements on the

It’s been confirmed this morning that Greenfield Care Home in Strabane is to remain open. The Health Minister in the North, Edwin Poots said that existing residents will be allowed to remain in the residential home for as long as they wish as their needs can continue to be met there. The closure of Greenfield

Former Anglo Irish Bank Chairman Sean FitzPatrick has walked free from court. The 65 year old has been acquitted on all charges of providing unlawful financial assistance to 16 individuals to buy shares in Anglo in July 2008. Francesca Comyn has more………

Police recovered drugs in three seizures in the Derry area on Tuesday evening. In Eglinton, cannabis, cash and mobile phones were seized during a house search. There were no arrests. Meanwhile, a man is to be reported to the PPS after a quantity of cannabis was recovered from a property in the Ballymagroarty area. And

Donegal North East Deputy Charlie McConalogue has hit out at the Social Protection Minister Joan Burton, accusing her of reneging on a promise not to reduce basic social welfare payments. Calling in the Dail for a full review and analysis of the Farm Assist Scheme, he Fianna Fail deputy said in successive budgets, the government

The Lough Swilly bus company will stop trading this weekend with the loss of 80 jobs, according to a trade union. It follows the appointment of a liquidator. About 20 of the jobs are in Londonderry and the rest are in County Donegal. The Unite trade union, said there are now concerns over redundancy payments

Donegal County Councillor Padraig O Doherty has made a u-turn and has confirmed that he will now stand in the local elections as an independent. Just last week he told Highland Radio News that he was to rejoin Fine Gael, and had been put forward for convention to run for the party. But Cllr Doherty

The government has confirmed it will seek 2 billion euro of tax hikes and spending cuts in the next Budget. It’s published an update on the Irish economy to be sent to the EU, which includes 1.3 billion euro in spending cuts and 700 million euro in tax hikes. The document comes only days after

A Councillor is calling for land drainage committees to be re-established to help ease the increase risk of flooding across the county. Councillor Patrick McGowan says flash flooding is causing serious damage to public and priovate roads as well as land and other property. He says the lack of an organise approach means that when

Voters could be faced with a new look ballot paper in the future. Members of the Department of the Environment will appear before Public Service Oversight and Petitions Committee later today to discuss changes to the design and wording of voting slips for future referendums and elections. Research carried out by the Referendum Commission shows

The Cabinet will sign off on proposals for the cost of the water charge at a special meeting this morning. It’s understood the final figure could come in at under 250 euro – with a standing charge of about 50 euro. That’s likely to dominate the agenda – while Ministers will also discuss plans for

Fears have been raised today about the future of Lettermacaward post office, after An Post confirmed that it was considering its closure. The threat comes following the announcement that the local postmaster in the parish is to retire at the end of June. Nearby Doochary post office also recently closed. Cllr Seamus O Domnhaill said

The Donegal County Board has this evening rejected claims made online that Donegal senior football players received fines for failing to turn up to a mandatory drugs test last year. The board says that the headlines which appeared in one online news publication is totally untrue. In a statement released to Highland Radio, the county

A call for more robust protections for whistleblowers has been unanimously backed by middle ranking Gardai. Delegates at the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors conference debated the motion from Donegal based Gardai in Killarney in Co Kerry this morning. The AGSI wants the Garda confidential reporting charter reviewed and revised – to safeguard whistleblowers.

A trade union has said that time is running out to save 80 jobs at the Lough Swilly bus company following the appointment of a liquidator. The Lough Swilly company employs around 20 people in Derry and another 60 in County Donegal. Unite are due to meet the workforce today. The company have said it

The number of gardaí in Donegal fell 17 per cent over the last six years. The figures were revealed by Minister Alan Shatter after Pearse Doherty TD asked him a Parliamentary Question on the issue. In 2008, there were 488 gardaí in the county: by the end of 2011 that had fallen to 444 and,

A man accused of building the bomb used in the Omagh bombing has been arrested by police.      Patrick Joseph Blair was arrested in Newry, South Down, four days after a senior republican, Seamus Daly, was charged with murdering 29 people in the 1998 Real IRA attack. Patrick Joseph Blair, also known as “Mooch”

A Donegal County Councillor has said that he is confident that the Lough Swilly Ferry service will be up and running again this summer. The service links Buncrana with Rathmullan A closing date for tenders for the ferry was March 12th, but Donegal County Council has extended that now to midday to 25th April. Donegal

The race to represent Donegal Town on Donegal County Council is heating up with three candidates making their pitch for votes. Indpendent Council John Campbell has hit out at candidated Jonathon Kennedy and Michael Naughton claiming they have no right to claim a seat as their own. At his campaign launch, Fianna Fail’s Micheal Naughten

The Donegal Youth Council’s new website, which offers information and advice on sexual health has gone live. Sham dot ie aims to inform young people and adults in the county about both looking after their own sexual health and also what services there are should they find themselves in a moment of personal crisis. The