Author name: oisinkelly

A new road safety campaign is being launched this morning urging motorists not to use bluetooth or handsfree mobile devices while driving. The “Switch Off before you Drive Off” campaign is focussing on the fact that even if the phone is not in your hand, it is still a distraction. Donegal County Council is one […]

Staff shortages in the Donegal Mental Health Services are to be raised in the Dail,, with Donegal South West Deputy Pearse Doherty saying he’s very concerned about the issue. Earlier this week, the friend of a service user expressed concern that a cancelled appointment and the prospect of a six month wait to be seen

Army bomb experts have been examining the scene of an explosion that badly damaged a parked car in Derry last night. It happened at about 1045pm outside a house in Carrickreagh Gardens in the Creggan area. No-one was injured in the explosion. Several homes were evacuated while the area was examined by police. The road

The Justice Minister has apologised to two Garda whistleblowers. Alan Shatter has also corrected the Dáil record that Sergeant Maurice McCabe and former Garda John Wilson did not co-operate with an inquiry into the penalty points issue. The move eases pressure on the Minister with Labour happy with the correction.

The Mayor of Buncrana says the designation of a special enterprise zone in Coleraine has the potential to damage Inishowen. The Coleraine designation was announced in the wake of the announcement that 250 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency jobs are being absorbed into the current DVLA structures in Swansea. However, Cllr Peter Mc Laughlin says

Its emerged that in 2007 gardai sought a system to automatically record telephone calls and radio traffic from the Garda communications system at Letterkenny Garda Station. Letterkenny Garda station was one of 27 stations for which Garda sought the system. The system, which  included hard drives to store recordings of communications, allowed Gardai with certain

A local election candidate is calling for the introduction of a one-way system in Letterkenny in an effort to ease traffic congestion. Labour’s Christy Galligan has drawn up his own traffic management plan which includes that proposal as well as the upgrading of access roads and progression of the Bonagee link. Traffic in the town

  A Donegal County Cllr has expressed his disappointment after the Transport Minister refused to meet with a delegation regarding the upgrading of Fintra Bridge. Minister Leo Varadkar contacted Cllr Brendan Byrne on Tuesday via email saying that he was not in a position to meet with any delegation due to a full diary. This is despite the fact the Minister

Police in Strabane have confirmed that a security alert at a supermarket in the town last night was a hoax. At around midnight last night police recieved a call of a suspicious package being left in Asda. Workers and shoppers were then evacuated from the store as police and sniffer dogs carried out searches. Within

Twelve cars have been broken into during a crime spree in Derry. The PSNI are appealing for information after parked cars were targeted by thieves in the Waterside area. In the early hours of Monday morning, police received 12 reports of incidents at Prehen and Kilfennan. Items including money and a mobile phone were stolen.

The Justice Minister has given a commitment to meet the family of a Letterkenny soldier who was murdered while serving with the UN in Lebanon. Minister Alan Shatter confirmed in the Dail yesterday that he will meet members of the family “either this side of Easter or shortly afterwards.” Hugh Doherty, was shot dead during

Donegal County Councillor Frank McBrearty has called for Justice Minister Alan Shatter to resign. Cllr McBrearty – given €1.5M in compensation after being framed for murder by gardai – accused Deputy Shatter of failing the people of Ireland. Meanwhile, it also emerged last night that calls into and out of Garda stations were recorded up

The Letterkenny to Lifford Road has reopened this morning after a two car collision close to the Dromoghill turn-off last night. The road was closed for a number of hours last night and diversions were put in place. Two people were rushed to hospital after the collision, were they are said to be in stable condition. Gardai

The Justice Minister says the fact that recording of phone calls in garda stations was in place – and for so long – is of serious concern. Alan Shatter has addressed the Dáil after Cabinet decided to establish a Commission of Investigation into the matter. He says he is constrained by the fact a civil

Part of the Letterkenny to Lifford Road has been closed this evening, after what has been described as a serious traffic accident. The accident happened close to the Dromoghill turnoff. Emergency services are currently at the scene and diversions are in place.

Police in Foyle are seeking information about a man who stopped his car and spoke to a seven-year-old girl in Eglinton on  Monday. Police says they want to speak to the man to determine the exact circumstances. At around 8.40am on Monday, the driver of a car described as a ‘black jeep’ stopped beside the

The deputy director of the HSE’s National Ambulance Service will travel to Donegal today to meet the family of Maura Porter who died after being knocked down near her home in Carndonagh on December 30th. She waited almost 50 minutes for an ambulance to arrive from Letterkenny, 62km away and died in Altnagelvin hospital in

A prosecution against one of the largest trawlers in the world – the Dutch-owned Annelies Ilena – was adjourned at Donegal Circuit Court today. The Master of the super-trawler, Gerrit Plug, 57, is accused of breaches of EU fishing regulations off Tory Island in November. The trawler was previously known as the Atlantic Dawn when

Tourism Ireland has launched a series of four new online films featuring the famous astronaut, Chris Hadfield. The aim of the videos is to entice visitors from around the world to come to Ireland and follow in his footsteps. The Canadian spent several days as a  tourist , visiting some of our top attractions

The father of a Lifford man seriously injured in a crash in Letterkenny last week has made an impassioned appeal for information. 23 year-old Darry McDaid remains in intensive care in hospital after the BMW he was driving crashed into road signs and a telephone poll on the Port Road just before 1am on Thursday

Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan has resigned with immediate effect. A Garda spokesman confirmed the resignation with the morning. His decision follows a political controversy over comments he made about Garda whistleblowers. Martin Callinan had been under pressure from government ministers to withdraw the comment, and deep divisions had emerged between the coalition parties over the

A former Derry swimming instructor has been jailed for four and a half years for ‘historic sexual abuse’ that occurred when he was in his late 40s and his victim was aged between 12 and 16. Brendan McGowan, now 69, of 7 Brewster’s Close in Derry had admitted nine counts of indecent assault, gross indecency

Oyster farmers in Donegal are being denied the chance to apply for EU grants and improve their business because the Irish government still has no working licence system in plasce. The IFA’s Aquaculture Executive Richie Flynn has told an IFA/BIM seminar that in order for farmers to play on a level pitch with other EU

The chair of the Joint Policing Committee in Donegal says he would like to see cross border links established between Community Alert groups in Donegal and neighbouring counties, as well as closer lines of communication between the groups within the county. He told a meeting Letterkenny last night that the JPC could act as a

It’s hoped that tourism in Inishowen will be boosted by the opening at the weekend of a major new attraction in Burt. A new visitors’ centre has opened in the grounds of An Grianan Hotel, exploring the history of the nearby Grianan Fort and Burt Castle. The Old Church Visitors’ Centre also explores the mythological

Parents of children with Diabetes in Donegal says they were shocked to learn that the HSE North West Service Plan for 2014 contains no funding to develop paediatric diabetes services in northwest. The information was relayed to over three hundred members of the public and politicians at a weekend meeting. The meeting also heard demands

A Donegal woman with depression and Bipolar disorder is said to be devastated after being told she may have to wait up to six months to see a HSE mental health specialist. The woman, and at least one other, were informed that their Out-Patient Clinic appointments in Falcarragh were cancelled due to staff shortage and a

Police are looking for a man in his early twenties following an armed robbery at a off licence in Strabane, on Friday. The incident took place at the premises in the Melmount Road area shortly after 9.30pm on Friday night. A masked thief entered an off licence armed with a knife, threatened two female shop

A Derry City Cllr has claimed that children as young as 8-years-old have been involved in a number of stone throwing incidents in the city. In the past week in Derry there has been a number of stone throwing incidents, with a number of taxi drivers reporting their vehicles being struck. The incidents have took

Parents of children with Diabetes in Donegal says they are heartened by the turnout at a public meeting the Mount Errigal Hotel, Letterkenny yesterday. The meeting was called to demand that the HSE appoint a dedicated Paediatric Diabetes clinical Nurse Specialist in Letterkenny General Hospital. An estimated 300 people along local politicians and T.Ds were

Calls are being made for a barrier to be erected on the road into Letterkenny following the car crash which has left a 23-year-old man in a critical condition in hospital. Darry McDaid has been in hospital since the early hours of Thursday morning when the BMW he was driving crashed into traffic signs and

The expansion and improvement of community alert and text alert schemes in Donegal will be the focus of a public meeting taking place in Letterkenny this evening. The event is being held in the Radisson Hotel, Letterkenny at 8pm. Guest will include Chief Superintendent Terri Mc Ginn, Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Paul Wallace and Vanessa

Two objects have been spotted in the Indian Ocean by Australian aircraft searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane. Satellite images and data have also identified possible debris in the area that may be linked to the disappearance of flight MH 370. A ship is on its way to recover the possible debris from the

A spokesman for the Garda Commissioner says he has no plans to issue a statement on the whistleblower controversy today. Martin Callinan has been under renewed pressure since the Transport Minister last week called on him to withdraw his description of whistleblower actions as ‘disgusting’, and other ministers backed the call. The issue is expected

The smoking ban is ten years old this week and the Health Minister says banning smoking in cars carrying children is the crucial next step. Health groups say the ban on smoking in workplaces, pubs and restaurants has saved thousands of lives and helped cut the rate of smokers in Ireland from 33 to 22

A Councillor is calling on the government to make more money available for Housing Adaptation Grants. Gerry Mc Monagle says a number of people approved for a Home Adaptation Grant by there council were later informed that  the council was not in a position to award the grant as it had no money. The Housing

There is a spat amongst two local election candidates over the issue of polling clerk positions being offered to people on the live register. The call was made by Labour’s election candidate Siobhan McLaughlin, but Labour has been accused of hijacking the issue by Peter Cutliffe who is a long time campaigner for the move.

A Northwest MEP is calling on the government to instigate a significant effort to have Northern Ireland exempt from the new HGV tax. The UK tax, which will see hauliers crossing from the south into Northern Ireland charged £10, comes into effect from April. Some Donegal Hauliers says they will be forced to move their

The Fianna Fail party has passed a motion from Donegal North East delegates calling for active and serious participating and engagement in the political process in Northern Ireland. The motion was passed without debate at The Fianna Fáíl Ard Fheis which is taking place this weekend. The party’s leader Micheál Martin has now confirmed Fianna

Gardai have renewed an appeal for information into a single vehicle crash in Letterkenny which left a young Lifford man in a critical condition in hospital. 23 year-old Darry McDaid was driving a silver BMW which crashed between the Polestar and Dry Arch roundabouts in the early hours of Thursday morning – he’s still being

A Donegal County Councillor is calling on ferry operators to come forward if they are interested in running the Lough Swilly service. It links Buncrana with Rathmullan A closing date for tenders for the ferry was March 12th, but Donegal County Council has received no applications to date. Councillor Liam Blaney says the service is

A Strabane family have welcomed the announcement that a vaccine that protects against a deadly form of meningitis is set to be introduced in the UK and Northern Ireland. Meningitis charities said more data had led to today’s decision, and it was a “wonderful outcome”. About 1,870 people contract meningitis B each year and one

Veteran Cllr Victor Fisher has quit Fianna Fail after claiming he was “shafted” by the party he has served for 45 years. The former Mayor of Letterkenny says he is deeply hurt that he was not asked to stand for election by the party in the forthcoming local elections. And the local businessman said he