Author name: oisinkelly

The IFA is calling on the Government to make a quick and positive decision on national co-financing for the Rural Development Programme over the next 7 years. The association says farmers in many parts of the country, and particularly in Donegal, are very dependent on CAP Pillar II Rural Development supports such as Environmental and […]

A Letterkenny Town Councillor wants the public to be consulted to find names for generically named areas around the town. Councillor Dessie Larkin says there are places referred locally as ‘The Green’ or ‘The Lane’ and that these places could be given a new name or have a name from the past restored. He believes

It’s claimed a meeting later today between directors of the Foyle Ferry Company and politicians is crucial to the future of the Magilligan to Greencastle ferry service. East Derry SDLP Assembly Member John Dallat along with politicians from both sides of the border will meet with the company’s directors to try and save the service

 Donegal County Council has been dealing with flooding and other issues lined with the stormy weather. The winds are expected to reduce this evening but there will be a return to more stormy conditions after the weekend. In the meantime, the council is urging care on the roads, and says it will continue to respond

Derry City Council will tomorrow hold an emergency meeting following revelations that radioactive waste was dumped in Culmore three decades ago without public knowledge. Recently release confidential government files revealed solid nuclear waste was buried in the area between 1977 and 1982. It is not yet clear if the waste remains, how much there is

Eircom has begun work on restoring landline phone services to people on Arranmore Island and some on the mainland. An estimated 650 customers have not has a phone service since lightening strikes almost two weeks ago. There has been strong criticism of Eircom for the delay in fixing the problems but Paul Bradley, the company’s

Gardai are appealing for information after a woman was struck by a car in Churchtown, Carndonagh. 70 year-old Mora Porter was struck by the vehicle on December the 3oth at 540pm. She was rushed to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry where she later died from her injuries The 41 year-old driver of the car involved was not

13 people were killed on Donegals roads in 2013. That’s six more lives lost than the previous year. Overall, One hundred and ninety people were killed on Irish roads in 2013. That’s 28 more lives lost than the previous year. Garda inspectpr Michael Harrison said that there was an increase in drink driving detections over

Those without an Eircom phone line service on Arranmore Island for the last 9 days have been expressing their frustration at the delay in getting the problem fixed. The service was lost to the island, and an area on the mainland following a lightening strike at start of last week. Some fear it could be

A woman has died after being struck by a car in Churchtown, Carndonagh. The woman, who was close to her home and in her 70’s, was struck by the vehicle at 5.40pm yesterday (Monday) evening. She was rushed to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry where she died from her injuries just before midnight. There was one

Police in Derry are appealing for information following reports of a serious assault at a house in Magherafelt yesterday. Shortly after 10pm, the PSNI says it was reported that four masked men entered a house in Castle Park, Tobermore area armed with baseball bats and sledgehammers. It is believed three men were assaulted during the

The INFOMAR marine research project is being extended and will include mapping of Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly. It’s part of a new Government commitment which will see €15m euro spent over the next 5 years. The INFOMAR project  is labelled as the most valuable resource for marine research and development in Ireland and beyond.

The public is being to urged to be vigilant of an email scam doing the rounds claiming to be from Revenue. The email suggests the recipient is entitled to a modest tax rebate in an effort to get personal and banking details. Councillor Patrick McGowan has raised the issue stating the scam could catch people

The Tánaiste and Northern Ireland Secretary have expressed their disappointment following the failure to reach agreement during talks in the North over night. It comes after all-night negotiations to resolve outstanding peace process issues in Northern Ireland failed to produce an agreement. The 5 main parties have been trying to reach a deal concerning the

Donegal Government Deputy Joe McHugh has insisted there are no plans to downgrade the Coast Guard Station at Malin Head. It was reported yesterday that the station would be reduced to a 12-hour watch rather than 24 hours. While it was also reported that radio station staff would be cut by 18.5 per cent. But

A fisherman has been rescued off rocks in Malin Head after he became stranded this afternoon. The man, originally from Latvia, got into trouble when the tide began to come in. Malin Head Coastguard were alerted and the Greencastle lifeboat and Sligo coastguard helicopter were deployed. The man is currently being checked out by medical

Fears again have been raised for the future of the Malin Head Coastguard with the station set to be cut to 12-hour watches from 24 as part of staff savings. Documents seen by The Irish Times include reducing Donegal’s Malin Head Coast Guard station to a 12-hour watch rather than 24 hours, and cutting coast

A thirty year old man has appeared before Sligo district court charged in connection with an armed barricaded incident over the weekend. Michael O’ Connor with an address at Scardenmore, Strandhill Road, Sligo was charged with possession of a single barrel shotgun with intent to endanger life. He’s been remanded in custody to appear before

A 30 year old man will appear in court in Sligo this morning charged in relation to the barricaded incident over the weekend. He was arrested at a house on the Strandhill Road on Saturday afternoon at around 1:30pm following an armed standoff. At around half past 12 on Friday night Gardai in Sligo were

A Letterkenny Town Councillor has called for efforts to be made to ease traffic congestion on the Pearse Road. Dessie Larkin has welcomed the amount of people that chose Letterkenny to shop for Chistmas but says the mumbers have exposed traffic issues on the Pearse Road. He says the situation needs to be looked at:

There are calls on the PSNI to put in addition resources to apprehend those behind a rising number of robberies of bookmaker’s shops in Derry city. Another bookmakers shop was robbed at the Lecky Road on Saturday night which brings to six the number of robberies of businesses in Derry in recent weeks. There has

Police in Derry are appealing for information following an armed robbery in the city last night. The incident took place in the Central Drive area at around 8.30 when two masked men entered a business premises, one of them armed with a handgun. A member of staff was threatened before the men made off with

Gardai in Buncrana are investigating an incident where a jeep crashed into the Department of Social Protection on Friday night. The incident took place at around 11pm. A 40 year-old man was arrested at the scene for road traffic offences, he was later released and re arrested for Criminal Damage, and is currently being detained

The head of road safety group PARC has welcomed the minister for transports decision to criticise judges over traffic offence cases. Minister Leo Varadkar made the comments in an interview with the Irish Times, voicing his frustration with the low conviction rates and imposition of penalty points. Speaking to Highland radio this morning, PARC CEO

Police in Derry are appealing for information following an armed robbery at a business premises in the city last evening. A masked man was reported to have entered the premises on Elmwood Street armed with a knife at around 5.10 last night. A member of staff was threatened during the incident, but was not injured.

Over five and a half thousand homes across Ireland won’t have their power restored tonight, but at present, Donegal households seem likely to escape that fate. An ‘Orange Status’ wind warning issued for 16 counties, including Donegal, expires at 6 o’clock, with winds abating. At present, the only cluster of outages in Donegal is a

The Mayor of Letterkenny is urging people in the town not to get complacent in the fight against crime. Cllr Pascal Blake says there’s been a lot of success in reducing burglaries this year, largely due to cooperation between the local Joint Policing Committee, gardai and the public, but he says a house break in

The head of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation says the industry needs to speak with a united voice on the issue of conservation and quotas determination. New protocols are in place under which scientific evidence put forward by the fisheries organisations is given more consideration by the EU commission, but Sean O’Donaghue says that will only

The Chairperson of DLDC, which administers Leader and other community development programmes across most of Donegal says 2014 will open with immediate challenges. However, in an End of Year Statement, Jim Slevin says the company will not be lacking in its dedication to local social and economic development in Donegal. In its End of Year

Police in Tyrone are appealing for information after an 81-year-old man died in a road collision yesterday. The man’s blue New Holland tractor was involved in a single vehicle incident on the Dunnyboe Road, Donemana, at around 12:30 yesterday afternoon. The Dunnyboe Road was closed for a time, but has since reopened to traffic.

The HSE has issued the following release regarding the out of hours GP service over Christmas –   Where possible, patients should contact their own GP who will be running surgeries over the Christmas period. Please see the NoWDOC service opening hours as set out below. NoWDOC Service Opening Hours Over Christmas/New Year Period 2013/14

A Letterkenny Town Councillor says the impact of the abolition of town councils will only become apparent when budgets for 2015 are being finalised in 12 months time. Cllr Dessie Larkin is urgining people to closely examine the 2014 budget which was passed by the Town Council last week, and then compare the service provision

Persons intending to go for a beach walk over Christmas are being urged to avoid the walkway at Lisfannon near Buncrana, which has become very dangerous as a result of erosion. At present, a popular stretch of the walkway has been blocked off by Donegal County Council as it is deemed to be dangerous. Town

There are almost 500 homes without power in Donegal at the moment (Tuesday 11.30), with almost 420 homes out in four clusters around Dungloe and Derrybeg and 60 homes affected in the Cullion area outside Letterkenny. Met Éireann says strong storm force southwesterly winds will remain this morning, causing hazardous driving conditions. Wintry showers will

All party political negotiations in Belfast have ended in stalemate. 7 hours of overnight talks failed to produce an agreement to deal with unresolved peace process issues in Northern Ireland. Intense discussions involving Stormont’s five Executive parties – to find consensus on disputes over flags, parades and the legacy of the Troubles – ended at

The CEO of Fáilte Ireland is welcoming news that the Gathering initiative has exceeded it’s revenue target, representing a 170 million euro boost to the Irish economy. The tourism initiative aimed to encourage members of the diaspora to come home for various gatherings brought in an extra 275 thousand visitors during 2013. Around 5000 gatherings

More details are emerging about a weekend incident in which an attempt was made to rob 75 year old woman in Donegal at the weekend. The incident happened in a remote area near Kerrykeel, it’s understood three men entered the woman’s home, but left empty handed. Garda Inspector Michael Harrison is leading the investigation, and

As the Haas talks continue, East Derry MLA John Dallat says the British goverrnment could make a major contribution to the process by confirming that the 300 DVA jobs in Coleraine will be maintained. Mr Dallat says at a meeting in Westminister at the end of last week, Transport Minister Robert Goodwill told an SDLP

High winds and lightening have caused widespread power outages and disruption to phone and broadband services. Met Eireann has issued a Yellow weather warning for today, with high winds affecting many parts of the country. An Orange alert for the entire country has been issued for Christmas Eve. The ESB says that electiricity service has

For the first time in over three decades, no night-club will be selling drink after midnight on Christmas night in Donegal. The news comes after a night-club in Bundoran cancelled its plans to open from midnight despite being the only club in the county to be granted a late licence. Paris night-club owner Conor McEniff,

Two teenagers who murdered a Donegal Man in a street attack in Glasgow have failed to have their convictions overturned. 21 year old Asif Rehman and 2o year old Adel Ishaq were jailed for a minimum of 16 years for the murder of 57-year-old William McKeeney in Pollokshields nearly two years ago. Mr McKeeney’s partner,

Shipquay Street and Shipquay Place in Derry have now been re-opened following a search of the area by police following a telephone bomb warning. Nothing was found but police would ask members of the public to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious. Those behind the alert have been criticised by local MLA Pat Ramsey. In

Shipquay Street and Shipquay Place in Derry have been closed by police following a telephone warning of a bomb. Police are conducting a search and have evacuated a number of premises. Motorists are advised to avoid the area and police would ask anyone noticing any suspicious objects to contact them immediately.

Gardaí are appealing for members of the public to assist them in connection to an assault and false imprisonment in a house close to the Donegal border in County Leitrim. The incident happened 10 days ago. On Wednesday the 11th of December at approximately 11.30pm a house in Duncarbery, Tullaghan, County Leitrim, was forcibly entered

Justice Minister Alan Shatter is to receive a letter claiming the Gaming Act needs revision. It follows controversy at Ballyshannon District Court over one-armed bandits and other games in public arcades. Judge Kevin Kilrane was told the arcades should shut when the town councils which grant licences for them become extinct next June. The judge

  Electricity and phone services are disrupted once again in Donegal with strong and sometimes gale force winds crossing the region. Eircom says crews are working to repair almost six thousand faults to phone and broadband services  – caused by the severe weather – Donegal is amongst the counties worst affected. In Kilcar, 244 customers