Author name: oisinkelly

Letterkenny and Buncrana Town Councils meet this evening to adopt their respective Budgets for 2014. It is the last Budgets the councils will pass before they are scrapped. The Letterkenny budget sees no increase in business rates or rents and is seen as a positive budget with money set aside for a number of key […]

A 33-year-old Strabane man has appeared in court charged with murdering his former girlfriend and her friend in an east Belfast flat last week. The bodies of 40-year-old Caron Smyth, and 42-year-old Finbarr McGrillen, were found by police called to investigate a suspected burglary in Ravenhill Court. Shaun Patrick Joseph Hegarty, who is originally from

A Milford resident has been sent for trial today on €104,000 drugs charges. Gerard O’Connor, a 32-year-old declared Muslim, was returned for trial at Sligo Circuit on January 28. O’Connor, originally from Bellews Bridge Road, Dundalk, is charged with possessing cannabis resin estimated to be worth €80,000 for sale in a car on September 9

Calls have been made for Malin Head to be made the starting point for the Wild Atlantic Way. The tourism initative stretchs from the Inishowen Peninsula in Co Donegal to Kinsale, Co Cork and it is billed as “the road trip of a lifetime”. The Wild Atlantic Way project received €8 million in funding in

Donegal County Council will have to meet again in the new year in an effort to agree a revenue budget for 2014. Management from the local authority presented their draft budget proposals for 2014 to Cllrs yesterday, but little to no progress was made. The Fine Gael and Labour groupings on Donegal County Council have

Donegal bore the brunt last night as high winds and torrential rain lashed the country. Winds reached up to 150 kmph, and at one stage almost 10,000 homes were without power in the county. There are under 100 power outages in Donegal this evening (2pm)  mostly in the west and north of the county. The

Thousands of homes are without power in Donegal this evening as high winds batter the Northwest. Over five thousand homes are currently without power in the county, with more outages inevitable as the bad weather continues throughout the night. There are currently 5750 homes without power in the county. ESB have restored a number of

The North’s Environment Minister has published an independent report into the illegal dump found in Campsie earlier this year. Mark H.Durkan has promised fundamental change in how waste is managed in Northern Ireland. An estimated total of 516,000 tonnes was discovered at the site. In June of this year, the then Environment Minister Alex Attwood,

Derry City Council has agreed to progress with a 2.7 million pounds programme to regenerate the Brandywell Sports Stadium. As part of the plan, the greyhound track will move to a new proposed location around the Showgrounds pitch, and the existing grass playing pitch will be replaced with a synthetic surface. Four new changing rooms

The Minister for Health is being asked to examine why a number of parents of boys who suffer from a rare muscular disorder bring their sons to a centre in Newcastle for treatment ratrher than the Central Remedial Clinic in Dublin. Deputy Joe Mc Hugh says a number of boys in Donegal have Duchenne Muscular

The December Council of Fisheries Ministers Meeting has concluded in Brussels, with agreement on quotas for the coming year. Killybegs Fishermens Organisation CEO Sean O’Donaghue was in Brussels for the negotiatons – He says the outcome was a mixed bag for the Irish fisheries sector………… However, Independent Donegal South West Deputy Thomas Pringle says the

The full extent of job cuts at Donegal County Council over the past 5 years was revealed day. At todays annual budget meeting for the year ahead the county manager outlined the staffing cuts at the local authority and the impact they may have on council services since 2008. In 2008, Donegal County Council employed

With severe winds expected in Donegal this evening and overnight, Met Eireann has upgraded its weather warning affecting the Northwest from Orange to Red. Driving conditions in many areas are complicated by surfice water and fallen debris. There are currently no reported ESB outages in the county. In County Westmeath, a 23 year-old woman has

Deputy Charlie Mc Conolouge has been told that the Department of Education will not change the rules that exclude schools who started book rental schemes from availing of a new government scheme. Deputy McConologue told Highland Radio News last week that schools who started book rental schemes themselves are now being punished by the Government

A four year old boy is in a stable condition in hospital after he was struck by a car at the Fort Lynne Retail Park in Letterkenny at 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon. Gardai say the boy sustained leg injuries which are not life threatening.

The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority has welcomed the decision at Letterkenny District Court to impose a monetary bond on the operators of a fishing boat over an alleged illegal catch landed at Greencaste. The bond of €136,878 was imposed on the operators of the fishing vessel Saltees Quest, owned by the O’Flaherty Brothers of Kilmore

Donegal County Council meets in Lifford today to discuss its budget for 2014, with officials proposing a rates freeze while businesses argue for a reduction. Today’s meeting comes as the Dail discusses legislation to formally establish Irish Water, which is due to take over the council’s responsibility for water services from January 1st. County Manager

Met Eireann has issued an Orange weather warning for Donegal. The forecasters warn of South to southwest winds increasing 60 to 80 km/h and gust 100 to 120 km/h for later Wednesday afternoon and evening, in exposed coastal areas of Connacht and Donegal. The warning also covers the counties of Sligo, Leitrim, Galway and Mayo

The father of a Lifford man who drowned after escaping from police custody in Strabane in May 2011 has said he plans to take action against the PSNI. A Police Ombudsman investigation last week found failings on behalf of the PSNI. David Colhoun’s remains were discovered in the River Finn last February, 10 months after

Tyrone woman Michaella McCollum and her Scottish friend Melissa Reid have been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison by a court in Peru after pleading guilty to drug smuggling charges. The pair were arrested last August after cocaine was found in their luggage as they tried to board a flight at Lima

Donegal County Council has appealed for the public to be vigilant following further reports of bogus collectors The local authority says it has received further reports of bogus collectors in the Letterkenny Electoral area purporting to be from the Council. In a statement the council said a man and woman called to the home of

The Taoiseach says 2014 will be the year of jobs as the coalition plans to restore employment to Celtic Tiger levels of more than 2.1 million by 2020. A new post-bailout economic plan has been unveiled that promises no income tax hikes between now and the end of the decade. The plan says austerity will

A Strabane Cllr has said that a young woman is lucky to be alive after she had her drink spiked on a night out in the town over the weekend. The woman in her early 20s, who does not want to be named, was on a night out with her sister on Saturday night in

The trial of a man accused of dangerous driving causing the deaths of eight men has been fixed for February 4 at Letterkenny Circuit Court. Judge John O’Hagan was told today(Tues)at Donegal Circuit Court that the trial of Shaun Kelly will take about a week. Kelly, aged 24, of Hill Road, Ballymagan, Buncrana, Co Donegal,

It’s reported that two shots were fired during an armed robbery at a bookmaker’s premises on St Francis Terrace in the Pennyburn area of Derry last night. The single raider, whose face was covered with a hood and scarf entered the shop just before 7.00pm and demanded money from a staff member on duty before

A garda investigation is continuing after two masked men, one of them wielding what’s reported to have been a sword, robbed a shop in St Johnston last night. The men entered Mac’s Mini Mart at around 10 o’clock last night and escaped with an undisclosed sum of money. Forensic experts are at the scene this

Almost 60 per cent of staff working in residential facilities for the elderly in Co Donegal have never had a flu vaccine, according to research carried out by a public health consultant in the county. The most popular reason for not availing of the vaccine was that staff believed they didn’t need it, but over

A convicted child killer and rapist will learn next week if he is to be granted legal aid for an inquest into the death of Arlene Arkinson. Justice Minister David Ford is due to decide whether to approve funding for Robert Howard to be represented at the hearing to examine the disappearance of the Castlederg

Traffic diversions remain in place in Convoy following an early morning fire at a business premises in the Greenfield area of the town. Traffic is being diverted via the Kilross junction, or through Raphoe. The fire service has confirmed that at least one acetylene cylinder has been located at the site, and procedures are in

An Independent TD says there may be a need for an independent inquiry into NAMA. It follows claims that a former employee at the National Asset Management Agency leaked classified information to international financiers. The Irish Independent says the official has admitted leaking the information and a dossier is with the Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan

The property tax was one of the most searched for terms in Ireland this year. The annual Google Zeitgeist shows Environment Minister Phil Hogan, late actor Paul Walker and Donal Walsh were among the most searched for people in 2013. We also googled Ryanair, the Royal baby, the Eurovision and Miley Cyrus in huge numbers

The government is considering changing the legal age of consent from 17 to 16. It was one of the items on the agenda for the final cabinet meeting before Christmas. An all-party Oireachtas committee recommended the change in 2006. But Lisa Collins from the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children says they

The St Vincent de Paul Society in Donegal says donations are down by over 20% this year, possibly as a result of the top ups controversey at the CRC. It follows publication of new research by UNITE and Mandate showing that that Donegal is among the worst affected counties by food poverty, with almost 19,000

Police in Foyle have issued an appeal for witnesses after a police car crashed in the Creggan area yesterday morning. They say the car was responding to an emergency domestic incident at around 3 o’clock yesterday morning when the collision happened at an area known locally as the Bywash on the Creggan Road. According to

Donegal South West Deputy Thomas Pringle says it’s gone beyond time for the publication of reports on how paedophile Michael Ferry continued to have access to children for years after he was placed on a sex register. The 58-year-old received an extra seven years last week to run concurrent to 14 years in jail imposed

People living in border counties are more likely to travel North for pre-Christmas shopping. That’s according to a new survey carried out by the AA, which shows 24 per cent of motorists have planned a trip to Northern Ireland to do some shopping during the festive season. Those living in Donegal rate highest – with

The Taoiseach’s promising a secure and prosperous future for Irish people – but says it won’t happen overnight. In an address to the nation last night, Enda Kenny also promised to create enough jobs to bring emigrants home. Political correspondent, Páraic Gallagher reports…………

With Donegal County Council due to hold its budget meeting on Wednesday of this week, a group of local businesses has come together to demand a rates reduction, Over 300 businesses across the county have signed up to the Donegal Business Rates Reduction Campaign, with the threat of a rates boycott looming. County Manager Seamus

New research shows that Donegal is among the worst affected counties by food poverty. The figures published by Mandate and UNITE reveals that thousands of people say they couldn’t afford a proper meal in the last week. The trade union’s are seeking immediate aid from government to organisations providing food assistance to help them to

Health Minister Dr James Reilly and Justice Minister Alan Shatter are to be quizzed this week over why reports are still not ready on how paedophile Michael Ferry continued to have access to children for years after he was placed on a sex register. The 58-year-old received an extra seven years last week to run

Cash has been stolen in an armed robbery at a bookmakers in Derry. A man in his 20s entered the shop on the Racecourse Road just before 930pm last night. He was carrying a suspected firearm and threatened staff before making off with the cash. He is approximately 5ft 10in tall, of slim build, and

Gale force winds have blown part of the roof off a supermarket in Omagh. The damage was caused to Supervalu on Market Street just after 11am on Saturday. A large piece of the roof came down and was caught on a canopy and cables. Police said there were no reports of any injuries. Cordons were

An SDLP Cllr in Strabane has accused Sinn Fein of indecisiveness over the decision to locate 800 Department of Agriculture jobs to Ballykelly. Strabane District Council is to submit a freedom of information request to see the business case which led to Ballykelly being chosen ahead of Strabane. The proposal was put forward by Strabane