Author name: oisinkelly

The Vice Chairperson of the Donegal Joint Policing Committee has said that smart policing will never replace the tried and tested model of having gardai on the beat, particularly in rural areas. Cllr Patrick Mc Gowan was speaking at a special meeting of Donegal County Council to discuss recent crime in the county, particularly aggravated

A 58-year-old Derry man has been charged with the murder of Barry McCrory in Derry last week. Kieran McLaughlin has been charged with murder and firearm offences. McLaughlin was arrested on Wednesday after a six day cross-border manhunt. 35-year-old Barry McCrory was murdered in his Shipquay Street last Thursday. A day after the murder, the

The senior coroner in the North has warned the chief constable and the justice minister he will not allow further delays in the inquest into the death of Castlederg teenager Arlene Arkinson. John Leckey was speaking at a preliminary hearing into her death. Arlene Arkinson, disappeared in August 1994 after a night out at a

It’s emerged that Donegal has the joint highest percentage of people convicted in court of a motoring offence escaping penalty points because of a legal loophole. Previously, a driver summoned to court was not directed to take their license with them, which meant in many cases, no record of the driver receiving penalty points is

A High Court case brought by a Donegal family against an engineer has been struck out after the case was withdrawn by the couple concerned. Karen and Francis Carr had brought a case against Gerard Duke of Donegal Town in relation to defects to their house. However, they withdrew their claim yesterday evening and accepted

Mangan Tours is to close its Letterkenny office at the end of the year, with up to five job losses expected. Managing Director Joe Mangan confirmed to Highland Radio News today that the company will will not be launching a brochure next year, but stressed that any tours already booked will operate as scheduled for

The clothing chain Primark is opening a store in Omagh as part of a major redevelopment of the Supervalu premises on Market Street. As well as creating a number of new jobs, it’s also hoped that the move will attract more shoppers into Omagh town centre. John Wallace is the Supervalu store manager in Omagh,

Donegal Sinn Féin TDs Pearse Doherty and Pádraig MacLochlainn have called on the people of the county to support a postcard campaign to reverse the cut to the phone allowance. Sinn Fein has said the budget has hit older people particularly hard with one of the most cynical cuts being the cut to the telephone

Donegal County Council meets in special session this afternoon to discuss break-ins at a number of homes across the county in recent weeks. Members of the Joint Policing Committee will be there, and senior gardai in the county have been invited to attend. The meeting was sought by Cllr Michael Mc Bride. He says there’s

Donegal Deputy Charlie McConalogue has said the Local Government Bill published this week will see more power removed from Donegal communities. The Fianna Fáil Deputy has heavily criticised the plan which will see Letterkenny, Buncrana, Ballyshannon and Bundoran Town Councils scrapped along with all other town councils across the country.   Deputy McConalogue has accused the

It has been confirmed that work will commence shortly on a new HSE Community Mental Health Service building on the campus of Donegal Community Hospital in Donegal Town. The €2 million development promises deliver a modern centre for Community Mental Health services in the South Donegal area. The HSE says the construction of a new

New laws promising the most radical reform of local government in a century have been published. The Local Government Bill 2013 will see all 80 town councils abolished, and replaced by a system of municipal districts. Letterkenny, Buncrana, Ballyshannon and Bundoran Town Councils will be scrapped while Donegal County Council will go from 29 to

Police have been given more time to interview Kieran McLaughlin. The 58 year old is being questioned in connection with the killing of Barry Mc Crory in Shipquay Street on Thursday last. He was detained by specialist police officers at around 3 o’clock yesterday morning after a five hour operation which began in Donegal at

The nephew of a woman who died weeks after she was burgled has pleaded with the Government to rethink their plan to scrap telephone allowance for pensioners. Joe McKean’s aunt was at home at Tullyrap just off the road from Letterkenny to Lifford with her sister Iza when three men broke into the house and

Letterkenny Town Council has been told that if 74,000 euro can be found between the Town and County Councils, it may be possible to carry out some repairs to the footpath out to Ballymacool. Cllr Gerry Mc Monagle had moved a motion calling for a barrier to be erected on the footpath to improve safety,

A Strabane District Cllr has expressed concerns over the proposal for a 6000 acre windfarm in the Sperrins. The proposal is for 60 wind turbines to be erected on land between Cranagh, Goles and Broughderg in the Glenelly Valley area of the Strabane District. The proposal is still at pre-application stage and is due to

North West MEP, Pat the Cope Gallagher has said that the Agriculture Minister must protect the Irish mackerel industry ahead of today’s fisheries council meeting in Luxembourg. Minister Simon Coveney will meet to discuss the dispute over mackerel quota rights in the North East Atlantic as Iceland and the Faroe Islands have increased their overall

Strabane District Council is to press the Environment Minister to make a decision on the planning application for the Three Rivers Project in the town. A decision on the Three Rivers Project, which if given the green light, could see the creation of 450 jobs, is still pending despite the application being lodged almost two

A number of people in Buncranna have hit out at the road repair works taking place in the town centre. Work started this week on relaying and resurfacing Main Street in the town. The work, which is expected to be finsihed by early next week, is currently causing much disruption in the town. But local

A 73-year-old man has been attacked by a gang of up to a dozen youths in Derry. The elderly pensioner has been left badly shaken and distressed by the ordeal. The incident happened between the City Walls and the Bingo Hall on Bank Place. Local Cllr Gerry Diver, has said the attack is a sickening

Twenty-two “high end jobs” are being created at a pioneering new medical research centre in Derry. The Northern Ireland Centre for Stratified Medicine – the only one of its kind on the island of Ireland – is based at the Clinical Translational Research and Innovation Centre (C-TRIC) at Altnagelvin Hospital. The £11.5 million facility is

An Inishowen Cllr has said that emigration in the penninsula will accelerate because of the cuts to jobseekers allowance in the budget. Social welfare for people aged between 18-24 was cut 44% from €144 a week to €100 a week yesterday. Over the last number of years, thousands of young people have already left Inishowen,

The 58 year man being sought by police in connection with the murder of Barry Mc Crory in Derry last week has been arrested. Kieran Mc Laughlin was first spotted in Donegal at around 9 o’clock last night. He was driving a silver car, which was tracked by gardai as far as the border. When

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has confirmed funding of €1.2m for the repair of Elactagh Bridge between Ballybofey and Fintown, one of the key links between East and West Donegal. The bridge has been deemed unsafe for some time, with a temporary ‘bailey bridge’ structure in place there at present. Junior Minister Dinny McGinley says the

Letterkenny Town Council is to step up the campaign for its retention with a public meeting on Tuesday November 5th. The meeting in the Public Services Centre will take place  three days before Environment Minister Phil Hogan visits Donegal. The minister is due at a function in Ballyshannonon Friday November 8th, and may visit Letterkenny

The 58 year man being sought by police in connection with the murder of Barry Mc Crory in Derry last week has been arrested. Kieran mc Laughlin was detained by specialist police officers at around 3 o’clock this morning after a five hour operation which began in Donegal at around 9 o’clock last night. It’s

Police in Strabane are warning parents to be vigilant following two separate incidents where children were approached by an adult. The incidents happened over the weekend, but where not reported to the PSNI until yesterday evening. The first incident occurred at Eden Terrace on Saturday evening at approximately 7pm when a man possibly in his

Daniel O Donnell has had to cancel the remainder of his UK tour. His father-in-law has died in hospital after he suffered a brain haemorrhage in Tenerife. A notice on the singer’s website reads – “It is with sadness that we announce the death of Thomas Roche Daniel’s father in law. Husband of Marion, father

Letterkenny Town Council says it is monitoring the performance of new traffic lights outside LYIT, and will recalibrate them when more information is available. Officials were responding to concerns raised by Cllr Gerry Mc Monagle at a meeting of the council last night. They also revealed that the impact study which approved the lights has

It’s been claimed that the drug crystal meth is circulating widely in Buncrana. Local councillor Ciaran Mc Laughlin has contacted local gardai on behalf of a number of parents who have contacted him recently. He says on Sunday evening last, a woman rang him to say her teenage daughter had taken the drug the previous

A number of Letterkenny Town Councillors have expressed concern at a planning application for an exit road out of Letterkenny Shopping Centre. The application, in the name of Lindat Limited of Harcourt House in Dublin, seeks permission for an egress road from the car park onto the Port Road, with a left turn only However,

A Donegal man, who was found not guilty of child sex charges last week, has said his life has been ruined. Martin Begley from St Johnston was arrested in April of this and charged with sexually assaulting a girl between January 2007 and November 2008 when she was aged between 12 and 14. However, last

The Chairperson of Letterkenny’s Joint Policing Committee says poor lighting in housing estates may be contributing to attempted burglaries in the town. Cllr Dessie Larkin says that on the same night there was a highly publicised aggravated burglary in the Glencar Area, he’s been told by a number of residents in Ashlawn that attempts were

A man’s been transferred to a Belfast hospital after sustaining serious burns in a suspected gas explosion in the Waterside area of Derry. A number of surrounding houses were evacuated following the explosion at a house in the Bond Street area at about 22:35 last night. The man, whose injuries are described as very serious,

Kieran McLaughlin, the man at the centre of a major cross-border manhunt has been urged by his own family to give himself up. PSNI and Gardai officers are still searching for the 58-year-old as the murder investigation he is wanted over enters its fifth day. McLaughlin is wanted in connection with the murder of 35-year-old

Detectives from PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch investigating dissident republican activity have unconditionally released  a 44 year old man. The man was arrested yesterday (Mon)  morning in the Derry area and was been taken to Antrim Serious Crime Suite for questioning. Meanwhile, the cross-border search for a man wanted in connection with the murder of Barry Mc

There are questions hanging over the long term future of the Foyle Ferry service linking Greencastle and Magilligan after the owner of the company confirmed that it will no longer operate the Lough Swilly service linking Buncrana and Rathmullan. Foyle Ferry Company owner Jim Mc Glenaghan says the Foyle service no longer receives any subventions,

A major Road Resurfacing project gets underway in Buncrana tomorrow, with traffic management and diversion arrangements being implemented. Donegal County Council has agreed programme dates with the surfacing contractor to resurface Buncrana Main Street, St Orans Road and part of St Marys Road as part of the ongoing Improvement Works. The council’s notice reads as

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Education and Skills Charlie McConalogue TD has called on the government to protect education services in Budget 2014. The party launched its budget proposals this week, which protects funding for education services, mental health services and supports for people with disabilities.  Fianna Fáil’s plan prioritises special needs education, provides additional resource

The IMPACT Trade Union has expressed concern about the future of some Community and Voluntary Organisations in Donegal. The union’s North West Assistant Secretary Richy Carrothers says there is a reliance on the community and voluntary sector in Donegal, and many organisations are in financial trouble due to cuts in funding in critical areas such

The cross-border search for a man wanted in connection with the murder of Barry Mc Crory continues on both sides of the border. The PSNI have warned anyone who sees 58 year old Kieran McLaughlin not to approach him, but to contact police immediately. The PSNI believe he crossed the border into Donegal, and over

The PSNI have renewed their appeals to the public about the whereabouts of Kieran McLaughlin, whom they wish to question over the murder of Barry McCrory in Derry on Thursday. Detective Chief Inspector Harrison said “We are continuing to appeal to the public for their assistance in establishing the current whereabouts of 58 year old