Author name: oisinkelly

Buncrana Town Council and Donegal County Council are hosting the second annual Tipp O’Neill weekend in Buncrana over the next two days, with the Tip O Neill Donegal Diaspora Award being presented tonight to former Montana government Btrian Schweizer. Governer Schwieizer, whose grandmother left Rathmullan over a century ago, was the first governer to be […]

Thousands of people across the Northwest are expected to take part in the 8th annual Culture night. Over 20 events are scheduled to take place in Letterkenny, West Donegal, Derry and Strabane. In Letterkenny events will take place in the An Griann Theatre, the County Museum, the central library, the cathedral and the town park.

A young Donegal man, who was involved in car crash in London a fortnight ago, has passed away. Conor Boyle from Loughanure had been in a coma after his car left the road and collided with a parked lorry before hitting a tree on September 8th. The 18-year-old from Loughanure was the third eldest of

Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has said that yesterdays figures from the CSO saying that Ireland is out of recession changes nothing for people. Statistics released from the CSO yesterday reveal a slight growth in the economy in the second quarter of the year – at 0.4 per cent. The government welcomed yesterdays

Letterkenny General Hospital has responded to the latest HIQA’s inspection reports which raise serious concerns about hygiene standards at the hospital. A prearranged visit was held at Letterkenny general in June. Poor hand hygiene was found, which in some cases presented a serious risk to patient health. The hospital says it is committed to addressing any problems.

Champagne flowed at National Lottery offices today as a Co. Donegal syndicate collected Ireland’s latest multi million Euro Lotto prize. The happy group, who wish to remain anonymous, hit the jackpot on Saturday night and together will share over €2.9 million. “We can’t believe our luck,” said one of the syndicate members. “We must’ve checked

HIQA’s published more inspection reports which raise serious concerns about hygiene standards at a number of hospitals. The latest unannounced visits were made to Kerry General, St. James’ in Dublin, the Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin and St. Colmcille’s in Loughlinstown. A prearranged visit was also held at Letterkenny general. Inspectors said the extent

 In odds that defy belief, a newly married couple have been re-united with a wedding ring they lost on Narin Beach three months ago thanks to a metal detecting local. The couple, who got married last year, lost a ring while visiting the beach in June and had presumed it lost. But in a bizarre

A Donegal County Cllr has called for waiting lists to be urgently reduced at Letterkenny General Hospital. Just two weeks before major flooding at the hospital this year, figures released showed that there were 4,000 people waiting for over 1 year for treatment at Letterkenny General. Cllr Ciaran Brogan, who is a member of the

The families of some Omagh bomb victims say they have been left with no other option but to take their case through the courts. A number of victims family members met with the Northern Ireland Secretary of State yesterday. Last week Theresa Villiers ruled out a cross-border inquiry into the 1998 attack, and she reiterated

Strabane’s dog warden has issued an appeal for information following the death of a pair of three-week-old pups. An angler discovered the cross terriers in a box on a river bank in Sion Mills, however one of them had already passed away from severe malnutrition. The second was turned over to the local kennels but

A member of Donegal Action Against Austerity has defended an anti-austerity protest in Dublin yesterday. Hundreds of people protested outside the Dail against Government cuts yesterday. 3 people were arrested for public-order offences, while the protests caused severe disruption to traffic in the capital – with O’Connell Street and O’Connell Bridge both blocked to traffic

The Irish Cancer Society has received well in excess of €300,000 in donations following Friday night’s appearance on The Late Late Show by Majella O’Donnell. Viewers saw Mrs O’Donnell – businesswoman and wife of the singer Daniel – have her hair shaved off to raise funds to combat cancer. Mrs O’Donnell was diagnosed with cancer

A public meeting will be held in the Clanree Hotel in Letterkenny this coming Monday to address the expected increase of class sizes in the upcoming budget. The patron bodies and leadership groups involved in Irish primary education have come together to form the National Alliance for Primary Education which will host the meeting. The

The Mayor of Letterkenny is calling for more Gardai to patrol the streets in the town after a number of houses were broken into this week. Two unoccupied houses in the Wolfe Tone Place and Glencar areas were broken into  and ransacked earlier this week. Mayor Pascal Blake says these incidents are paticularly concerning as

Derry City footballer Rory Patterson has been charged with assault. It’s understood the charge relates to an incident in Derry last December. The case came before Derry Magistrates Court yesterday where it was adjourned until later this month. 29-year-old, Rory Patterson, whose address was given in Court as Oakfield Mews in Derry, is charged with

A man with an address in County Donegal has been ordered to pay more than £5000 in compensation to people defrauded by a series of clocking offences on second hand cars. Michael Gahan (25) of Garveahy, Brae Road, Burnfoot in Donegal appeared at Limavady Magistrate’s Court where he faced a total of 13 charges in

Donegal Labour Senator Jimmy Harte has hailed the Jobbridge scheme as a major success in Donegal with 658 placements having taken place in county. Nationally, the number of internships taken up under the controversial JobBridge has now passed 20,000. Jimmy Harte says the internship scheme is a success with three in five participants in JobBridge

The families of some Omagh bomb victims are to meet the Northern Ireland secretary of state this afternoon to further their campaign for a public inquiry into the attack. It comes days after Theresa Villiers ruled out their request for a cross-border inquiry into the 1998 attack. She said there were “insufficient grounds” for a

A man has died following a crash near Omagh. It happened at about 1230am this morning on the A5 Doogary Road. Four other men who were in the car have been taken to hospital for treatment. One of the men is in a serious but stable condition. The three other men’s injuries are not believed

It will be next summer before all service are restored back on site at Letterkenny General Hospital. That is according the hospital manager Sean Murphy who says that once re-building has concluded, the hospital will be more complient with regulations. It was revlealed yesterday that the total flood repair bill at Letterkenny General Hospital will

People in Raphoe are being urged to have their say in a public consultation on the long awaited proposals to alleviate flooding in Raphoe. The issue has been a major point of discussion since several hundred thousand euro worth of damage was done in Raphoe by floods in 2006 and 2007. It has now been

An Irish woman and Scottish woman charged with drug trafficking in Peru could serve their sentences at home if they plead guilty. Prosecutors say a deal could be done to get their sentences reduced. Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid were arrested at Lima airport last month, after 11 kilos of cocaine were found in their

The A5 Doogary Road in Omagh, has been closed following a serious road crash. One vehicle was involved in the collision which happened during the early hours of Wednesday. The road is the main route between Omagh and Ballygawley. It has been closed at its junctions with the Seskinore Road and Moylagh Road.

Summer will return briefly this weekend. Despite the wet and wild weather over the last few days, temperatures are set to reach around the 20 degree mark. It also looks like the fine weather will stick around into early next week. Met Eireann’s Pat Clarke says it’ll take a few days to feel the difference

It will cost in excess of €10 million to rebuild Letterkenny General Hospital. A meeting of the West/Northwest Hospital Group was told this afternoon that the rebuild would cost around €8 million, while the cost of the interim arrangements could cost in excess of  two million euros. However, the figure could rise significantly when all

The Donegal Road Safety Group PARC has hit out at a town councillor who has questioned if GoSafe speed cameras are position more to make money than to save lives. Sinn Fein Councillor Ciaran McLaughlin has highlighted the case of a man rushing to NowDoc with his sick daughter. He says he was unable to

Both Rory Gallagher and Maxi Curran will not be part of the Donegal Senior Football team management set-up for the 2014 season. Francie Friel will also not feature – It is not yet clear if the trio chose to or were asked to leave. Rory Gallagher is already being linked with a move to take

About 80 people attended a public meeting in Omagh last night to try to find a solution to the growing number of assaults in the town. Two men have died in the last nine months, following one-punch assaults. Members of both of their families were at the meeting, to hear police and local representatives describe

The home of an elderly man on the outskirts of Castlefin has become the latest target of a robbery in the county. A number of men entered the mans home in Drumdoit near Donneyloop at around midnight last night. They made off with a small amount of money and a legally held firearm was also

A senior garda in Donegal has said the level of crime in the county is not as high as people believe, and in the vast majority of cases, figures are down. Addressing the Joint Policing Committee in Letterkenny, Inspector David Kelly said there’s been a reduction most areas of crime, particularly burglaries and thefts, although

A young Donegal man continues to fight for his life after being involved in a crash in London as he was travelling home from work. Conor Boyle is in a critical condition after his car left the road and collided with a parked lorry before hitting a tree on September 8. The 18-year-old from Loughanure,

The Parades Commission has been accused of double standards by the Chair of Strabane District Council. Up to 50 loyalist bands are expected to parade through the centre of Castlederg this weekend. But the parades commission have placed no restrictions on the parade. The event is the 21st loyalist parade in Castlederg this year. Just

Parents in Strabane are being warned of the dangers of legal highs. Police in the town say they have been contacted by a number of parents who discovered ‘legal highs’ in the possession of their teenage children. Legal highs are substances that mimic the effects of controlled drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis. They

Donegal Action Against Austerity and the Donegal Campaign Against Home and Water Taxes have confirmed that they will be running candidates in next years local elections. The Anti-Austerity groups are hopeful of running one running candidate in each electoral area in the county. As of yet the only person confirmed to run is Joe Murphy

There was one winner of the weekends Lotto draw. The jackpot was €2,984,327. The winning ticket was sold in a shop on Main Street, in Carrick, Co Donegal. The ticket was purchased for €8 and bought on Saturday.

A weather alert for 100kmh gusts of wind is to remain in place today in the northwest. Met Eireann issued a ‘Status Yellow’ alert yesterday and Malin Head taking the brunt of the gusts with winds reaching speeds of 95kmh. West to northwest gales also buffeted the Atlantic and Irish Sea. And forecaster with Met

One of two women arrested in Peru on suspicion of drug smuggling is to plead guilty in exchange for a shorter sentence. Melissa Reid, of Lenzie, near Glasgow, and Michaella McCollum, of Dungannon were caught with £1.5m of cocaine at Lima Airport. reports Ms Reid told the Mail on Sunday she hoped a plea deal

Irish motorists are still using their phones while driving, despite the risk of an accident and penalty points. That’s according to a new survey by AA roadwatch, which found that almost 80% of drivers witness someone using a mobile phone while driving at least once a day. However less than 17% of road users admitted

Parents of primary and second-level students are being urged to sign up for new anti-bullying training. The Education Minister Ruairí Quinn has unveiled a 40-thousand euro fund which will provide for up to 70 training sessions by the end of the year. It’s being run with the help of the National Parents Councils and will