Author name: oisinkelly

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

A man and a woman are in a stable condition in hospital following a serious single vehicle collision near Dungloe last night. The incident happened in the townland of Craugheyboyle between Dungloe and Loughanure. Five emergency vehicles including NowDoc, fire crews and ambluances attended the scene. Both the man and woman who were in their

A Sinn Fein cllr has condemned an attack on an Orange Hall outside of Derry on Friday night. Thugs broke into the hall and ransacked the building, spraying graffiti and stealing banners before making off. Sinn Fein cllr Paul Fleming has voiced his anger at the incident, stating that there is no place for such

It has been confirmed that Jim McGuinness will continue as Donegal manager for the 2014 season. Following a meeting on Saturday morning, McGuinness confirmed a willingness to stay on in the role despite a disappointing season. McGuinness steered Donegal to an Ulster and All-Ireland title in 2012 but this season, suffered relegation in the league and

Gardai are appealing for information following an attempted armed robbery at the Majestic Casino on the port road in Letterkenny last night. At around 10.45pm a man entered the casino and help up staff at knifepoint. The man continued to threaten staff demanding cash, however left the premises a short time later empty handed. The

The potential for more adventure tourism business in Donegal was highlighted this week, when a number of providers exhibited at Fáilte Ireland’s annual Adventure Tourism Forum in Ennistymon Co Clare. 45 specialist travel agents attended from several countries from India to the US. A number of operators from Donegal attended this week’s Ennistymon conference, accompanied

A new European Direct Information Centre has been opened at the library in Gweedore, providing full information services in the Irish language for the whole county. A centre has operated at the Central Library in Letterkenny since 2005, and when the county library service  was awarded the contract for the service again last year, the

A Sinn Féin councillor in Derry says some agency must take responsibility for St Peter’s School in the Creggan, which has been targeted by vandals and arsonists since its closure at the end of the last school year. Last week the fire service dealt with a major blaze at the former school, the second since

Police at Strand Road in Derry are appealing for witnesses to a hit and run RTC involving a pedestrian in the Buncrana Road area last weekend. At around 11 o’clock on Sunday night last, a black Peugeot hatchback car was driven down the Buncrana Road. The driver, believed to be male, turned right into Springtown

Donegal Action Against Austerity are to travell to Dublin next week to take part in a mass ”Peoples Assembly”. The protest will take place at the gates of the Dail on Wednesday, the day TD’s return from their Summer break. Donegal Action Against Austerity are urging people from the county to join them in Dublin.

A senior official with Donegal County Council says the newly established Letterkenny Gateway Economic Forum has the capacity to ensure the town maintains and enhances its gateway status. Michael Heaney, the council’s Director of Community, Culture & Planning Services says the forum is bringing together councils, businesses, community groups, educators and others to ensure that

It’s been confirmed that the board of the West – North West Group of Hospitals will hold a public meeting in Letterkenny on Tuesday afternoon next. It’s expected that the meeting, at 2 o’clock in the Mount Errigal Hotel, will see a presentation from management at Letterkenny General Hospital on specific plans to restore the

A North West MEP says rather than scrapping the Seanad, the second house should be reformed and given a very specific task of examining and analysing EU laws. Marian Harkin says the Dail does not have the time to do so, and what tends to happen is EU regulations are implemented without discussion. This, she

New guidelines will be published by the Government today which will see all schools forced to address cyber-bullying. Education Minister Ruairi Quinn will unveil the new procedures this afternoon – and it’s expected they’ll call for all primary and secondary schools to develop an anti-bullying policy with the input of parents, teachers and pupils. The

A woman in her 20s who was arrested last night over the hit-and-run death of Alan McSherry in Co Donegal has been released without charge. The body of 48-year-old Alan McSherry was discovered on a road at Ardfarn, Bundoran, in the early hours of Sunday, August 25th. The woman who is in her 20s was

The North West Cancer Support Group says the cancellation of its ‘Bling Ball’ at the end of this month will not effect the provision of subsidised flights from Donegal Airport to Dublin for cancer patients. In a statement on her Facebook page, organiser Mary Mc Ginley of Burtonport who founded the charity, said the lack

Gardaí investigating a fatal hit-and-run traffic collision at Ardfarn, Bundoran,on Sunday 25th August 2013 have arrested a female aged in her 20s. She was arrested earlier today in Ballyshannon and is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at Ballyshannon Garda Station. A Garda investigation commenced when the body of 48-year-old Alan

A Milford resident remanded in custody on drugs charges today asked for a special diet in prison. Defence solicitor Kieran Fitzpatrick asked that 32-year-old Gerard O’Connor, who is a Muslim, be given halal meat in his meals at Castlerea Prison. Mr Fitzpatrick, who made no application for bail, also asked that O’Connor be given medical

Reacting to the announcement by the British Government, relatives of some of the victims have said that they have been left with no choice but to proceed with a judicial review. Stanley McCombe, whose wife Ann was killed in the bombing, said he’s “devastated” by the British Government decision. Mr McCombe said the reasons given for the

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Theresa Villiers has announced that the British Government will not be holding a public inquiry into the Omagh bombing. Twenty-nine people were murdered in the Real IRA attack. Theresa Villiers said she did not believe there were sufficient grounds to justify a further inquiry beyond those that have already taken

Up to 500 people offered prayers in Annagry Church last night for Loughanure teenager Conor Boyle who remains seriously ill in a UK hospital following a weekend car crash near Peterborough. The Mass saw a huge turnout of young people, many of them friends and relatives of the young Rosses lad – together with a

New traffic lights are being switched on outside Letterkenny Institute of Technology this morning, with motorists being advised to be careful on the Port Road. The switch on his morning comes ahead of the opening on Monday of the new college car park opposite the main entrance, which will provide over 220 spaces. LYIT Director

Over 1.9 million euro in tax settlements was paid by Donegal companies and individuals in the second quarter of the year. In total, the Revenue Commissioners received over 22.6 million euro from 136 settlements between April and the end of June. Six of the Donegal settlements were for figures in excess of 100,000 euro. In

Sinn Féin says the Troika’s mortgage arrears targets are ‘lacking ambition’. Last night the EU-ECB and IMF said it wants Irish banks to reach agreements with one quarter of borrowers in arrears by the end of March next year. Some financial experts say that target may be difficult to reach for lenders. But Sinn Féin

A new report says authorities in the North have failed the families of those who died in the Troubles. It’s been launched by Amnesty International – which says that allegations of collusion have never been fully investigated and that a number of people behind some of the worst atrocities of the Troubles still walk free.

A man with an address at Milford is due to appear at Sligo District Court this morning(Thurs) on charges linked to the seizure of more than €100,000 of cannabis linked to searches in Sligo and Donegal. The man, aged 33, is from Dundalk. An English woman in her 20s who shared his Milford address and was arrested