Author name: oisinkelly

The North’s Education Minister John O’Dowd, has announced that preliminary work on phase one of the Lisanelly Shared Education Campus in Omagh is scheduled to begin on-site in the autumn. In a statement today, Minister O’Dowd confirmed he has approved the business case for Phase 1 of the Lisanelly Shared Education Campus project. He said […]

 Fine Gael General Secretary, Tom Curran, has confirmed today that membership of the Party whip has been restored to Councillor Terence Slowey. He had the whip removed in 2011 after a government ethics watchdog found the councillor had claimed double expenses for the same journey. Cllr. Terence Slowey claimed a mileage allowance for a conference

Riverdance is in the High Court today – in a bid to prevent ‘illict unauthorised’ shows from taking place in Eastern Europe. The dance company is seeking ‘as a matter or urgency’ an order restraining a Co Kerry music promoter from using the Riverdance name and infringing copyright. Lawyers for Riverdance founders John McColgan and

Organisers of a republican parade in Castlederg have rejected all last minute calls not to go ahead. The British Secretary of State yesterday called on the organisers of the commemortion to cancel it, even at this late stage. Theresa Villiers called the parade “deeply insensitive” but she said there is no legal criteria to stop

It’s emerged that the risk of flooding in the new wing at Letterkenny General Hospital had been flagged over 10 years ago. The Donegal News has seen documents which indicate that one of the planning conditions attached to the new Emergency Department building was that before work began, flood attenuation measures were to be agreed

People in Donegal are being urged to explore their own county during Heritage Week, which takes place from the 17th to the 25th of this month. Over 100 events are planned for Donegal, and a Heritage Week brochure published by Donegal County Council and The Heritage Council has been launched today by Junior Minister Dinny

 The Bishop of Raphoe has announced a number of changes to cleric positions within the Diocese. Bishop Philip Boyce has announced that Fr Seamus Gallagher, currently Parish Priest for Newtowncunningham and Killea will move to Frosses in Inver. He will be replaced by Father Ciaran Harkin in Newtowncunningham who is returning from sabbatical. Newly ordained

A Dunamanagh shopkeeper has said he closed the local post office as it was no longer paying him to keep it open. Dunmanagh Post Office on the Berryhill Road closed this week, it’s the second rural Post Office to close in the Strabane District area, Clady Post Office also closed earlier this year. Dunamanagh shopkeeper

The way could soon be cleared for Cllr David Alcorn to take his seat on Udaras na Gaeltachta. 11 months after anonymous allegations surfaced about irregularities in his expenses clainms, the Standards in Public Office Commission has cleared Cllr Alcorn of any wrongdoing. He had been nominated by Donegal County Council to sit on the

The North’s Minister for the Environment has pledged to assess all relevant evidence in relation to the proposed gasification plant at Maydown. A number of concerns have been raised, not least in Donegal, as to the impact the facility could have on the enviroment and people’s health. Among those to raise concerns was Donegal County

People are being urged to be cautious after reports of a number of distraction type pickpocketing crimes in the Letterkenny area. It is understood that the incidents occured in busy shopping areas. The victims were approached by strangers and either justled or distracted by money on the ground, allowing the thieves to carry out the

A teenager charged with the manslaughter of a man in Omagh threw a single punch during an altercation outside a bar in the town. 18-year-old Christopher McClean, from Main Street in Gortin, is accused of killing Omagh man Darren McBrearty in John Street. 28-year-old Mr McBrearty had been on a life support machine since the

Amnesty International has joined some of the bereaved Omagh bomb families in calling for a public independent inquiry into the Real IRA atrocity and the investigation into it. Twenty-nine people were killed in the 1998 car bombing, the 15th anniversary of which will be marked a week from today. The families of some of the

Donegal County Councillor David Alcorn has been cleared of any allegations of expenses irregularities by the Standards In Public Office Commission. The Fianna Fail representative has released a statement confirming the investigation has ended. In a statement released today, Councillor Alcorn said he was treated in a ‘disgraceful’ manner by the local authority who took

Quad bikers using a track adjacent to Strabane cemetery have been urged to respect the sacred site. A field alongside the graveyard has been the focus of complaints on several occasions in recent weeks. Sinn Féin Councillor Jay McCauley claimed that handbrake turns were even being performed in Strabane Cemetery at the Head-of-the-Town. He says

The Castefinn Childcare Centre is to close with the loss of 10 jobs. The news was discussed at a public meeting last night attended by staff, parents and other concerned locals. As many as 50 children were cared for at the facility. Councillor Patrick McGowan was among those who attended last night’s meeting – he

A Portstewart GP has said he believes his property was attacked by vandals in Greencastle because he has an English registered car. Dr James Harley, who has a holiday home in Greencastle, had his home and car attacked by youths over the weekend. He says a group of youths wearing hoodies attacked his house and

The Mayor of Letterkenny says there is a renewed sense of hope about the future of Letterkenny General Hospital, and staff morale is improving by the day since the flooding which knocked out 40% of the hospital’s capacity at the end of last month. Cllr Pascal Blake received a briefing at the hospital this morning,

Ahead of the Seanad Referendum, a senior Labour Party member in Donegal is again calling for the positions of polling clerks to be advertised publicly. Peter Cutliffe has long called for polling clerk positions to be advertised to give people on the live register an opportunity of some employment. While Donegal County Council has given

The organisation that represents GPs says they haven’t been consulted on the Health Minister’s plans to provide free GP medical cards to the under 5s. The IMO says Dr James  Reilly should not raise parents’ expectations – when he has not discussed the plan with very doctors who would provide the service.   Last week

An 18-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter following the death of a 28 year old man who was assaulted in Omagh at the weekend. Darren McBrearty from Omagh was attacked in John Street at 8 o’clock on Sunday evening and rushed to hospital, where he died yesterday. The 18-year-old is due to appear at

The director of a Donegal waste disposal business claims he’s been wrongfully linked to illegal dumping on an imposter Facebook account. Jim Ferry of Rossbracken House, Rossbracken, Letterkenny has gone to the High Court to find out who is behind the social media page  Jim Refuse Ferry . The courts heard comments on the

A Donegal man has died in a car crash in Florida. Patrick Lynch lost his life in a single vehicle collision in late July. He is the son of Paul and Eileen Lynch formerly of Townparks, Convoy and now living in the US. Patrick will be buried in Convoy on Friday.

Gardai say they are keen to speak to anyone who may have come into contact with two young men who lost their lives at the weekend. 19-year-old Shuan Graham and 22-year-old Matthew Crawford died when the car they were in crashed at Kinnegar Bridge on the Rathmullan to Portsalon road on Saturday morning. Two other

The old fort hotel in Greencastle, County Donegal, has been extensively damaged in a fire. Fire units from Moville and Carndonagh attended the scene of the blaze at around 10 o clock last night. The blaze was brought under control at around 5 o clock this morning. The Fort Hotel in Greencastle has been vacant

The DUP are due to meet Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton later to discuss a republican march planned for Castlederg. There has been much controversy surrounding the parade, and just last week DUP Cllr Ruth Patterson was arrested over comments she made about the planned republican parade. Tyrone Volunteer’s Day parade will commemorate the county’s

Resumption of normal visiting hours at Letterkenny General Hospital is hoped to be up and running in the next 24 hours. The hospital had scheduled to allow visitors back this afternoon, however work on an access corridor between the old and a new section was unable to be completed in time. The decision to delay

The funerals of the two men killed in a road collision near Rathmullan over the weekend have taken place this afternoon. Hundreds of mourners turned out to pay their last respects to the victims of yet another road accident in the county. 19-year-old Shaun Graham was laid to rest in Conwall cemetery in Letterkenny this

Reigning all Ireland champions Donegal suffered a heavy defeat this afternoon after a  4-17 to 1-10 defeat at the hands of Mayo in Croke Park. Despite conceding very few goals throughout this campaign, Donegal were unable to hold Mayo out for long with two early goals from Cillian O’Connor and Donal Vaughan helping the Connacht

A local councillor has stated his concern over the ongoing situation at the Supervalue carpark in Ballybofey, where a large group of travellers parked up yesterday afternoon. Speaking to Highland Radio this afternoon, Cllr Patrick McGowan stated that staff in the local businesses were threatened along with members of the public. A number of business

Donegal County Council’s Director of Finance says the council’s new Income Collection Unit is working well, and revenue from charges is up on last year. Gary Martin was speaking after the council confirmed this week that after the new unit launched a major campaign to bring in outstanding non-domestic water charges in July, there was

Two of the men killed in the single vehicle collision near Rathmullan in the early hours of this morning have been named locally as Shaun Graham – 19 – from Ballymacool in Letterkenny, and Matthew Crawford – 19 – from Elmwood Downs in Letterkenny. Two other men who were in the vehicle at the time

Letterkenny General Hospital is to provide support to GPs and the NowDoc service to allow minor injuries to be treated away from the hospital. Details of the initiative were confirmed at a lunchtime press briefing today. Meanwhile, mobile x-ray and scanning equipment arrived at the hospital last evening. Work to commission that equipment is now

Police in the North have arrested DUP councillor Ruth Patterson over comments she made about a planned republican parade in County Tyrone. In a conversation on Facebook, she had responded to someone else’s post about an imaginary attack on the parade in Castlederg in which several people including Sinn Féin figures are killed. reports This

The junior finance minister says Ireland should plough ahead with more austerity than is strictly needed. Brian Hayes says Ireland should try to surpass the EU’s budget targets for 2014 – a move which will mean a bigger budget and more austerity. The minister says Ireland has built up a reputation of always beating its

Education Minister Ruasri Quinn says he wants to see full employment again within eight years, and the government must do all it can to make that happen. Speaking at the MacGill Summer School last evening, Mr Quinn recalled how, during the period of the Rainbow Coalition in the mid 1990s, a similar goal was set

Donegal County Council’s Finance Director says there’s been a surge in the payment of non-domestic water charges, and is warning that water disconnections now loom for outstanding accounts. July saw a major campaign initiated by the council’s new Income Collection Unit. Garry Martin says in early July, the council issued approximately 3,000 arrears reminder letters

The Mayor of Donegal says he is keeping up pressure on both sides of the border to ensure the A5 upgrade goes ahead. Cllr Ian Mc Garvey was speaking after he and a deputation of councillors and officials from Donegal, Derry and Tyrone met with the North’s Roads Minister Danny Kennedy. He says there are

Thousands of students were unable to apply for their third level grant yesterday after the online system SUSI collapsed. The deadline has now been extended until midnight on Monday. SUSI was due to stop accepting applications at midnight last night, but because of technical problems with the online system the deadline has been extended. Last

The Manager of Letterkenny General Hospital has said there is no guarantee that the hospital will now flood again. The hospital was devastated by flash flooding this day last week, taking out 40% of the hospital’s capacity. Heavy rain has been forecast for the Northwest this weekend, and speaking on the Shaun Doherty Show a

The Parades Commission has decided to allow a republican parade to march through Castlederg later this month, but with restrictions. The parade is to commemorate Tyrone’s republican dead, including two IRA members killed by their own bomb in 1973, and is backed by Sinn Féin. Earlier, a DUP councillor’s apologised for comments she made on

Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams said this afternoon it could take a year before all services are fully restored at Letterkenny General Hospital, and the HSE and the government must commit themselves to provide all that is required to allow that happen as soon as is safely possible. Mr Adams visited the hospital along with

The Secretary of the Donegal Down Syndrome Association had a brief meeting with Education Minister Ruari Quinn in Glenties this afternoon . Gina Grant says MInister Quinn was receptive, and has promised further discussion on their call for more supports for children starting school. Ruari Quinn is addresing the MacGill Summer School this evening on