Author name: oisinkelly

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

A Donegal man accused of murdering four British soldiers in the 1982 IRA bombing in London’s Hyde Park has been granted conditional bail. 61 year-old John Downey from Creeslough was charged in Britain with detonating a bomb in Hyde Park in 1982 causing the deaths of four soldiers. Despite being told in 2007 that he

North West MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher says he’ll be investigating what options are available for securing funding from Europe to assist with the restoration of services at Letterkenny General Hospital. Mr Gallagher says Europe has no competency in health related matters, and there is no direct budget from which funds could be drawn down

A “recluse” convicted of sexually abusing a young boy in Ballyshannon in the 1960s and 70s has been jailed for two years. He was also convicted of indecently assaulting the boy’s younger brother. 63 year old Brian McMahon of Temple Street, Sligo, had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 35 charges of

Junior Minister Kathleen Lynch is receiving treatment in Cork University Hospital this morning after she collapsed while visiting a hospital in Donegal yesterday. The Minister was visiting Letterkenny General Hospital when she took ill. She was admitted to intensive care in yesterday and then transferred to Cork by air ambulance- for further tests and treatment.

The head of AIB says he spoke to Small Business Minister John Perry about his financial difficulties with Danske bank. Last week, the Fine Gael TD faced criticism that he abused his position, when it emerged that he made contact with David Duffy and the head of Bank of Ireland Richie Boucher over his debts

The Minister for Health has paid his second visit to Letterkenny General Hospital since Frioday’s flooding, this time to visit his Junior Minister. Kathleen Lynch was admitted to the hospital earlier today. She was visiting the hospital to inspect damage caused by last week’s flooding when she was taken ill. A spokeswoman for the Department

A “recluse” convicted of sexually abusing a young boy in Ballyshannon in the 1960s and 70s has been jailed for two years. He was also convicted of indecently assaulting the boy’s younger brother. 63 year old Brian McMahon of Temple Street, Sligo, had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 35 charges of

Fianna Fail leader Michael Martin says the priority for the hospital is to restore all services as quickly as possible in a way that maximises patient safety. He was speaking after a visit to the hospital this morning, during which he met senior management and medical personnel, as well as touring the areas affected by

Met Eireann has issued a flood warning for western coastal regions including all parts of Donegal for today and tomorrow. More southern parts of the West will be affected by heavy rain this afternoon, while Donegal will see heavy showers later this evening and tomorrow. An Garda Siochana has reminded motorists to drive with caution

Dungloe based MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher has today welcomed news that five beds will be re-opened in the local Community Hospital within the next week. A number of beds were closed at the hospital earlier this year as a result of HIQA standards earlier this year. A rally was held last month in support

Management at Letterkenny General Hospital have said that no jobs will be lost as a result of Fridays flooding. Services have been severely affected as a result of the flash flooding at the facility on Friday evening. As a result of some services being cut back because of the flooding, fears had been raised about

  Donegal County Councillor Ciaran Brogan has said that Letterkenny General Hospital must return to the great facility it was as soon as possible. Cllr Brogan, a member of the Regional Health Forum, has also called for the setting up of a review group into the running of Letterkenny General Hospital in the wake of

Fianna Fáil is calling on Enda Kenny to intervene in the John Perry affair. Its leader Micheal Martin wants the Taoiseach to move Deputy Perry out of his position as the junior minister for small business. Last week Mr Perry and his wife were the subject of a High Court judgement for nearly 2.5 million

A UUP MLA has said Sinn Féin’s rerouting of a controversial parade is trying to defend the indefensible. Sinn Féin has announced that it would re-route the parade it is holding in Castlederg in August. The march commemorates the death of two IRA men who died in 1973 when their own bomb exploded prematurely. After