Author name: oisinkelly

The general manager of Letterkenny General Hospital has said that the hospital faces a huge challenge in the aftermath of Fridays flooding that has destroyed parts of the buildings. Speaking at a press conference in the Mount Errigal Hotel this afternoon Sean Murphy said it will be months before the hospital will be back to […]

The recipient of this year’s Tipp O’Neill Diaspora Award will be Governer Brian Schweitzer of Montana. The award is a joint initiative of Buncrana Town Council and Donegal County Council to pay tribute to one of Inishowen’s most famous descendants. The award is given to a selected person or people who are actively working on

The Western Health and Social Care Trust says it continues to provide support to Letterkenny General Hospital, and continues to accept critically ill patients from the Letterkenny catchment. In a statement this afternoon, the trust says since Friday, Altnagelvin has received in excess of 100 blue light patients, and admitted 41. We understand the bulk

It’s emerged that 200 jobs will be created during the construction of a new power plant in Derry. Evermore Renewable Energy will says it has secured more than £80m in funding for a wood-fuelled power plant to be built at Lisahally Port outside Derry. Construction work is set to start in the next two months,

Senator Jimmy Harte has assured the Management and staff of the Hospital that the required funding to bring the services back to normal is in place Senator Harte says following a meeting with Hospital manager Sean Murphy, and senior HSE officials yesterday, he was in contact with Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore and Public Expenditure Minister Brendan

Donegal County Council has given the go ahead for the provision of a new reservoir at Fintown, which will form part of the West Donegal Regional Water Scheme. The development was approved at the July meeting of the Glenties Electoral Area, with the work forming part of the wider scheme which has gone to tender.

The remains of the 25 year old Carndonagh man whose body was found in Scotland last week will be brought home today. Barry Doherty had been reported missing after he was last seen on Monday July 15th, and a major search followed, both on the ground and through the online social media. His body was

Trade Unions representing workers at Letterkenny General Hospital have commended staff for their tremendous response to the disastrous flooding that has closed large parts of the facility. In a joint statement, Donegal Officials from IMPACT, SIPTU and INMO say the quick thinking of staff and management following the flash flood on Friday evening certainly saved

Deputy Charlie Mc Conalogue has called for a clear commitment from the government that emergency funding will be released to reinstate all services at Letterkenny General Hospital. The Donegal North East Deputy says any delay in repairing unprecedented flooding damage and replacing essential equipment could have major implications for the hospital, and for the health

Police in Derry have confirmed they have dealt with an instance in the early hours of yesterday morning in which lifebelts were being thrown into the Foyle from the Peace Bridge. Last week, former Mayor Cllr Kevin Campbell said he was becoming very worried about the frequency of such incidents, saying lives were being put

HSE Monday Morning Update –    In its latest statement following Friday’s flooding at Letterkenny General Hospital, the  HSE  says it is expected that the extensive clean-up operation and contingency arrangements will continue for the coming weeks. A Contingency Management Team is in place and is managing the situation. Regular updates will be issued on

Two Golden Eagle chicks have fledged in Donegal in recent weeks. There were three territorial pairs in Donegal this year with a further 5 territories occupied by single birds. Golden Eagle Trust Project Officer Lorcan O’Toole is warning that the Golden Eagle population in the county remains at a vulnerable level, reflecting what he termed

It’s been confirmed that the new management structure under which Letterkenny General Hospital becomes part of the Galway Roscommon Group of Hospitals has been brought forward following Friday’s floods, and the new structure is now in place. Speaking to Highland Radio News today, hospital manager Sean Murphy described what happened on Friday afternoon last as

The Mayor of Letterkenny has described the devastation caused by Friday’s flooding at Letterkenny General Hospital as “desperate”. Cllr Pascal Blake had been abroad, and returned home yesterday morning. He says he went straight to the hospital, and was shocked at what he saw………..

The Health Minister Dr James Riley says it will be months before services at Letterkenny General Hospital will be able to return to normal. James Reilly visited the hospital today to see first hand the devastation caused by Friday’s floods. Hundreds of volunteers have been working around the clock on the clean up. In an

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that the government is engaging with banks at a very real level, and that changes are being made to help out customers who are in arrears. He was speaking during the opening night of the MacGill Summer School in Glenties last evening. This years school is loking forward to the

Donegal have been drawn to face Mayo in the All Ireland 1/4 finals.  Jim McGuinness’s men earned their last 8 spot with a six point win over Laois in Carrick on Shannon on Saturday on a 0-14 to 0-8 scoreline. The reigning All-Ireland champions controlled the game throughout, with the exception of a brief period in

Daniel O’Donnell has confirmed that his wife Majella has been diagnosed in the early stages of Breast Cancer. Majella is undergoing treatment and the couple are hopefull of a full recovery. Daniel has thanked his fans for the good wishes but has asked them not to send mail as they don’t have the time to

Donegal South West Deputy Thomas Pringle has raised concerns regarding the claim by the government that 32 new jobs will be created in Donegal Town. It was announced this week that that an Irish Water regional office is to be located there. The Government also announced one thousand six hundred new construction jobs would be

An emergency situation was declared at Letterkenny General Hospital tonight after torrential rain on Friday evening. Parts of the hospital were flooded, and visitors are being asked to stay away from the hospital until tomorrow at least. There has been a significant amount of damage and at least four wards are out of action. Letterkenny

Highland Radio Listeners have been sending their pictures in of the impact the torrential rain had on parts of the northwest – here is just a selection of the pictures we received of the damage caused at Letterkenny General Hospital.        

A Donegal TD has said that he will be demanding answers from the HSE following news that the new Emergency Department at Letterkenny Hospital has been flooded once again. Pádraig Mac Lochlainn says the Department had been flooded prior to officially opening and he now wants to know why the lessons from that episode have not been

Parts of Donegal and Tyrone have been hit by torrential rain, thunderstorms and flash flooding in the past hour. It’s reported that up to a foot of water has fallen in Letterkenny, with a number of roads flooded in and around the town. Residents in Glencar have reported that a number of homes have been

There’s been widespread condemnation of an overnight attack on the Apprentice Boys’ Memorial Hall in Derry, the third night such an attack has taken place. Stone work and new doors fitted for the UK City of Culture celebrations were damaged by paint bombs. Foyle MP Mark Durkan is urging people to stand up and give

Members of the Statutory Transition Committee pictured attending their inaugural meeting at the Guildhall on Thursday. Also included is Derry City Council Town Clerk and Chief Executive Sharon O’Connor, and Strabane District Council Chief Executive, Daniel McSorley.     A Transition Committee has been formed ahead of the merger of Derry City and Strabane District

Donegal South West TD Pearse Doherty has confirmed that Sinn Féin will be calling for a yes vote in the upcoming referendum to abolish the Seanad, which will take place on Friday 4th October. Deputy Doherty, who has been appointed as the party’s referendum campaign director, said this morning that the government should have refered

The latest independently compiled listenership figures show that Highland Radio remains the most listened to local radio station in the country. The latest JNLR figures compiled by IPSOS /  MRBI survey show an increase in Highland Radios market share both during weekdays and at weekends. In this franchise area, Highland Radio has a market share

Police in Scotland have confirmed that a body found in Paisley on Wednesday was that of 25 year old Barry Doherty, a native of Carndonagh who hadn’t been seen for over a week. Mr Doherty had been reported missing after he was last seen at his home on Monday July 15th. Meanwhile, 44 year old

The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the A5 project. An all party delegation from the North West cross border region met with the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny in Dublin last evening. At the meeting Enda Kenny said that the Government were committed to the A5 project, and he confirmed that the revised funding package of

It’s emerged that a number of life belts have been removed from the Peace Bridge in Derry. The life belts were cut from their bays and thrown into the water. Local Cllr Kevin Campbell was Mayor f Derry until last month, and has described this as mindless vandalism which is putting lives at risk. He’s

In what’s believed to be the first case of its kind, a trial at Letterkenny Circuit Court could not go ahead because not enough jurors were present. Earlier this week, 28 potential jurors arrived at the court for two trials. However, with both the prosecution and the defence each able to challenge seven jurors, all

An all party delegation from the North West cross border region will meet with the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny in Dublin this afternoon to discuss future funding of the A5 Donegal to Dublin dual carriageway project. At a recent meeting, officials in Northern Ireland reaffirmed a commitment to the project and now there are calls on

Power has been restored to the 1500 hundred homes and businesses in Buncrana who lost their electricity this morning. The outage affecting the Ballymagarry area and was first reported at 11.30 this morning. The ESB initially said s power was not likely to be returned before 3.30pm but the problem was resolved by lunchtime.

200,000 euro in Leader funding has been announced for Mevagh Dive Centre to allow it expand its tourism activities. The project will involve the purchase of a custom built boat licensed to carry twelve passengers and two crew, at a total cost over over 330,000 euro. The company says it wants to wishes to attract

Donegal County Council has agreed to support and promote a Cross Border ‘Greenway’. In June the Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil that a Derry/Donegal cross-border greenway cycle project would bring thousands of visitors to the northwest every week and should be persued. The issue was raised by Fine Gael Councillor Noel McBride this week,

The Supreme Court has deferred its hearing into whether Marie Fleming, the Donegal woman who failed in a landmark case on assisted suicide, will have to pay her own legal costs. Counsel for Ms Fleming, who has multiple sclerosis, told the court it was seeking to have the State cover the costs of her legal

The military police and gardai have launched an investigation after the death of a Donegal based soldier at a barracks in Dublin. 32-year-old Private Patrick ‘Paddy’ Conlon fell from a height in McKee Barracks, in the early hours of this morning – in what’s described as a tragic accident. Private Conlon was based in the

Inishowen’s new Superintendent has told a meeting of local public representatives that he is confident he has the resources available to hit to tackle border crime. That is according to Councillor Jack Murray who was amongst those who met with Superintendent Andy Archibald this week following a recent spate of burglaries and robberies along the

A man remains on the run this morning  after gardai found 290,000 euro worth of cannabis plants. The man fled a shed at Higginsstown, Ballyshannon, when drugs squad detectives seized 350 cannabis plants. A coastguard helicopter with a Garda aboard joined the search for the fleeing man. Gardai sealed off the shed where the plants

Overcrowding at Letterkenny General Hospital has led the HSE to ask the public not to attend the emergency department unless completely necessary. Figures from INMO show this morning that there were 3 people being treated or awaiting treatment on trolley. A total of 16 were listed as additional patients, on beds, trolleys or chairs, on inpatient

The Revenue Commissioners say 89% of eligible homeowners have already paid their property tax, with 175 million euro already collected, over 4 million of it in Donegal. As was the case with the Household Charge, Donegal has the lowest compliance rate in the country. Under the self assessment model implemented by Revenue, just over 5