Author name: oisinkelly

Donegal man jailed in Britian for failing to hand over illegally acquired assets

A Donegal man who was given the longest-ever jail sentence for illegal dumping in Britain two years ago has been sentenced to a further three years in jail for failing to hand over nearly £600,000 worth of illegally-acquired assets. 65 year old Hugh O’Donnell, who has lived in Britain for decades, was jailed in 2011

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John Gallaghers brother claims ‘he is extremely afraid and fears his life is in danger’

Double killer John Gallagher has been ordered to stay away from his brother after a District Judge threw an application to vary his bail. 47-year-old Gallagher of Grange Wood, Strabane, had applied to have a bail condition that bars him from having any contact with his brother, Donal Gallagher, lifted. The rationale behind the application

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New research show pupils in smaller schools perform better – Mc Conalogue

Donegal TD Charlie Mc Conalogue has told the Dail that findings published by the Educational Research Centre this week highlight the importance of small rural schools, and should be borne in mind when policy decisions are being made. The Fianna Fáil’s Education Spokesperson was speaking ahead of the publication of a Value for Money review

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Action for A5 group to take legal action against Department for Regional Development in the North

The Action for A5 group is considering legal action against the Department for Regional Development in the North. The High Court blocked planning permission for the €400m project as a proper environmental assessment of the work was not carried out. The Department for Regional Development Minister, Danny Kennedy said his department would not challenge that

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Senator claims St Mary’s NS Stranorlar investment a victim of ‘policical opportunism’

A Donegal Senator has claimed that St Mary’s National School has lost out on funding due to political opportunism on a national level. Brian O’Domhnaill was speaking following the government announcement of an investment package of €50 million last week, in which 18 primary schools and 10 post primary schools will be refurbished. He says

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Buncrana Councillor outlines some positives from recent Minister Phil Hogan meeting

The Environment Minister Phil Hogan has indicated that towns such as Buncrana and Letterkenny which are losing Town Councils will have some local discretion to raise funds. Buncrana Clllr Nicholas Crossan was part of a national AMAI delegation which met Minister Hogan this week. He says the minister was not for turning on his plan

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Letterkenny Town Council may take legal action to prevent council being scrapped

Letterkenny Town Councillors have committed to strongly oppose the scrapping of town councils. This week Councillors agreed to leave no stone unturned in trying to save the council and have not ruled out going down the legal route. Raising the issue Councillor Ciaran Brogan also expressed his disappointment that council staff and members have been

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Donegal has 3rd lowest crime rate but sex crimes and robbery rates soar

An Irish Examiner review of crime statistics since 2008 shows that the rate of reported crime in Donegal is the third lowest in the country. The statistics also show that while the county has recorded the biggest overall crime reduction in 2012 there has been increases in certain areas including robberies and sexual offences. The

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Highland Radio, News, Podcast

Highland Radio appoints Shaun Doherty as new station Managing Director

Highland Radio has today appointed Shaun Doherty as Acting Managing Director. Mr Doherty has 23 years experience in Highland Radio serving on the Board of Directors and Management Team as well as hosting Ireland’s most popular local daily current affairs show, The Shaun Doherty Show. In a statement commenting on the appointment the Chairman of

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PARC says Hit and Run stats are wrong because of problems with garda report form

The road safety campaign group PARC says the form used by gardai to record statistics on road collisions is badly outdated, and needs urgent reform. PARC founder Susan Grey says the CT68 form is used by the Road Safety Authority to record statistics andf by county councils to collate information on road conditions, but the

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Council changes telephone number as new Milford call centre becomes operational

Donegal County Council is changing it’s main telephone number to 074 91 53900. Late last year, a new Customer Contact Centre was opened in the Milford Public Service Centre, and since then, the council has been gradually diverting calls to the new facility. From this month, all calls to the council’s Lifford headquarters and other

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Donegal Deputy leads committee in government talks on suicide prevention

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions will meet with Minister of State at the Department of Health Kathleen Lynch to hear the range of initiatives which are in place to reduce the incidents of suicide nationally. Ireland has one of the highest rates of suicide in young males in the European

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Three years jail for Donegal man who tried to take detectives gun at republican parade

A Donegal man who tried to take a detective’s gun after being arrested at a republican commemoration parade has received a three year jail sentence. Pat Barry, a member of Republican Sinn Fein, was highly intoxicated at the annual Wolfe Tone memorial march to Bodenstown, Kildare. When stopped by a member of the Special Detective

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Government must address increase in electricity and gas disconnections – Mc Conalogue

The Energy minister’s appealing to homeowners struggling with their gas and electricity to install pre-pay meters. It follows an 82 per cent rise in gas disconnections last year, with electricity cut-offs up by one percent. Pat Rabbitte’s told the Dáil that not enough people have agreed to install pre-pay meters. However, Donegal North East Deputy

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Council gets an extra €3 million for local and regional roads

Donegal County Council is to receive just over €3 million extra for works on the county’s regional and local roads network. The new grant, which will be primarily directed towards restoration works, follows a €19 million allocation in January. According to Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh, the counil’s allocation is the third highest

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Police appeal for info on Motorbike involved in Creggan Heights ‘hit and run’

Police in Foyle have issued a further appeal for information in relation to a hit and run incident in the Creggan Heights area on Friday, June 7th when a 7 year old girl was badly injured. Yesterday a 23 year-old local man appeared in court in connection with the incident. A 23-year-old  David Gerard McCloskey

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TDs promise to fight for the retention of Donegal’s specialist pre-schools

A large crowd turned out in Letterkenny last evening to discuss HSE plans to close two specialist pre-schools in Donegal. The HSE says it will close St Agnes Specialist Pre-School in Donegal town next year, while it is feared that Ballaghderg Pre School in Letterkenny will cease operations some time in 2015. The Executive plans

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Councillor concerned over impact new hospital board will have on services in Donegal

The lack of northwest representatives on the new Hospital Board for the West could very well have a negative impact on healthcare services in Donegal. That’s according to Councillor Ciaran Brogan who says that all of those appointed to the board appear to be Galway based. It was announced last month that Letterkenny General and

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Councillor Lisa Culbert takes her seat on Letterkenny Town Council

Lisa Culbert has formally taken the seat vacated on Letterkenny Town council by the passing of her father Tadhg. Fianna Fail TD Charlie McConalogue was among those in attendance to see the 27 year-old take her seat last night. Councillor Lisa Culbert, who works as a Clerical Officer in the Outpatients Department in Letterkenny General

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23-year-old man appears in court in Derry charged with hit and run

A 23-year-old Derry man has appeared in court charged with causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving. David Gerard McCloskey of 138 Creggan Heights in Derry appeared on five counts in relation to an incident on June 7. 23-year-old David Gerard McCloskey McCloskey was charged with causing injury by dangerous driving, failing to remain at

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Home-coming celebrations this evening for boxer Jason Quigley

Hundreds of people are expected to turnout in Ballybofey tonight to welcome back European Middleweight boxing champion, Jason Quigley. The 22-year-old from the Finn Valley won gold on Saturday afternoon. Quigley’s home-coming celebrations will take place with an open bus tour around the Twin Towns this evening, following by a special function in the Finn

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Public meeting tonight to establish a branch of People Before Profit in Donegal

A branch of the People Before Profit Alliance is being established in Donegal. Dun Laoghaire TD Richard Boyd Barrett will address a meeting at Jacksons Hotel in Ballybofey tonight. Her says there are a number of people in the county interested in becoming involved, and tonight’s meeting will be an attempt to harness what is

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Update – St Eunan’s College principal says department is committed to extension

St Eunans College in Letterkenny will be granted funding for its prefabs to be replaced with permanent accomodation. The funding is part of the governments nationwide 15 million euro prefab replacement scheme. The college is the only school in the county to be included in the latest scheme. Donegal Senator Jimmy Harte has welcomed the

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Update – Missing children, rubbish and traffic chaos reported as thousands descend on Rossknowlagh

There was a major search on the beach at Rossknowlagh yesterday afternoon following two separate reports of missing children. Initially, a 6 year old boy was reported missing, and a major alert was called by Malin head Coastguard after it emerged he had last been seen near the water at 4 o’clock. Malin Head Coast

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Update – Man released from custody in Letterkenny murder investigation

A 37-year-old man arrested in relation to the murder of Bogdan Michalkiawicz in Letterkenny has been released. The man was arrested last Thursday and detained at Letterkenny Garda Station under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. The body of Mr Michalkiawicz was discovered at the Westside Apartment complex in Letterkenny on the 

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