Author name: oisinkelly

The ability of the emergency services to deal with a fire on a cruise ship docked in Killybegs will be tested in a major exercise which is taking place tomorrow. Fire Crews from Killybegs, Glencolmcille and Donegal Town; Irish Coast Guard Volunteer Units from Killybegs and Bunbeg plus the Rescue 118 helicopter based at Sligo […]

It is one week today since the body of murder victim Bogdan Michalkiewicz was discovered in an apartment in the lower main street area of Letterkenny. 41 year-old Mr Michalkiewicz had last been seen alive outside his apartment at around lunchtime on Monday the 14th of May He was found two days later with multiple

Donegal County Councillor Brendan Byrne says there is no basis for concerns that car parking charges are to be introduced in Killybegs. Cllr Byrne says the council has confirmed to him that there are no present or future plans to introduce car parking charges in the town. He has welcomed the assurance as the matter

  Donegal North East Deputy, Joe McHugh is to meet with the Minister for Agriculture this morning over the fodder crisis in the county. Farmers in Donegal are struggling to deal with the impact of the weather, particularly after the torrential rain over the weekend. This was highlighted by the Chairman of the Donegal IFA

Letterkenny Town Council is being urged to make a start on a programme to utilise the River Swilly as a tourism and leisure amenity. Mayor Dessie Larkin reminded the council that a plan has been in place for some years to have a walkway linking the Port Road with the Ballymacool Town park, and a

A Donegal Councillor has called for the new Community Improvement Scheme to scrapped claiming that it raises health and safety issues and is a threat to jobs. The scheme was unveiled earlier this week by the government and will see local people provide 20 to 50% towards road improvements mostly through labour. Almost 500 hundred

Letterkenny Town Council has been told that plans to link Bonagee into the new pumping station and sewage treatment works outside the town could allow more homes and businesses to be connected in the future. Investigation works will be going to tender shortly as part of a five million euro programme. The issue was raised

There is concern that the emergence of a new cocktail of drugs may be linked to a number of incidents of attempted suicide in the northwest. The North West Regional Drug and Alcohol Task force has briefed the Health Promotion Unit in Letterkenny over their concerns. They are concerned that the use of the D10

A Strabane Councillor is seeking a meeting with Donegal County Council to discuss the state of border roads. Derg Councillor Kieran Mc Guire has asked Strabane District Council to formally convene a meeting with Donegal County Council officials, DRD Roads Service and elected councillors from the Finn Valley and Derg Electoral areas. He says major

The Programme of Events for next weekend’s Relay for Life Donegal have been released. Thousands are expected to descend on LYIT to raise funds for cancer research by remembering those who have died from cancer while celebrating those that have survived it. The full list of events are listed below: SAT 25TH MAY AT LYIT

Overall crime was down 15% in the Letterkenny district in the first three months of the year, according to a report presented to the town’s Joint Policing Committee. Superintendent Vincent O’Brien said burglaries were down 2%, but aggravated burglaries were up 300%, although he stressed that was coming from a very low base, rising from

Letterkenny’s Mayor says the Town and County Councils should be borrowing as much money as possible to buy houses and property. At a Town Council meeting last evening, Cllr Victor Fisher said the council should look at purchasing a piece of land on Church Lane in the town centre. Supporting the motion, Mayor Dessie Larkin

The National Union of Journalists has demanded that a threat against a Donegal journalist be withdrawn. Two journalists in Northern Ireland had already received death threats from loyalist paramilitaries last week, while the County Donegal journalist working with the Sunday World has also received a threat. An NUJ spokesperson said the union asked those responsible

Derry has beaten off strong competition from more than 1,400 entries from all over Ireland to make the final five in “The Irish Times” Best Place to Holiday in Ireland competition. The other finalists still in the running to be named Ireland’s favourite holiday spot are Killarney, Co Kerry; Inishbofin, Co Galway; Loop Head peninsula,

IFA Chairs in Donegal and Leitrim are calling on the Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney to look beyond Cork as he considers the fodder crisis. The Chairman of Leitrim IFA Pat Gilhooly said Mr Coveney seems to have forgotten the west and northern parts of the country, where the real problems currently exist with fodder shortages

Eurovision finalist Ryan Dolan has been reflecting on the disappointing outcome of this years Eurovision on the Shaun Doherty show this morning. The Strabane native ranked last in Saturday night’s competition, securing just five points from three countries for the song Only Love Survives. Catherine Gaffney has more……………

Rural roads are to be given a facelift thanks to a 10.6 million euro investment from the Department of Transport. Under the scheme maintenance works will be carried out at 377 locations – or to over 240 kilometres of road,  over the next two years. Almost 500 hundred thousand euro will be spent in Donegal

Just over 300 thousand euro, withheld from Donegal County Council in penalties for non-collection of the household charge is to be reimbursed by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan. Mr Hogan had refused to pay out the full Local Government Fund allocation to a number of local authorities who failed to collect at least 65

Irelands Ryan Dolan is gearing up for his performance at tonight’s Eurovision final in Sweden. The 27 year old from Strabane in Co. Tyrone will perform ‘Only Love Survives’ at the grand final tonight night in Malmo, to a worldwide audience of 70 million viewers. Around 40 of Ryan’s friends and family, including his parish

People in Strabane are being urged to attend a protest march in the town this afternoon in support of Greenfield home. The residential care home had been threatened with closure recently. The meeting point for the protest march, which is being organised by the Friends of Greenfield Home, is at Longs car park at 2

A lorry driver from County Tyrone has been jailed for 14 years in Greece after being convicted for his part in smuggling cannabis worth £1m. The seizure was made in in November 2011. 38-year-old Andrew Doherty of Sycamore Avenue in Sion Mills, was the driver of a lorry which was stopped and found to contain

A large crowd last night agreed to hold a public protest in opposition to plans to continue closing beds at Dungloe Hospital. Over 200 people attended the meeting in the Ionad Teampaill Chróine centre and there was unanimous condemnation of plans to close 10 beds at the hospital recently. The meeting was addressed by North

A Derry man who admitted rioting in the Currynierin area of the city was told that people like him ruined the positive image people in the city were trying to portray. Conor McToal (19) of 25, Whitethorn Drive, Derry admitted rioting and causing criminal damage on August 14 last year. Derry Crown Court was told

A unique sporting event takes place in Donegal this weekend, to mark the 40th anniversary of Letterkenny Athletic Club and the naming of the running track at the Aura Leisure Centre after legendary local athlete Danny Mc Daid. As part of an international athletics meet taking place at the track tomorrow, an attempt will be

Double killer John Gallagher has appeared before Strabane Magistrates Court in connection with a charge of making threats to kill. The 46 year old with an address at Grangewood, Strabane, appeared for a brief hearing yesterday. He faces two charges arising out of an incident on Monday last, May 13th. He was charged with harassment

The SDLP’s Pat Ramsey has been accused of making a political football out of funding for the Brandywell Stadium. Mr Ramsey had called for 110 million euro of funding set aside to redevelop Windsor Park to be allocated to the Brandywell project. This on the basis that no binding agreement to develop Windsor was in

Senior Management at Letterkenny General Hospital say the recommendations of the Higgins Report published this week will enhance services to patients, and improve the medical training available in Donegal. Under the provisions of the report, Letterkenny, Sligo and Mayo will become part of the Galway and Roscommon University Hospitals Group. In a statement, Management at

The Irish language secondary school in Buncrana has been given a reprieve with the Department of Education granting an extension of its opening. Gaelcholaiste Chineal Eoghain was facing imminent closure because not enough new students have been enrolling. A plan will now be put in place to try and boost enrollment. In the long term,

Gardai have confirmed that a murder investigation has been launched into the death of a man in Letterkenny. At a press conference , Gardai said Polish national  Bogdan Michalkiewicz suffered horrific injuries in a brutal attack but have not confirmed how he died. The body of 41-year-old Bogdan Michalkiewicz was discovered in an apartment at the

A public meeting is taking in place this (Thursday) evening to discuss a HSE decision to close the special needs preschool in Donegal Town from September.  There are only two SEN preschools in Donegal – St Agnes’s in Donegal Town is closing in September with the building to be used to provide services to adults