Author name: oisinkelly

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

Eircom will launch it’s new eFibre high-speed broadband network today. It’s the first phase of the telecom company’s 1.5 billion euro investment in the service in Ireland. Customers in parts of Donegal will be able to avail of the network – which will benefit 300,000 homes and businesses across the country, rising to 600,000 by

A Derry Councillor says some of the money set aside for the A5 should be spent upgrading the Buncrana Road in Derry. Sinn Fein Councillor Tony Hassan says an upgrade plan has been delayed for several years, and it is becoming more necessary given the extent of growth in that part of the city. Cllr

Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty has taken up the case of a Lifford woman whose campaign against her poor water supply has now hit the national headlines. Siobhon O’Brien Kelly from Lifford told Highland Radio News at the start of this week how her water supply would run a deep orange colour at least once a

Donegal County Council is reminding anyone who owns a property other than their principal private residence, that the 2013 Non Principal Private Residence charge must be paid by the end of next month. The council says properties can me registered and payment can be made online, by post or through any local council office. In

The Minister for Health has been called on to personally intervene to prevent the closure of respite beds at Dungloe Community Hospital. A total of 10 beds will close – the HSE says it is a short term measure being taken due to staffing pressures which can’t be eased because of the governments recruitment embargo.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is asking people to come to its clinics in Carndonagh today and tomorrow. Low attendance at clinics in recent days is putting pressure on blood supplies and if that continues the service is warning that they could be under pressure in supplying hospitals with blood. The clinics in Carndonagh run

Investigations are continuing  in Letterkenny into the death of a man which gardai are treating as suspicous. The body of the foreign national man, who is in his early 40s, was discovered by his brother in an apartment at the lower main street area of the town at 11 o’clock on Wednesday morning. Initial indications

The search has resumed on the Foyle for missing Derry man Tony Browne. Yesterday, the PSNI and Tony’s family appealed for information about the 24 year old, who is described as 5’8″ tall, of medium build, with short ginger coloured hair. Yesterday, his shoes were found on the Foyle bridge Craig Smith of Foyle Search

A weather expert is predicting cold and blustery weather for the next seven to ten days – at least. Donegal has already had its average monthly rainfall for May and we are only half way through the month. Temperatures have also been unseasonably low month on month with Donegal exceeded the average monthly temperature once

Ryan Dolan has reached the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. The Strabane man was one of 10 acts to qualify from last night’s semi-final. He’ll now perform to a TV audience of around 300 million people on Saturday night. Speaking on todays Shaun Doherty Show, Ryan said he really enjoyed last nights final: And

North West MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher says the early morning deal secured by Minister Simon Coveney at the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers meeting in Brussels is a mixed bag. Minister Coveney has secured a new mandate from EU Fisheries Ministers to enter final negotiations with the European Parliament on a reformed Common Fisheries

The Managing Director of Allstate in Northern Ireland has said that the company are not ruling out expanding their business premises in Strabane again. The insurance company announced yesterday that they would be creating 450 new jobs by 2016 in the North. Allstate employs almost 1000 people in the Northwest in Strabane and Derry. And

A Donegal Deputy and Senator have spoken in the houses of the Oireachtas on the issue of resource hours for children with Down Syndrome. 40% of children with Down Syndrome in the main stream school system are not allocated resource hours to assist in their education because Down Syndrome is not listed as a ‘complex

A court was told that a row between Inland Fisheries Ireland and 40 men and a woman over fishing rights on the Gweebarra River remains unresolved. Dungloe District Court heard the case against six of the people was part-heard but must go back before Judge Denis McLaughlin for completion. All cases involve a total of

A Donegal County Councillor has called for the Government immediately provide funding to repair the Lifford water supply. Residents in Clonleigh Park, Croghan Heights and the Beechwood and Castlefinn Road areas have contacted Highland Radio News complaining about the lack of clean drinking water. A mother in Clonleigh Park says her family couldn’t get showered

Both Derry and Strabane will benefit from an announcement by Allstate of a 450 ‘new jobs’ . The American insurance company currently employs 1,900 people at its premises at Orchard Rd Industrial Estate in Strabane as well as in Derry and Belfast. While it is not clear how many new jobs will be created in

A public meeting is to take place in Sion MIlls tonight to highlight concerns over the proposed development of a waste treatment plant at the old Herdmans Mill site. The old mill site was sold to Cork-based businessmen, Tim and Michael Cronin in November last year. At the time they said that they planned to

A Stormont document on the future of rail services has revealed an ambitious £1bn plan to link Derry to Sligo. A railway line from Derry to Sligo, going through Letterkenny and Donegal Town is listed as an option in the Department for Regional Development’s Future Railway Investment Consultation paper. A rail link between Derry and

A bench warrant for the arrest of a convicted rapist who went missing while out of jail on licence was sought at Dungloe District Court today(Tues) – although he is already back in the custody of the PSNI. Supt Michael Finan said Joseph McCabe, who had an address at a caravan park in nearby Burtonport,

The President of the INTO will address members of the Donegal branch this afternoon as the union ballots on industrial action in the event of Croke Park 2 being imposed without agreement. Brendan O’Sullivan will meet with members from the county at the Mill Park in Donegal Town this afternoon at 3.30. Meetings are also

Police and the family of 24 year old Tony Browne are becoming increasingly concerned for his welfare. Tony who is from the Derry area was last seen in the Carnhill area of the City in the early hours of this morning, Tuesday 14 May. Tony is described as being approximately 5’8″ tall, of medium build,

The PSNI and Gardai are investigating claims from a man that he was raped in Inishowen in the early hours of Sunday the 5th of May. The man in his 20’s was on a night out in Derry – he says he was offered a lift by a man who claimed to be a taxi

Sinn Fein’s Justice Spokesperson has questioned the Garda use of the Central Procurement Model after reports that a garda car was transported 45km on a flat bed lorry to have windscreen wipers replaced. In another instance, a Garda car was off the road in Donegal for a number of days because it had to be

Nearly a quarter of Irish households are now jobless according to a new report released today. The research from the National Economic and Social Council finds that most people in Ireland have suffered a loss of wealth or income since the economic crash in 2008. In 38 per cent of Irish households – expenditure now

A Donegal man assaulted a detective and tried to take his gun after being arrested at a republican commemoration parade in 2010, a court has heard. Pat Barry, a member of Republican Sinn Fein, was highly intoxicated at the annual Wolfe Tone memorial march to Bodenstown, Kildare. As he was about to be put in

 The first steps in establishing independent hospital trusts have been unveiled by the Health Minister. Six groupings have been announced – they are Dublin North East; Dublin Midlands; Dublin East; South/South West; West/North West and Midwest. Letterkenny General and the Sligo Regional will become part of the West/Northwest group along with University Hospital Galway; Merlin