Author name: oisinkelly

A body recovered from the river Foyle on Thursday has been identified as that of missing teenager Kieran McKeon. The 18-year-old went missing on the 14th of March after arriving in Derry from Dublin with his friend, 21-year-old Alexandra O’Brien. Her body was recovered from the river Foyle the following day. Search and rescue services […]

Donegal South-West TD Dinny McGinley has welcomed the granting of €450,00 towards Donegal Airport. The funding is part of the CAPEX scheme for safety and security projects at regional airports. Earlier this year some €151,000 was provided towards Navigation Charts and Hold Baggage X-Ray equipment. The grant will 90% fund an extension to the security

  Politicians from Derry, Donegal, Tyrone and Monaghan are meeting with the North’s First and Deputy First MInisters this morning to discuss the future of the A5. MPs, MLAs, TDs and Senators will make the case for future funding to be guaranteed once the legal hurdles which have delayed work on the project have been

Fishing industry representatives says a Fisheries Council meeting on Monday and Tuesday of next week will be crucial for the future of the industry here. Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation CEO Sean O’Donaghue says there are a number of key issues which Minister Simon Coveney must address. Mr O’Donaghue, who will attend the talks in Brussels, says as President of the Council, Simon

A man has been convicted of sexually abusing his foster mother’s nephew in Co. Donegal in the 1960s and 70s. The 63-year-old had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 35 charges of indecent assault of the boy on dates between 1966 and June 1974. He was six years older than the victim.

  The Minister for Health Dr James Reilly was this afternoon greeted with silence when he arrived to make his speech to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation conference Letterkenny. The Minister was addressing the conference on its final day. There was a small amount of heckling during his speech, but delegates clapped when the

Five people, two of them children, have been rescued from a stricken boat in Donegal Bay. The boat lost power a mile off Muckross Head, and began drifting. Malin Head Coastguard Station was called, and a rescue operation began. Coastguard spokesperson Ian Scott has been outlining what happened…..

Two men who videoed an attempted Garda search of them on a mobile phone were given suspended jail sentences today. John Deegan and Sean Fitzgerald had put the video on YouTube, called it Gardathugs, and claimed it showed harassment and intimidation by gardai at the Market Yard, Ballyshannon. It was viewed by Judge Kevin Kilrane

Investigators believe that the disposal of  septic tank waste  may have been responsible for the death of three dozens swans in west Donegal in recent days. 32 swans were found dead at the weekend at the New Lake in Dunganaghy, three more were found thirty miles away in a lake in mullaghduff yesterday. Water samples

Sinn Fein’s Justice spokesperson says that despite 60 million euro being spent on the Morris Tribunal recommendations arising from it have still not been implemented. Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission was critical of gardai in its investigation into alleged collusion between members of the force and a convicted drug dealer. One assertion in the investigation is

Gardai have arrested a man in Letterkenny this morning on suspicion of criminal damage. The local man in his late 20’s was arrested shortly after 6.30am following a tip off from a member of the public. It is understood the man was found in possession of a number of items including glue. Over the last

Seventy years have passed since the Ballymanus mine disaster which killed 19 people. A special mass will be held in the Ballymanus Community Centre tonight at 7 o’clock to mark the anniversary. 19 lives were lost in the incident which occurred in west Donegal on 10th of May 1943. A mine washed ashore at Ballymanus

The body of a woman has been recovered from a river outside Castlederg. The alarm was raised after the woman was seen entering the Derg River close to Castlederg. Fire and Rescue teams along with Foyle Search and Rescue and the PSNI helicopter were quickly on the scene. The woman was later recovered in the

Today is the final day of the INMO’s Annual Delegate Conference in Letterkenny, with Health Minister Dr James Reilly due to address the conference today. He’s likely to get a lukewarm reception at best, with concerns of the effects of cuts on patient safety high on the organisation’s agenda. The INMO’s North West INdustrial Relations

A North West MEP says a Junior Minister should be given specific responsibilities for supporting emigrants. Marian Harkin, who this week launched a National Youth Council report on emigration says emigrants must be supported before they leave, and encouraged to return to Ireland when circumstances improve and there is a need for their skills and

The first female President of the Massachusetts Senate, Senator Therese Murray will travel to County Donegal today. Ms.Murray was elected Senator of the Plymouth and Barnstable District in 1992 and has been a driving force behind children’s issues and health care reform. Donegal County Council will host a ceremonial event to welcome the Massachusetts Senate

An investigation is underway following the discovery of a number of dead birds in the Mullaghduff and Dunfanaghy areas. 33 swans were found dead in the New Lake, Dunfanaghy at the weekend while National Parks and Wildlife Rangers recovered a dead swan from a lake in mullaghduff this (Thursday) evening. An investigation into the deaths

A Donegal man has gone on trial accused of sexually abusing his foster mother’s nephew for eight years. The 63-year-old accused has pleaded not  guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 35 charges of indecent assault of the boy on dates between 1966 and 1974. The complainant was aged between seven and eighteen years old

Delegates at the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation conference in Letterkenny have this afternoon voted unanimously in favour of an emergency motion on Croke Park II. The motion mandates the organisation to continue to explore alternatives to the Croke Park proposals. Delegates, speaking on the motion, outlined their difficulties in paying their bills from mortgages,

The Chairman of the Donegal Joint Policing Committee has paid tribute to Superintendent Vincent O’Brien who is to retire from the gardai after 32 years of service. He confirmed last week, to a meeting of the committee, that he is to step down in June. Superintendent O’Brien, who is a Sligo native, has spent most

There has been a broad welcome to the news that a new £15 million whiskey distillery in Derry has been granted planning permission. Niche Drinks, the company behind the city’s St Brendan’s cream liqueur operation, is to build a custom-built factory complex in the city. The move is however dependent on the company’s current site

RELAY FOR LIFE DONEGAL 2013 is taking place on May 25th/ 26th and a fun song and video has been put together to mark the event. Videos were submitted from groups and schools across the county with many others contributing too (including a few familiar voices from Highland Radio!). The video was shot during able

Fianna Fail Senator Brian O’Domhnaill is calling on government deputies to support a bill he is introducing to decriminalise local fishermen who commit minor breaches of the rules. Senator O’Domhnaill is to hold meetings in Dunkineely, Dore and Downings over the weekend to consult with local fishermen before he moves the bill, which will be

Nurses and midwives are expected to pass an emergency motion for industrial action today, which will include the withdrawal of labour. The issue is top of the agenda on the second day of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation annual conference. The INMO motion is part of a public sector-wide campaign against a government threat

The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee says they want to know how Revenue will deal with those who can’t pay the property tax. John McGuinness and his colleagues are due to meet with the head of the Revenue Commissioners today. It’s expected the new local property tax will be among the topics up for

There are fears that the Letterkenny Institute of Technology School of Tourism may be moved from Killybegs. Deputy Thomas Pringle told the Dail this evening that a review of costs could signal the end of the delivery of Tourism courses in Killybegs, and that would have a serious impact on other courses and programmes there,

  Yesterday local Cllr Marie Terese Gallagher said she had received numerous calls from staff and patients’ families over rumours up to 7 beds were to close – today the HSE confirms it will be ten. In a statement to Highland Radio News the HSE says that in the last 4-6 weeks, the unit has

A team of specialists from the European Employment Services Cross Border Partnership will be in Derry and Letterkenny this Friday to help jobseekers and employers in the border areas. The ‘Bus along the Border’ campaign promises to provide practical advice and answer queries regarding employment, recruitment and social welfare support on either side of the

Northwest MEP Marian Harkin has strongly condemned the European Movement for its recent report on the attendance and question records of Irish MEPs in the European Parliament. The European Movement reported that Irish MEPs attended the Parliament on average less last year than they did in 2011. It also reported that the MEPs asked less

Donegal County Council last year recorded its first reduction in income for almost a decade. An increase in payroll and the writing off of over 6 million euro in business rates are some of key factors for the loss of income. The was also a reduction in income from water charges, which has been blamed

A Strabane SDLP Cllr has said that the decentralisation of 40 jobs to Strabane is nothing more than a “token gesture”. It was announced yesterday that 40 civil service jobs would be relocated to Strabane within the next 18 months. Strabane Cllr Patsy Kelly says while he welcomes the 40 jobs, he feels it is

The Stormont executive is being urged to redistribute money earmarked for the stalled A5 on other roads projects. The call comes as Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy prepares to put spending proposals to his ministerial colleagues. The A5 has been delayed by a successful court action, but this year was due to have received £120m

The INMO wants an independent expert to chair the review and then establish a guide for best practice and standards in the area. Over 350 nurses and midwives are attending the three-day conference which begins today in Letterkenny, County Donegal. General Secretary Liam Doran says Ireland urgently needs to lay down minimum standards for best