Author name: oisinkelly

There is concern that a deliberately provocative series of events is being planned in the Fountain Estate area of Derry to coincide with today’s funeral of Margaret Thatcher. DUP politicians yesterday visited the mainly Protestant estate in Derry following trouble in the area. There have been sectarian attacks attributed to nationalist youths on the estate […]

  Fianna Fáil’s Seanad Spokesperson on Agriculture has called for emergency measures to help Donegal farmers who are in serious difficulty as a result of the unprecedented fodder crisis. Donegal Senator Brian O’Domhnaill has accused the Government of so far refusing to recognise the devastation in the farming sector caused by unseasonable weather over the

A Donegal woman who competed in the ill-fated Boston marathon has spoke of her horrifying experience. Two days after explosives killed three people and injured more than 180 during the Boston Marathon, investigators are continuing to search for evidence. As of yet, they don’t know who carried out the Boston marathon bombings or why. Lucinda Catterson,

The police in Derry have recovered £25,000 in an operation against illegal gambling in the city. Dozens of gaming machines were also seized during the planned raids. Operation Blackjack visited 15 premises across Derry. One man has been arrested. Around 60 police officers took part in the day long operation and they were joined by

More and more primary schools across Donegal are falling into unmanageable debt as a result of cuts, and in particular, the withdrawal of the Minor Works Grant. That’s according to Donegal North East Deputy Charlie Mc Conalogue. The Fianna Fail Education Spokesperson is now calling on Minister Ruari Quinn to address what he says has become a funding crisis

There are calls for efforts to be made to clean up the Manorcunningham Roundabout which one County Councillor has described as a disgrace. Councillor Paul Canning says the roundabout is one of the busiest junctions in the county and would give a poor impression of Donegal to any visitors. He questions why this seems to

There are calls for the Local Improvement Scheme to be fully restored. In the past, the public could apply for LIS funding for the upgrade of private roads to homes, farms, bogs and beaches. It has now effectively been scrapped – a similar scheme for the Gaeltacht has also been lost. Donegal County Council has

Police have declared a security alert in Blucher Street, Derry as a hoax. Army experts were been called in to assess a suspicious object. A number of houses were evacuated and Blucher Street was closed to traffic. Residents have now been allowed back into their homes and all traffic restrictions lifted.

The Department of Education is to be asked to extend the period of recognition for the Irish language secondary school in Buncrana. It emerged yesterday that the school is facing possible closure, with a number of options being considered by the County Donegal VEC and the Board of Management. Coláiste Chineál Eoghain was established in

Donegal County Council says it continues to prioritise the fight against illegal dumping releasing new figures showing the level of enforcement. In a statement today, the council says it  is making progress throughout the county in the fight against those who continue to dump waste illegally. Given the remote nature of some of the sites

A Carndonagh GP fears the recently announced bed closures at the local community hospital will become permanent with serious question marks now hanging over the future of the facility. Dr John Madden sits on the steering group of the Carndonagh Community Hospital. The HSE confirmed this week that four beds are being closed at the

A former Chairperson of the IMPACT trade union in Donegal has accused the union of not being upfront with its members as it relates to Croke Park II. Councillor Mick Quinn says the deal is anti women and does not represent a good deal for public sector workers – he believes the level of division

BBC Radio 1 have confirmed that their website has crashed due to technical difficulties. Tickets for the One Big Weekend Event in Derry will now not be available until tomorrow morning. Tickets were due to be made available from 9 o clock this morning. BBC Radio confirmed that due to technical issues Radio’1s Big Weekend

A Donegal North East Deputy has said that the new A5 dual carriageway project is not over yet. The Regional Development Minister in the North Danny Kennedy yesterday said he will not appeal a judges’s quashing of the decision to go ahead with the new A5 dual carriageway project. Minister Kennedy also said he would

The Government has been accused of putting the Corncrake before people. Parts of Malin, Fanad, Falcarragh and five of the county’s islands are now special protection areas. This means there are strict controls on planning and farming to protect the Corncrake. Cllr Seamus O’Domhnaill says that with a stroke of a pen acres of land

Donegal County Council has backed a motion calling on the Fine Gael / Labour Government to repeal the Property Tax. During a debate on a Sinn Fein motion, Fine Gael accused Sinn Fein of being populist while Fine Gael were accused of keeping the spirit of Margaret Thatcher alive. Notably, Labour Mayor Frank McBrearty broke

The Regional Development Minister in the North Danny Kennedy has said he will not appeal a judges’s quashing of the decision to go ahead with a new £330m A5 dual carriageway project. Last week, Mr Justice Stephens granted the department a seven-day stay to lodge any appeal to his ruling on the A5. Mr Kennedy

Donegal County Council has again been urged to include a clause which would see all future public contracts awarded to include 10% of local goods and services. Previously EU directives have seen major contracts awarded to companies outside the county but Cllr Marie Therese Gallagher says thats not fair. She points to a clause in

Tributes have been paid at today’s Donegal County Council meeting to the late Bernard McGlinchey. The meeting was adjourned for an hour this morning in honour of the former town and county Fianna Fail councillor who passed away last week at the age of 80. Councillor Ciaran Brogan is the Fianna Fail whip on the

There’s been an armed robbery at a filling station outside Letterkenny. The incident happened at Killylastin, just after 9 o’clock last night. We understand two men entered the premises and held up staff with a firearm, while a third man waited outside in a car. They escaped with an undisclosed sum of money. Gardai are

Gardai are being urged to excavate the site of an alleged grave in South Donegal as part of the search for Mary Boyle who went missing at the age of six, 36 years ago. Mary disappeared from her grandparent’s house in Cashelard, near Ballyshannon in March, 1977 and was never seen again. Three times over

The Irish language secondary school in Buncrana is facing closure, because not enough new students are enrolling. According to Buncrana Councillor Ciaran Mc Laughlin, Gaelcholaiste Chineal Eoghain needs 25 new first year students each year, but so far, only 17 have been enrolled for the next academic year starting in September. He says the college

It’s been confirmed that four beds are being closed at Carndonagh Community Hospital today as a result of staffing pressures. The HSE is describing the closure as ‘temporary’, but Donegal North East Deputy Charlie Mc Conalogue says there is a very real fear that the closures may become permanent. He says the government and the

There was a heavy security presence both inside and outside Derry Courthouse today as a 20-year-old man appeared on gun and explosive charges. Nathan Hastings of 89, Stradowen Drive in the Strathfoyle area of the city was charged with possessing items of use to terrorists, he was also charged with possessing an improvised explosive device

Donegal County Council are appealing to land owners and members of the public to continue to be vigilant and to continue to take all necessary measures to prevent gorse, heather, forestry and similar fires. Land owners and members of the public are urged to report any uncontrolled or unattended fires immediately to the Fire Services

Two men have been arrested following a security alert in Derry last night. The two men, ages 20 and 54 were arrested following the discovery of weapons and a suspected explosive devise in two vehicles on the Northland Road at around 8 o’clock. Army bomb disposal experts were called to the scene to deal with

A meeting will be held in Gweedore tonight in the wake of the news this week that the Gweedore community creche is to close. The meeting will take place at 7pm this evening in the creche building. At least 30 children are cared for at the facility which will close in May, it is not

Sinn Fein are calling on the Strabane SDLP to clarify how they are helping people claiming incapacity benefits. In November 2011 local SDLP constituency representative Daniel McCrossan claimed that their office had been inundated with enquiries relating to welfare assessment questionnaires. He claimed that in the first two weeks of November 2011 the office had

Fianna Fáil Leader, Micheál Martin TD, has expressed his sympathy on the death of former Senator Bernard McGlinchey. “It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Bernard McGlinchey. Bernard’s record in public life was a remarkable one. Bernard served in Seanad Éireann for over 20 years and in that time had

A petrol station attendant today told Donegal Circuit Court of his fear when he was held up at gunpoint. A Taurus hand-pistol, later discovered to be fake but which was described in court by a judge who saw it as very realistic, was held to Lee Jordan’s back and head by a gunman intent on

A private contractor which assesses incapacity benefit applications on behalf of the British government is coming under fire in Strabane after it emerged that more than half of the local applications which have been turned down are allowed on appeal. Sinn Fein MLA  Michaela Boyle says it’s clear that ATOS is not working for the

Gardai are seeking a gang which vandalised one of the north-west’s most recognisable landmarks, St Anne’s Church in Ballyshannon. Co.Donegal. The 172-year-old Church of Ireland building is sited at the town’s highest point and visible to visitors approaching on any road. Spotlights which illuminate the church at night were smashed, and panes of glass in

A 20-year-old Derry man who admitted burgling two churches has been remanded in custody. Bernard Cooke, of Cornshell Fields, is charged with burglary with intent to steal at St Mary’s Church in Ardmore. He had previously admitted the burglary of St Patrick’s Church in Pennyburn with intent to steal. Cooke also admitted the burglaries of

Donegal North East Deputy Charlie McConalogue has called on Fine Gael and Labour to rethink its changes to the Farm Assist payment. Donegal has the second highest number of farmers dependent on Farm Assist, with 1,554 farmers liable for the payment. Low-income farmers depend on the payment to keep their farms in business. The changes

Tributes have been paid to Fianna Fail politician and business man Bernard McGlinchey, who died last evening at the age of 80. He spent decades as a member of Donegal County Council and Letterkenny Town Council, as well as 20 years in the Seanad, between 1961 and 1981. In 1989, he persuaded Dr James Mc

A married couple from the Twin Towns has collected a cheque for €5,146,800 from National Lottery headquarters in Dublin. The winning numbers from last Saturday night’s draw were contained on a €4 ticket bought at Moore’s Costcutters store in Ballybofey. The couple wants to remain anonymous, but it has been confirmed they do live locally.

One of the most famous houses in County Donegal is up for sale. The childhood home of singer Daniel O’Donnell in Kincaslagh is on the market for 400,000 euro. The house used to draw thousands of people for tea parties hosted by Daniel. Estate Agent, Gavin Boyle, says more people seemed interested in the property

Donegal’s Acting Chief Fire Officer has appealed to the public to notify gardai if they have any information about the illegal setting of gorse fires. Joe McTaggart suspects that not all of the recent wildfires, which have occurred across the county during the recent dry spell, have been acts of God. Mr McTaggart says that

Advance passenger information software developed in Letterkenny is to be used in Jamaican aiports. The Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency in Jamaica, is using SITA software as part of a security and tourism initiative to improve passenger movement at the airports in Kingston and Montego Bay. There are now 15 countries using the software. Vincent

The HSE is advising families considering visiting Wales and the North East of England to ensure that all family members have been immunised with the MMR vaccine to protect them against Measles. This is of particular importance to families in Donegal –  in February , health care staff in Donegal expressed concern about the increasing

Buncrana Town Council is calling on County Manager Seamus Neeley to close the halting site at Lisfannon as quickly as possible. The facility has been there for some years, and was originally established by former manager Michael Mc Loone under special powers given to managers at the time to address a pressing need for traveller