Author name: oisinkelly

There’s some hope for the future of creche provision in Gweedore after parents met with senior figures in Udaras na Gaeltachta today. At least 30 children are cared for at the Gweedore Community Creche, which will close on Friday fortnight if it isn’t taken over. Today, and Udaras board meeting has been taking place in […]

The number signing on the Live Register in Donegal fell by 2.5% last month, but remains above 20,000. There were 20,335 signing on at the end of April, 527 down on the March figure, and 512 down on April 2012. The office in Donegal Town was the only one to register a year on year

The next mayor of Derry will be SDLP councillor Martin Reilly. Mr Reilly was chosen as his party’s nominee in the City Hotel this week. The SDLP are the party next in line to hold the office of mayor. He will replace current Sinn Fein mayor Kevin Campbell in June. Mr Reilly, said he’s “delighted”

A Donegal councillor has accused Alan Shatter of acting like the Minister for Criminals rather than the Minister for Justice. It follows a speech at the Irish Prison Officers Association conference this week, during which the minister said that last year, 88% of those who were jailed were sentenced to one year or less, and

The High Court has extended the period of examinership which is protecting the Creeslough supermarket, filling station and pub owned by Danny Lafferty. The Irish Times reports this morning that Mr Justice Peter Kelly expressed concern at the length of time the examinership was taking, but added he is aware there were “25 jobs at

An anti-rubbish campaign has found that the amount of chewing gum littering our streets has been cut by almost a third. It found there was a 28 per cent drop in gum litter last year. And in the wake of the report a Gum Litter Taskforce is being launched in Letterkenny this weekend, it’s being

Gardaí in Donegal are calling on motorists to drive safely over the Bank Holiday weekend. So far two people have been killed on Donegal roads so far this year, that’s a 50% increase on the same period last year. Nationally, 13 more people lost their lives on Irish roads in the first four months of

All 19 bathing areas in Donegal tested by the EPA last year have been passed as safe to swim in. The 19 bathing areas tested in Donegal last year were Ballyhiernan in Fanad, Bundoran, Carrickfinn, Culdaff, Downings, Drumnatinny, Fintra, Killahoey, Lady’s Bay in Buncrana, Lisfannon, Marble Hill, Murvagh, Narin, Portarthur in Derrybeg, Portnablagh, Portsalon, Rathmullan

A 61-year-old man has been found NOT GUILTY of dangerous driving causing the death of a three-year-old boy. Alex McDaid of Bomany, Letterkenny had denied a charge of dangerous driving causing death, but he had admitted not having a valid driving licence at the time. The jury of six men and six women at Letterkenny

The Manager of the Donegal Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre in Letterkenny is warning that services may have to be cut further because of funding pressures. The centre is facing a series of cuts in funding from Government – already one member of staff has been lost with fears that further staff hours may

The Carlton Hotel in Belleek has been the target of a suspected overnight arson attack. The local fire service responded to the scene and were able to minimise damage to the premises. A night porter was rescued from an upstairs room by firefighters. The hotel was recently purchased by new owners and is undergoing renevations.

There has been a surge in the number of households paying the household charge in Donegal over the last number of weeks according to Donegal County Council. The local authority says it now expects to exceed the 65% compliance rate this week. Those who oppose the tax are likely to again question the level of

 Letterkenny General Hospital has become one of the first in the country to provide a routine hearing test for new born babies. The National Newborn Hearing Screening Programme was rolled out yesterday in Letterkenny and Sligo, and will be rolled out across the rest of the country by the end of the year. Assistant Letterkenny

Three young secondary school pupils from Co Donegal will feature in the Junior Dragons’ Den show that screens on Sunday night, May 5th at 9.30pm on RTE1. Brothers Rónán, 16, and Conor Mc Garvey, 13, from Loughanure will showcase their Donegal Pens www.donegalpens.com business, while Letterkenny lad Niall Mc Closkey, 16, will present his ‘Easygrower’

It is claimed that there is still no clarification over the future of creche provision in Gweedore, although it’s reported a third party has expressed an interest in taking it over. At least 30 children are cared for at the Gweedore Community Creche, which will close on Friday fortnight if no resolution is found. Udarus,

A  motorist, already banned from driving for 99 years, was banned for another 20 and sentenced to 18 months jail for offences when he was the target of a high-speed garda chase. Donegal District Court was told that Derek Robinson was seen driving erratically in Donegal town just over three weeks ago on April 7.

  The Justice Minister has hailed Operation Liath as a success, claiming that the number of burglaries in Donegal has decreased since January. Operation Liath was introduced within the Donegal division in January this year aimed towards disrupting criminality against older people. At the beginning of the year there was an upsurge of burglaries on

The Chief Executive of the company established to deliver Derry’s UK City of Culture programme is denying suggestions that some elements of their plans may have to be cut back because of a shortfall in funding. The BBC is reporting today that to date, the income from sponsorship and ticket sales is much less than

A village postmaster was fined €10,000 today(Wed) for stealing his customers’ savings. Donegal District Court heard that Rory Brodbin stole a total of  €12,200 from two customers at Laghey Post Office. He pleaded guilty to the thefts. Garda Paddy Battle, who arrested 44-year-old Brodbin, of Main St, Laghey, said he was unable to tell the

Most of the security gates in Derry’s walls are to be removed, Justice Minister David Ford has announced. Eleven of the 16 gates will be taken down over the next few weeks with an additional £28,000 in CCTV coverage to be installed. However the gates where Bishop Street passes under the walls at the Fountain

A Donegal councillor says he fears the county will suffer badly when Irish Water takes over control of the supply infrastructure. Cllr Patrick Mc Gowan says the network in the county is failing daily, but all the indications are that Irisj Water will focus its investment in larger cities where it can attract funding through

A Donegal County Councillor has said the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners must give clear direction as to how customs officers should respond to those in violation of current VRT laws. In February, a landmark Ombusdman’s report ruled that customs officers must issue a warning when they first detect a car which hasn’t had VRT

A ban on the sale and use of smoky coal has been implemented in Letterkenny from today, with a map showing the specific area affected available on the council’s website www.donegalcoco.ie Meanwhile, Age Action says today’s introduction of a carbon tax on solid fuels will add even more hardship to the lives of older people.

The Western Health Trust is proposing to close all its residential care homes. The homes under threat are Rectory Field and Willow Street, both in Derry, Thackeray Place in Limavady and Greenfield Home in Strabane. There are 130 places overall but only 73 men and women live in the homes. The health minister, Edwin Poots,

The body of an Ardara man who went missing in Dublin at the weekend has been recovered from the River Liffey. 24 year old Conal Gildea from Carn, Ardara, a plumber, had last been seen by friends on Friday night. His body was recovered from the water on Monday evening, and formally identified yesterday. In

Donegal County Council have confirmed they have been and will be continuing to disconnect non-domestic water supplies to customers in arrears and who have not engaged with them. 20 disconnections have taken place on non domestic water supplies in recent weeks, and Donegal County Council says at least 60 more will follow. The most recent

There is shock in the town of Ballyshannon with the closure of the Mace Shop with the loss of 30 jobs. Ormston’s supermarket in the centre of Ballyshannon closed for business this morning. Staff were briefed by management at the supermarket last night and were told that the business would close with immediate effect. Mayor

15 new jobs are to created by the opening of the new Finn Valley Leisure Centre. Finn Valley Athletics Club currently employs 15 staff, but 15 new full-time and part-time jobs will be created when the new facility opens. It’s hoped the the swimming pool and gym facilities will be officially opened within the next

  Gardaí investigasting a shooting incident at Legnatraw, St. Johnston, a year ago today have confirmed that possible cross border links are a major element of their investigation. A 30 year old man was shot in both legs and both arms, a 34 year old woman who was in the house at the time of

A Buncrana councillor says a joint effort to upgrade the Aghilly Road in the town could be the key to securing a site for a new education campus for Crana College. The Donegal VEC had looked at a site in the vicinity of the road, but serious concerns were expressed about the standard of the

We’ve heard of the Lough Ness monster in Scotland, but now the Northwest may have it’s very own sea monster. A group of students were out shooting a short-film for a school project in Lough Foyle, when they came across a strange “sea creature”. A Youtube video has now gone viral with over 80,000 people

The Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan says he has no information or evidence of claims by the President of the GRA that new guidelines on crime categorisation have led to the “massaging” of statistics. John Parker was speaking at the Garda Representative Association’s annual conference in Co Mayo, where 170 rank and file members have gathered

A teenage boy has been injured in an attack on a school bus on the Northland Road in Derry. As students from Oakgrove College were travelling home after school yesterday, a stone was thrown through a window when the bus stopped to drop some students off. The youth, who was sitting close to the window,

Gweedore has made it on to the longlist in the Irish Times competion ‘The Best Place to Holiday in Ireland’. It will join 24 other holiday hotspots from around the country; the results will be announced on the 27th May. Other notable nominees include Derry City, Strandhill in Sligo and the Lakelands in County Fermanagh.

A 31 year old man from the Derry area has jailed on explosives charges at Derry Crown Court. Anthony Thomas Friel was sentenced to 4 and a half years in jail and 4 and a half years on licence following the discovery of a number of viable devices in a flat in the Maureen Avenue

The Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin has extended his deepest sympathies to the family of former Donegal TD Harry Blaney, who has died at the age of 85. “It is with great sadness that I learned today of the death of Harry Blaney, a stalwart of Donegal politics,” Deputy Martin said. “I had the pleasure

The Director of Nursing at Letterkenny General Hospital says measures are being put in place to address hygiene issues identified in a HIQA report published last week. The inspectors did not identify any immediate serious risks to the health and welfare of patients receiving care at Letterkenny General Hospital, but added that while there was

There’s mounting unease in Fine Gael over the Government’s abortion legislation plans, after former Taoiseach John Bruton intervened in the debate. In an article in today’s Irish Independent, Mr. Bruton argues that suicide should not be a basis for an abortion – saying he knows of no other area of law where a threat of

The death has been confirmed this morning of former TD Harry Blaney. The former Donegal North–East representative passed away at Letterkenny General Hospital. Harry Blaney was born in February 1928, and was first elected to Dáil Éireann in the 1997 General Election to a seat formerly held by his brother Neil. He had previously served