Author name: oisinkelly

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

A Donegal priest says a nationwide policy of children making their First Communion or Confirmation in school uniforms should be considered. Its after the Government confirmed that grants for religious ceremonies are to be discontinued – more then 12,500 families availed of the grant last year A recent survey by EBS showed that parents expect

The inquest into the death of Savita Halappanavar is expected to hear more medical evidence today. The 31 year old died from septicaemia last October following a miscarriage at Galway University Hospital. Many of the key witnesses have already testified, such as Savita’s husband Praveen Halappanavar and her consultant obstetrician Dr Katherine Astbury. Apparent systems

The Government has announced its cutting the exceptional needs payments for religious ceremonies. More then 3.4 million euro was paid in communion and confirmation grants in 2011 to over 14,000 families. The payout was slashed last year with 12,500 families receiving 1.5 million euro – and now this year it will be axed altogether. The

Donegal Creameries PLC has released its preliminary financial results for last year with the Board viewing the company’s performance in 2012 as satisfactory. This is the first full reporting year following the strategic disposal of its liquid milk and agri-stores business to Connacht Gold. The company says it delivered a year of consolidation around a

A Donegal Anti-VRT campaigner says customs officials continue to target people in the county despite an Ombudsman’s ruling which would seem to prohibit them from doing so. Ombudsman Josephine Feehily ruled that Customs’officers must follow their own guidelines before seizing vehicles, and prohibiting them from random challenges such as checkpoints, for the purposes of enforcing

Fire crews were called out once again last night to tackle a serious gorse fire near to Glenveagh National Park. Dense smoke and the proximity of the fire to the roadside forced Gardai and fire crews to close the road on the Termon side of Glenveagh. Motorists travelling from Letterkenny to the Rosses and Gweedore

Members of the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement will meet today to reflect on the past 15 years since the signing of the historical document. The agreement was signed by both British and Irish Governments on the 10th April 1998 and marked a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace

A Strabane District Cllr has hit out at the Alternative A5 Alliance. Speaking to Highland Radio News, the Treasurer of the Alternative A5 Alliance, Hamilton Hassard said that instead of going ahead with the A5 project, the current A5 should be upgraded. He says thousands of acres of farmland would not then have to be

There is shock in west Donegal with the news that the Gweedore community creche is to close. At least 30 children are cared for at the facility which will close in May. Parents learned of the closure of the state supported facility today. It is not yet clear the reasons behind the closure of the

Fire crew continue to battle gorse fired across County Donegal and with little rain forecast for the next few days the problem looks set to continue. The Buncrana Fire and Rescue Service posted this video on their Facebook page which goes some way to showing the job in hand and the dangers the fire crews