Author name: oisinkelly

Northern Ireland coroner John Lecky is to write to police inviting them to investigate the mysterious sinking of a fishing boat which killed two Glengad brothers. 70-year-old Daniel and 68-year-old Francis McDaids boat sank close to the mouth of Lough Foyle exactly five years ago today. A Maritime Casualty Investigation Board report in the Republic

A libel action brought by John McAreavey against the Irish Daily Mail over pictures of his wife has been settled. The still photographs were taken from CCTV footage presented in court last year, pictures which Belfast High Court has been told were ‘potentially misleading’. 27-year-old Michaela Mc Areavy was murdered on her honeymoon in Mauritius

The number of MRSA cases in Letterkenny General Hospital has decreased in recent years. The latest figures show that there were 19 occurrences of the illness in 2008 and just six cases in 2012. This represents a 68% per cent reduction in instances over the last four years. There has also been a large decrease

Pope Francis won’t be calling on his predecessor Benedict 16th today as had originally been reported. The Vatican says he probably won’t see him tomorrow either, but does say a meeting will happen in a few days. On today’s Shaun Doherty Show on Highland Radio, Bishop Philip Boyce said he believes Pope Francis will be

A spokesperson for the Communications Regulator Comreg has said they are not aware of any deficiencies in broadband connectivity for businesses in Donegal. Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh raised the issue during an Oireachtas Comnmunications Committee meeting this morning attended by the regulator and some of his senior staff. He asked the regulator

Sinn Fein representatives in Donegal have announced details of upcoming local initatives to challenge the property tax. They’ve outlined plans to distribute tens of thousands of leaflets in order to build support for a Sinn Fein bill which will be going through the Oireachts to repeal the property tax. They will also be asking everyone

Two men were arrested in Derry yesterday as part of an investigation into dissident republican activity. The arrests followed a number of house searches in the Creggan area of the city yesterday morning. A PSNI spokesperson said the arrests were made in connection with an investigation into a commemoration in the City Cemetery on Easter

Diversions around Burnfoot have been lifted after a serious collision on the Buncrana side of the village shortly after 3 o’clock this morning. A 33 year old man, who was driving a van, sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Altnegelvin Hospital. We understand his injuries are not life threatening. Diversions via Barrs quarry stayed

Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio was tonight elected pope – the first ever from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. The 76-year-old, from Buenos Aires, has chosen to be known as Pope Francis. After announcing “Habemus Papum” – “We have a pope!” – a cardinal standing on the balcony

White smoke has risen from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, signalling that Cardinals have chosen a new pope. We’ll find out who will be the next leader of the Catholic church when they appear on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica – possibly within the next hour.  

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has made a special appeal for people to attend blood donation clinics in Donegal Town today and tomorrow. The board has to accommodate extra pressure on supplies over St Patrick’s Day and Easter and are particularly keen for people with blood type A+ to donate. The clinics run in the Abbey Hotel

Gardai are investigating an incident at a farmhouse in Carrowreagh between Bridgend and Kilea last night. A woman saw two men acting suspiciously in a farmyard. She telephoned her sons, but when they got there the two men had gone. They found that vehicles and sheds had been searched, but nothing was taken. Local Councillor

Travellers from across the country will protest outside Leinster House this afternoon in protest at what they say has been a rise in anti-traveller racism. The Irish Traveller Movement says this noticeable rise includes recent comments by public representatives and members of the judiciary, culminating with the burning of a house allocated to a Traveller

A Donegal Deputy has called on the government to act quickly on banker’s pay following the publication of the Mercer report. The report found that average salaries in Irish banks have increased over the past four years. Now Donegal South West Deputy Pearse Doherty says the Government has nowhere left to hide on bankers’ pay

It’s been confirmed that the Lough Swilly Ferry between Rathmullan and Buncrana will take to the water again at the beginning of June, while the Lough Foyle Ferry between Greencastle and Magilligan in the North will be up and running again this Friday. The service between Rathmullan and Buncrana will  run at weekends with a

The problems of vessel management at Killybegs took a turn for the worst yesterday, as it was announced that the port has now been left without a tugboat. There were fears last month that business in Killybegs could be severely affected unless a solution is found to pay for tugboat services in the port. Sinbad

The Norths Regional Development Minister, Danny Kennedy has said that his department will now prepare the necessary submissions in relation to the Habitats Directive. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin’s two Donegal TDs, Deputies Padraig Mac Lochlainn and Pearse Doherty have issued a joint statement today expressing deep concern at comments from a judge at Belfast High Court

A High Court judge has said he is minded to quash the regional development minister’s decision to proceed with the A5 dual carriageway. Uncertainty now surrounds the overall project. Farmers, businessmen and landowners have joined together under the Alternative A5 Alliance grouping in a legal challenge to the planned stretch of dual carriageway between Derry

The Good and New Charity Shop in Letterkenny, which runs a regular self funded bus service to Galway for cancer patients, says it does not have the money to run the service for any more than six weeks. Interest in the service has grown since it was profiled in the Irish Times at the weekend,

Gardai are investigating an incident in which a laser beam was shone at a plane coming in to land at Donegal Airport at the weekend. The incident was reported to Air Traffic Control by the pilots, and a report was filed with the gardai and the Irish Aviation Authority. Eilis Barrett is Operations Manager at

The Causeway Hospital in Coleraine has put in place a plan to deal with sustained pressure on its emergency department. The Northern Trust said it was working with the Ambulance Service to divert patients away from the Causeway to Altnagelvin and Antrim Area Hospitals. Extra staff have been brought in to deal with the increased

Representatives of the Irish Coastguard Service, including a delegation from Malin Head will visit Stormont today at the invitation of East Derry MLA and Deputy Speaker John Dallat. Mr Dallat says today’s visit is a celebration of the close links between Malin Head and the Coastguard north of the border, but it can’t be forgotten

Donegal County Council is reassuring the public that the drinking water supply in Letterkenny is safe for consumption and there is no risk to public health. Letterkenny solicitor, Dessie Shiels last week raised concerns about the water quality in Letterkenny after he was approached by a client. Mr Shiels claimed that the Environmental Protection Agency

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Donegal have made their trip to America for St Patricks Day. The County Manager will leave for his trip on Friday. Donegal County Council said the full cost of the trip is not yet known, but it’s estimated that the full cost will be in the region of €25,000.

It’s emerged that an assessment of last year’s planning review had to skip the section relating to Donegal, because judicial review proceedings are underway in relation to it. The independent assessment of the Planning Review was commissioned by Junior Minister Jan O’Sullivan and carried out by Henk van der Kamp, the Head of Spatial Planning

Donegal North East Deputy Charlie Mc Conalogue says the government must lift the cap on the recruitment of resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants to cope with what will be an extra demand for their services. The Fianna Fáil Education Spokesperson issued his call in light of the increase in the school-going population expected in

Met Eireann has issued a weather warning for Munster, Leinster and parts of Ulster. Scattered snow showers will hit these areas this evening, overnight and on Monday and will result in between 3 and 8 centimetres of snow. Motorists are being advised to drive with extreme care as severe frost and icy conditions will effect

Homeowners curious about how much their home is valued at for the property tax can go online from today to get an estimate. The Revenue Commissioners have published an online guide on their website – Revenue.ie – indicating how much property tax householders will be liable to pay. The guide provides average values for different

A meeting which was to have briefed business people on the opportunities presented by Derry’s UK City of Culture designation has been postponed. The meeting tomorrow afternoon in the Plaza was organised by Sinn Fein councillors in Buncrana, with representitives from the Culture Company and Derry City Council due to attend. However, one of the

The ICSA is appealing to Donegal farmers to work hard to eliminate fatalities on the farm. Farmers are entering a busy period with slurry spreading, calving and lambing, all of which present an inherent danger. Last year, 21 people lost their lives on Irish farms. ICSA Ulster spokesperson John Flynn says the aim is to

Two men have been jailed by a Derry court for separate incidents that occurred in the Emergency Department of Altnagelvin Hospital. A man who subjected a nurse to abuse was sentenced to four months in jail while a second man,who exposed himself in the departmant, was sentences to three months. 41 year-old Sean Jarvis of

A Donegal woman has had a €190,500 damages award over a road traffic collision reduced as a judge said she should have known the driver of the car she was travelling in was impaired by drink. Mr Justice Sean Ryan said 31 year-old Erin Gallagher, from Falcarragh, should have known it was highly probable the

An the inquest into the death of missing Castlederg teenager Arlene Arkinson has been set for April of 2014. Arlene disappeared in August 1994 after a night out at a disco Bundoran. Her body has never been found. In 2005, Robert Howard was acquitted of Arlene’s murder but the jury had not been told he

A 30-year-old mystery was solved at a coroner’s inquest in Letterkenny yesterday when DNA established that the body of a man washed ashore in Dunfanaghy in 1983 is a direct relative of local man James McGlynn. Coroner John Cannon concluded yesterday that the DNA sample found that the deceased man was either a either a

The Letterkenny Mayor says all avenues are now being pursued with a view to funding the repair of An Grianan Theatre’s roof. Condensation is forming on the roof and its is expected that the roof will have to be removed to repair the problem at a cost of 80 thousand euro. The theatre is however

The owner of Tobins Petrol Station in Letterkenny says the decision to reward planning permission to Tesco Ireland for petrol pumps will result in job losses. As revealed on Highland Radio News yesterday An Bord Pleanala upheld a controversial decision by Letterkenny Town Council to award planning permission for the pumps. The plans include the