Author name: oisinkelly

The Fianna Fail MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher says fishermen will have to be compensated to deal with new policies surrounding fish discards. Mr Gallagher was reacting to the agreement brokered – this morning – by EU Fisheries Ministers on banning the dis-garding of unwanted fish caught at sea. The ban is to be introduced […]

Donegal Manager Jim McGuinness has taken part in a special video encouraging people to speak to someone of they have a problem. He joins a host of other Irish celebrities who say who they would speak to if they had a problem. The video was made by Stephen Doak, Stephen Sullivan and David Mackin who

The Donegal woman who had her jeep hijacked while her nine-year-old child was in the back seat says she doesn’t have any bad feeling towards the man who was found responsible. Bernadette Moran, the wife of the Donegal football team doctor, managed to pull her daughter from the vehicle before 21-year-old Christopher Coakley accelerated away.

A man who hijacked a woman’s jeep as her nine-year-old child was in the back seat has avoided having his time in jail extended. The victim, 37-year-old Bernadette Moran, is the wife of the Donegal football team doctor. She was in Dublin with her three children for an All-Ireland quarter-final match in Croke Park when

The Irish Youth Music Awards Donegal Heat for 2013 took place this year in the Green Room in Letterkenny. Young bands and artists from across the county competed to have the chance to represent the county at the Irish Youth Music Awards National Final in Liberty Hall in Dublin on April 27th. The Irish Youth

Last week was a  busy one for Donegal MRT as for the second Sunday in a row, a member of a walking group made a call to the emergency services requesting assistance. The call was made after one of their party had become very weak after a slip that had left her in a very

EU fishery ministers have agreed to implement a ban on discards – the wasteful practice of dumping unwanted fish overboard so fishermen do not exceed their quotas. Talks ran overnight, but ministers reached a “general approach” on the discard ban adopted in June last year as part of an overhaul of fisheries policy. The key

The State is expected to open its case this afternoon in Marie Fleming’s right to die appeal. The three-day hearing began yesterday before seven judges of the Supreme Court. The 59-year-old Donegal native is in the terminal stages of multiple sclerosis. Marie Fleming is looking for a relaxation on the outright ban on assisted suicide.

A large amount of flammible material was burnt near a NI Water pump house in Strabane on Sunday night. Two blue wheelie bins filled with recycled material were burnt, and youths who were drinking in the area at the time are being blamed. The incident comes prior to a PSNI meeting which is to focus

The Supreme Court has been told terminally ill woman Marie Fleming is facing a painful, humiliating and distressing death. The 59 year old Donegal native is not in court for her appeal challenging the outright ban on assisted suicide which has begun before 7 judges and will last 3 days. The court’s been told the

A BBC “Spotlight” programme will highlight how a number of Donegal businesses have been found to be stealing electricity The programme has pulled together figures which show that 10 million euro worth of power is being stolen in the republic every year. 1700 people in the republic where found to be stealing electricity last year,

A man, who has been picketing outside Lettekenny General Hospital, has said his one man protest will continue until the government burns the bond holders. Barney Duffy is in the third day of his protest against cuts to workers pay and other austerity measures he believes the general public should not have to bare. Mr

EU Fisheries Ministers are meeting in Brussels today to try and agree on a plan to eliminate the controversial discard practice. Fish are returned to  the sea because the catch either exceeds the quota or the species are not part of a trawler’s allowable take. The European Commission estimates that almost a quarter of all

A 19-year-old inexperienced driver was found by a court to have caused a bus with 49 elderly passengers aboard to topple over a ditch into a field off a narrow country road. But Donegal District Court accepted a plea from Kevin Meehan, who was charged with dangerous driving, that he was guilty of driving carelessly.

The future of one of the State’s most lucrative assets will be debated in the Dáil this evening. Under the bailout programme, the government is planning to sell Coillte’s harvesting rights for an estimated 600-million-euro. A recent report found that under new owners, timber that’s currently processed here could be exported for finishing abroad and

Relatives of the Omagh bomb victims are launching legal action in a bid to force the Irish and British governments into granting a full scale cross-border inquiry. They are planning High Court applications in Belfast and Dublin seeking leave to apply for a judicial review. The announcement followed a meeting yesterday with the Northern Ireland

Custom officials must warn vehicle owners who haven’t paid VRT before seizing their vehicle, a landmark ruling says. A report from the Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, following the seizure of a vehicle by Customs in Dublin has been welcomed by Donegal’s ‘Abolish VRT’ campaigners. Anti VRT campaigners believe that the findings in the report will have

A trawler skipper has been accused of catching skate in breach of EU regulations. Shane Curran, Master of the Velvet Chord 11, was accused of retaining common skate which State Solicitor Ciaran Liddy said was valued at €1,000 at Killybegs, on August 19, 2011. Curran, of Waterfront, Killybegs, was remanded on bail to April 22

A man has been appeared in court  charged with burglary at the home of a 96-year-old woman in Buncrana in January. 48 year-old Thomas Alcock was charged at Cloverhill Court on Monday with burglary and threatening to kill Margaret Lilly on 5 January. Mr Alcock, of no fixed abode, had recently returned from the UK.

The owner of a hotel in Gortahork says he believes there are less people coming to the Gaeltach because of the controversy surrounding Michael Ferry. In July 2011 he was jailed for 14 years after pleading guilty to 38 sample charges of rape and molestation between 1990 and 2005. During his trial the Court was

A meeting of Donegal County Council was disrupted for around an hour this afternoon by protesters in the Council chamber. Up to 20 members of Donegal Action Against Austerity, who took part in the peaceful protest, were asked to leave by Gardai. Donegal Action Against Austerity campaigners said the protest was taking place due to the inaction

A Templeogue man has admitted killing  journalist Eugene Moloney, who was assaulted in the city-centre last year. 21 year-old Gary Burch of Kennington Close, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the manslaughter of Mr Moloney,a Donegal native, on Camden Street in June, 2012. The case has been adjourned for a number of weeks

Health care staff in Donegal are worried about the implications of the increasing number of children who have not had their vaccines on time. At present 16% of children are not receiving their 13 month vaccines and 50% are delaying their vaccines by up to 6 months. Most children are getting their first vaccines on

A protest is being held in Lifford today outside a meeting of Donegal County Council. Donegal Action Against Austerity campaigners says they are taking the action due to the inaction of Donegal County Councillors. The campaigners says that Donegal County Councillors, and particularly those in government parties, are not being vocal enough in opposing cuts,

Two men were arrested by Police in Derry at weekend investigating reports of an attempted hijacking in the Carnhill area of the City on Saturday morning. Police also recovered a small crossbow following a search of a house in the area. The Two were later released from custody. An 18 year was released pending further

Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh says he’ll be pressing the government to make it easier for small companies to secure government and public service contracts. Deputy Mc Hugh yesterday met with the East Inishowen Business Association, and said the issue of procurement was high on the agenda, as was the need for cross

Applications are being invited for Donegal County Council’s Scholorships to attend Irish Colleges this summer. 30 places will be available for students between the ages of 10 and 18 years of age living within County Donegal. The scheme, which is worth upto 25 thousand euro, is run in association with the Irish Summer Colleges. The

Ryan Dolan will represent Ireland at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. His song ‘Only Love Survives’ came first in the Eurosong competition on the Late Late Show last night. The 27-year-old Strabane man will now travel to Sweden and compete in the first Eurovision semi-final on May 14th – ahead of the final on Saturday,