Author name: oisinkelly

The people of the Northwest are being invited to take part in The Return of Colmcille to be held in Derry in June. Taking place over the weekend of the 7th – 9th June ‘The Return of Colmcille’ will celebrate both the iconic and fascinating figure of Saint Colmcille and also the City of Derry and its […]

The Dail has been told that structures should be put in place to allow for more cross border cooperation in community policing. Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh said that while communication between the gardai and the PSNI has improved  more formal structures could be put in place. He says that could mean more local

Details have emerged about the ministerial trips abroad for St Patrick’s Day, with the first setting off today. Chief Whip Paul Kehoe will head for Australia later today. The Transport Minister Leo Varadkar will travel to Japan later in the month, the Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald is going to India, the Environment Minister Phil Hogan

Donegal Senator Jimmy Harte has again called out Sinn Fein on its stance on the Property Tax. He was speaking during a debate on the second stage of the bill to enact the property tax which is going through the Seanad. Revenue are expected to send letters out from next week with property valuations. Senator

Donegal Senator Brian O’Domhnaill has launched a scathing attack on the government for giving the Revenue the right to determine what a home is worth. Senator O’Domhnaill told a debate on the second stage of the bill to enact the property tax that the legislation is being rushed through so the Revenue can begin sending

There was a heavy police presence both inside and outside Derry Magistrates Court today as two men appeared charged over the discovery of four mortar bombs in a van in Derry on Sunday night. 35-year-old Seamus McLaughlin of 19C Eastway, Creggan and 37-year-old Gary McDaid of 121 Glenowen Park, Creggan both faced three charges. The

The North’s Environment Minister says he has been reassured that no decision has been taken to close the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency centre in Coleraine which would result in the loss of 300 jobs. The British government wants to move more services online  – this has lead to fears that the services provided in

Donegal Action Against Austerity have hit out at claims from the Mayor that this weeks protest outside LYIT was a ‘militant protest’. Up to 150 people took part in a protest as the Taoiseach addressed the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Letterkenny on Monday.   But, the Mayor, Frank McBrearty said such protests was bringing shame

Two men have appeared at Derry Magistrates Court today accused of conspiring to cause explosions, possessing four mortars, a pipe bomb and  possessing of a van for terrorist purpose 35 year-old Seamus McLaughlin from Eastway in Creggan and 37 year-old Gary McDaid from Glenowen Park, Creggan were both remanded in custody. There are reports of

There are five Donegal names on the latest list of tax defaulters. The list covers the last three months of 2012 and gives details of settlements made by 135 taxpayers, totaling almost 28-million euro. The biggest settlement in Donegal was made by Letterkenny landlord Frank Coyle of 53 Carolina Park who paid just over 363,000

The 46th plenary session of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly has concluded at Letterkenny Institute of Technology. The inter-parliamentary group of public representatives heard from a variety of speakers on the theme of ‘Energy across Borders – Delivering the Economic Opportunities”. Assembly members heard that energy policy and energy cooperation is an element which goes to

A fourth man has been arrested in Derry following Sunday night’s foiled mortar attack. Policer say detectives investigating the discovery of four mortars in a van on the Letterkenny Road have arrested a 31 year old man in the City. The suspect has been taken to the Serious Crime Suite at Antrim police station for

There was a huge turnout at a public meeting in Creeslough last night which was called following the news that three local businesses face closure with the potential loss of up to 40 jobs. Danny Lafferty owns a pub, shop and filling station in Creeslough which are now in examinership. Last night, as many as

There have been another two robberies in Buncrana. Last night a premises on the town’s main street was broken into while a house in the Gransha area was also targeted. There were a further four robberies in the town at the weekend. One man has been arrested and charged  – he remains in custody. Gardai

Euro Car Parks has rejected any critisism over increased parking charges at Letterkenny General Hospital stating that it will not benefit financially from the move. The company rejects that it makes large profits from its contract with the HSE and says that only the hospital will benefit from any increased charge. It will now cost

Letterkenny is to get a second post office, to be located in the Glencar area. For years, An Post has resisted calls for a second office, arguing that the best thing would be to upgrade the existing base on Main Street. However, at a briefing with members of the local town council last night, An

The Supreme Court is to finish hearing Marie Fleming’s landmark right to die case later today. The 59 year old Donegal native is in the final stages of multiple sclerosis and has lost control of almost all of her body. She wants to die with dignity at a time of her choosing and is challenging

A Kilcar Taxi firm was one of three in the country to have gotten over one million euro from the Health Service Executive, according to the Irish Independent. The Donegal Company was eirbhís Iompair Tuaithe Teo. Another taxi firm was paid 1.8 million euro by the HSE last year, in a total bill of 24.8

The Mayor of Letterkenny says he believes the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly meeting which is continuing today would not have happened if the town did not have Gateway status. The discussion, which is focusing on the future of energy provision, is based at Letterkenny Institute of Technology, which was chosen partially because of the work

It’s been confirmed that six companies have already expressed an interest in the new business park at Melmount Road in Strabane. The facility has been developed by Invest Northern Ireland, which has now confirmed the first phase of the development is ready, with 16 acres of new serviced land available to qualifying businesses. Invest NI’s

The Taoiseach is in Donegal this evening to address the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly at  Letterkenny Institute of Technology. This year the theme is ‘Energy across Borders – Delivering the Economic Opportunities’. Enda Kenny is delivering today’s keynote address. Over a hundred protestors gathered outside LYIT this afternoon, but they’ve been kept on the road by

The SDLP has withdrawn the party whip from Derry City Councillor Jimmy Carr over comments he made last week in which he suggested a fellow councillor from Scotland needed subtitles. Despite originally standing by the comments directed at Sinn Fein’s Eric McGinley, Councillor Jimmy Carr later made a full and frank apology for his ‘rash

Donegal Deputy Dinny McGinley has declared he is gifting his teacher’s pension to the State – after making an election promise to give it up. The Fine Gael Junior Minister served as principal in Bunbeg National School  before he was elected to the Dail in 1982. He pledged to give up his teacher’s pension during

June Hughes from Ballybun, Castlefin won €52,200, which included a holiday to Turkey, on last Saturday’s  National Lottery Winning Streak TV Gameshow held in RTE.   The winning ticket was bought in Castlefin Service Station, Castlefin. June has been married to Martin for ten years.  They have four children – Dean (8), Lauren (7), Coran

Gardai are investigating four burglaries in the Buncrana area at the weekend. On Saturday items were taken from houses in the Castle Avenue and Rockfield Terrace areas. One of the homeowners disturbed the burglar and gardai made an arrest. A man has now been charged in connection with those two burglaries. Meanwhile, on Sunday a

There have been calls on the council to address safety concerns on a stretch of road in Carrigans which has been described by locals as a death trap. There were two crashes on Friday and another on Saturday – no one was seriously injured The problem centres on a bend approaching Carrigans from the St

A special motion centring on the authenticity of meat ingredients used in the manufacture of meat-based products will be discussed today at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Letterkenny. This year the theme is ‘Energy across Borders – Delivering the Economic Opportunities’. The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny will make a keynote address to the Assembly – which

Labour Senator Jimmy Harte will today raise the concerns, at the British Irish Assembly, of a group that fear hazardous waste was dumped off the Donegal coast. Sea dump Donegal fear thousands of barrels of Toxic and Nuclear waste, Bombs and Chemical Weapons were dumped around the coastline of Donegal by the British last century.

Over half of parents check their child’s internet activity at least once a week. Thats according to a survey on bullying carried out by Ámarach, on behalf of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals. The poll of over one thousand adults also found that twelve per cent of us think cyberbullying is even

The PSNI says mass murder in Derry has been narrowly avoided, after four mortars they believe were within minutes of being launched were intercepted. The mortars, and mortar tubes were found inside a van with its roof cut off, which might have been an intended launchpad. The Donegal-registered van, and a motorcycle that was following