Author name: oisinkelly

A Chinese take-away boss has been arrested on suspicion of growing €240,000 worth of cannabis plants. The 70-year-old, well-known in South Donegal and who has been 40 years in Ireland, was arrested with a 52-year-old China native in a car south of Barnesmore Gap. They are being quizzed at Ballyshannon Garda station. Following the arrests […]

Almost €19 million has been allocated to local and regional road improvements in Donegal by the National Roads Authority for 2013. The bulk of the money will go towards necessary improvements and restoration work agreed by the council. The allocation is slightly down on last year, Donegal County Council received 21 and a half million in 2012.

The head of Failte Ireland has rejected claims from a Letterkenny hotelier that not enough is being done to promote The Gathering at a national level. Terry Mc Eniff, a former Mayor of the town who has also been closely involved with Letterkenny Tourism, told Highland Radio’s Shaun Doherty Show yesterday that while there’s a

A man has died after a car crash near Claudy in County Derry. It happened at 735am yesterday morning when a blue Daihatsu car, hit a wall on Glenone Road. A man, aged in his 60s, died in hospital a while later.

Concern is being expressed in Derry at confirmation that Bank of Ireland plans to close its branches at Shipquay Street and Spencer Road, and centralise Derry business at the Strand Road branch. Sinn Fein MLA Maeve Mc Laughlin says there’s been no discussions with public representitives, and while the bank has promised that all staff

A Donegal County Council decision to approve planning permission for the Raphoe Town Football Club to build a new Football pitch, clubhouse and car park has been appealed to An Bord Pleanala. In January, conditional permission was granted for the development to be located at Drumineney, Raphoe but the development is now under doubt. Ciaran Neary, who

An appeal has been launched by the Donegal County museum to track down two historical items which have gone missing It is 2009 since a 10th centuary stone cross slab was last seen at Moville Parish Church while in December a memorial dedicated to Captain James Douglas Caussen MacNeese was stolen from the old Church of Ireland

Up to 70 people turned out for a Cant Pay Wont Pay public meeting on septic tanks in Gweedore last night. The meeting was addressed Donegal South-West Deputy Thomas Pringle and Cllr John Campbell in Dore Community Centre. The meeting is one of a number of meetings the Cant Pay Wont Pay group are holding

Plans to develop a hydro-electic power station on one of Inishowen’s major rivers have been given the go ahead by An Board Pleanala. It is after the decision last year by Buncrana Town Council to award permission was appealed by two parties including The Mill Anglers Association. The decision to allow the development go ahead

Click here to view photos from Highland’s January Night of the Stars Concert

Strabane District Council has received reports that two men in the Drumquin Area have been knocking on residents doors saying that they represent Strabane District Council. The men the offer to remove any bulky waste items for a charge. Strabane District Council has pointed out  that no Council employees are tasked with sourcing bulky waste

North West Tourism says it is optimistic of a strong year for tourism in Donegal through The Gathering, Derry’s year as City of Culture and the strong promotion of other attractions in the county. Failte Ireland is painting an upbeat picture at its annual tourism industry briefing for the North West Region in Bundoran today.

The Donegal Travellers project has confirmed it has now lodged a complaint with gardai over a councillor’s recent comments and a second complaint will be lodged against a another councillor in the coming days. The complaint has been made under incitement to hatred against Councillor Sean McEniff. He objected to the council’s preparations to give

Donegal South West Deputy Thomas Pringle is asking the government for evidence that the impact on jobs was assessed when it was decided that public service bodies such as schools are to now purchase supplies from centralised companies through public procurement. Last evening, Junior Minister Brian Hayes told the Dail that a centralised procurement system

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement will discuss the impact of the union flags protests on the Belfast economy. The Committee will hear from independent traders spokesman Glyn Roberts. Committee chairman Joe McHugh TD said they were “extremely concerned over the past two months at violent protests”. He said

The County Donegal VEC hosts its annual Adult Learner Fair in Letterkenny’s Mount Errigal Hotel tomorrow, with large crowds expected. Over 60 exhibitors will be present showcasing a range of education opportunities, as well as the supports available, but for many, the centrepiece of tomorrow’s event will be a speech by Donegal manager Jim Mc

There was a 29% drop in the number of new buildings completed in Donegal last year according to GeoDirectory, a joint initiative of An Post and the Ordnance Survey. That’s in contrast to the country as a whole, which saw a slight rise in new builds. The total number of new residential and commercial buildings recorded in

A youth has appeared in court today in relation to an incident at Bridgend on Sunday. He is the third person to appear in court in connection with the attempted theft of copper wire from an Eircom yard in Bridgend. Earlier this week two juveniles from Derry were remanded to appear at Buncrana District Court

The Joint Policing Committee in Buncrana has been told that there’s been an increase in the number of people contacting gardai to report suspicious activity following recent aggravated burglaries in Inishowen, and elsewhere in Donegal. Yesterday morning, up to nine calls were received about suspicious activity. Inspector David Murphy told a meeting of the committee

The Irish Cancer Society has announced that it is to launch a new Daffodil Centre in Letterkenny General Hospital within the coming weeks. The new Daffodil  Centre marks a major investment by the Society in Donegal with an initial set up cost of €125,000 in the centre plus running cost of at least €80,000 anticipated

Donegal’s Carl Mc Hugh played his part as Bradford knocked Aston Villa out of the league cup to reach Wembley for next months Final. Villa won last nights semi final second leg 2-1 but they lost 4-3 on aggregate. That means the league two side are the first side from the fourth tier in English

Northern Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development has admitted that Strabane lost out on 800 civil service jobs without a business plan for the move being considered. It was announced last September that 800 civil service jobs would be moving from Belfast to Ballykelly at the site of the former Shackleton Army Barracks. But in

Can’t Pay Won’y Pay are to hold a public meeting this week to advise rural home-owners not to register their septic tanks before the 1st of February. Donegal South-West Deputy, Thomas Pringle and Cllr John Campbell will address the meeting tomorrow evening in Dore Community Centre at 730pm. The meeting will coincide with public meetings that Fianna

A former Chairperson of Udaras na Gaeltachta says the garda station at Glencolmcille should be left open for at least six months of the year. The station is one of five in the county due to close on the 31st of this month, but Liam O’Cuinnegain, the head of Oideas Gael says there is a

A Donegal Councillor says doctors who recommend home help for their patients should be consulted before any decision is taken to withdraw the service. Cllr Ian Mc Garvey says he is becoming increasingly concerned at the number of cases he is dealing with in which hours are being withdrawn from people at a time when,

A new study says mental health services need to be improved to tackle the rising rate of suicide among young men. According to the Young Men and Suicide Project, Ireland now has one of the highest rates of young male suicide in the EU. The report, commissioned by the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland, also

In Derry, a 200 metre exclusion zone is in place around Peak Environmental at Clooney Road in Campsie, where over 40 firefighters have been fighting a major blaze since just before lunchtime. Plumes of smoke were visible all over the city for much of the day, and local residents have been advised to keep windows

A man has been arrested in Derry by detectives from the PSNI Serious Crime Branch as part of an ongoing investigation into dissident terrorist activity. The 50 year old was arrested in the city this afternoon, and has been taken to Antrim police station for questioning. A house in Circular Road in Derry was also

Sinn Féin says a deal being sought on part of our bailout debt is a “sideshow”. The coalition says the agreement from Eurozone finance ministers to look at lengthening the payback period for the loans has the potential to save us billions. Sinn Féin’s Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty says any real benefit to taxpayers would

There is currently a substantial fire in Co Derry. The fire is at the Peak Environmental recycling plant at Clooney Road in Campsie. 36 fire-fighters are at the scene but are currently unable to tackle the blaze. It’s being described as a major incident. Staff have been evacuated and the police are cordoning off roads near the plant. It is understood

It has been confirmed that a Strabane family run business is to close its doors with the loss of 16 jobs. Painting and decorating firm Johnston and McCrory has been operating since 1974. Strabane Sinn Fein councillor, Dan Kelly says many of the 16 workers who received this news on Monday morning had been with

Gardai in Donegal have said they haven’t been called to investigate allegations of racism against Travellers. The confirmation comes as another Donegal politician joined in the row over a council’s preparations to give a house in an upmarket country area to a family of 13 travellers. Last week, the Donegal Travellers Project  said it is

Donegal Manager Jim McGuinness is to assist Paul McGinley in his role as captain of the Europe’s Ryder Cup team. Jim McGuinness who was last night named Donegal Person of the Year, confirmed on the ‘Shaun Doherty Show’ that he has already offered advice to Paul McGinley and expects to do so more in the

Police in Derry have been attacked with bottles and missiles during overnight disturbances with one officer suffering injuries. Last evening  Police issued a number of warnings over a 30 minute period to flag protesters who were blocking roads and obstructing traffic in the Glendermott Road area of Derry. Police say a number of protesters then

A Donegal based road safety campaigner has called a Kerry County Council motion calling for rural people to be allowed to drink and drive as ridiculous. Kerry Cllr Danny Healy Rae has said that in certain circumstances people should be allowed to drink – in moderation – and then drive afterwards. He says permit holders

Sinn Féin has expressed serious concern about a Union Flag Parade and Protest planned for Castlederg this Friday evening. The party is urging the Parades Commission to send observers to the town, saying concern is not just limited to the republican and nationalist community. In a submission to the Parades Commission, Sinn Fein say it’s

Funding for roads in Co Donegal is being slashed this year by almost €10m. The County’s total national roads allocation for 2013 will be €11.59m, significantly down on last years allocation. In 2012, an initial €21.5 was allocated to local and regional road improvements in Donegal by the National Roads Authority. The bulk of the money went

More than a thousand people were rescued by Irish lifeboats last year. The RNLI says its crews launched 939 times in 2012, and the majority of callouts were to pleasure craft. Arranmore Lifeboat was launched 35 times in 2012 and 29 people were saved, while the Lough Swilly Lifeboat was launched 35 times and 25

Letterkenny Town Council is being asked to re-examine the possibility of opening a road through the Unifi site to the public. According to Cllr Ciaran Brogan, the road is complete, and runs through the site from a mini roundabout at Lisnennan to a second roundabout close to what was the front entrance of the plant. In a

A 20-year-old man charged in connection with a break-in at the house of an elderly woman in Kilmacrennan has been freed on bail. Matthew Lafferty of Ballykeeran, Kilmacrenan appeared at Letterkenny District Court on Monday. Lafferty had appeared at Sligo District Court on Saturday charged with breaking and entering and causing criminal damage in Kilmacrennan

A man and a woman have appeared in court  charged in connection with a break-in at a house in Inishowen at the weekend. Ciaran Breslin of 40 Gulladuff, Moville and Caoimhe Sweeney of  Foyleview Crescent, Moville appeared at Letterkenny District Court charged with breaking and entering and criminal damage at Crawford Square, Moville on Sunday

The Donegal Action Against Austerity group are to hold a series of meetings across Inishowen in the coming weeks against the septic tank registration. The group says the decision follows the success of their meeting held in Buncrana recently where they had a unanimous vote to maintain their position. A protest against the septic charge

The controversial set of new traffic lights at McClay’s corner, Stranorlar will be switched on for the first time later today. The lights will effect the journey of thousands of motorists who pass through the junction on a daily basis. Whether or not lights should be at the junction, which has six access points, has

Two juveniles from Derry have appeared in court in connection with the attempted theft of copper wire from  an Eircom yard in Bridgend on Sunday morning. Letterenny District Court heard that the two youths, who cannot be named because they are under 18 years old, were arrested at 8.45am on Sunday and were charged with

Gardai in Letterkenny have arrested two more people – taking the number of arrests related to a spate burglaries to eight over the weekend. Two men were arrested after tools were stolen from a shed in the Carrygawley area. There was also a TV stolen from McGinleys bar, and a quantity of cash was stolen

A total of 223 new jobs were created in the Donegal Gaeltacht in 2012. The end of year figures from Udaras Na Gaeltachta show there were 1,878 full-time equivalent jobs in Údarás-supported companies in the Donegal Gaeltacht at the end of 2012 But, when job losses are taken into account, there was a modest net