Author name: oisinkelly

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

Strabane District Council has confirmed it is to consider banning the public and Press from committee meetings. The move would not affect access to full monthly council meetings. The move is being looked at as part of a wider review of council business, and was discussed at a recent private meeting by senior council staff

The opening concert for Derry’s year as UK City of Culture has been held. Sons and Daughters was a celebration of stars of stage and screen with links to the city, who have gone on to achieve international acclaim. It was the first concert to be hosted at The Venue, which has been purpose-built for

A 20 year old man is due to appear in Letterkenny District Court tomorrow, charged in connection with a burglary at the home of a pensioner in Kilmacrennan in the early hours of Friday morning. Matthew Lafferty, with an address at Ballyheerin, Kilmacrennan, appeared at a special sitting of Sligo District Court yesterday evening. He

Three juveniles have been arrested after they attempted to steal a quantity of copper wire from an Eircom yard in Bridgend early this morning. A Garda Patrol car was rammed as the three tried to make their getaway, and two members of the Gardai have been treated for minor injuries. Two of the young men

Five Garda Stations  are due to close in Donegal at the end of the month. These are part of 95 station closures across the country at that time. A further five stations will be closed in the following weeks. The stations affected include Malin, Brockagh, Glencolmcille, Annagry and Churchill. It’s been argued that the move

A Strabane Superintendent has appealed for those responsible for two security alerts in the town in the past week to stop. On Monday evening the town was brought a standstill after a hoax bomb alert resulted in the closure of Bradley Way and Lifford Bridge for several hours. And yesterday morning a small bomb was

A Foyle MP has said that he does not believe there is a growing divide in the North between Nationalists and Unionists. In the past 6 weeks Northern Ireland has been gaining media attention around the world because of ongoing Loyalist protests over the Union fly being taken down from Belfast City Hall. It was

A support group which has been launched in Gortahork for the victims of clerical sex abuse says it will offer legal advice as well as other support. Embrace was launched in Gortahork on Thursday night by two survivors of abuse and former garda detective Martin Ridge, author of the book ‘Breaking the Silence’. A huge

A suspicious package sent to a police inspector in Strabane was a small bomb, the PSNI has confirmed. It was found in a package addressed to Chief Inspector Andy Lemon. The device was discovered by postal workers at the town’s sorting office shortly before 9 o clock this morning. Army bomb disposal officers were called

Gardai investigating Co. Donegal burglaries today arrested two teenagers from Northern Ireland. The 19-year-olds, one male, one female, appeared later before Ballyshannon District Court accused of offences in Ballyshannon in December and in January two weeks ago. Garda Liam Feeney told the court that Lee Williams and Kerry Doherty were arrested at 1.10 a.m. near

The Pope has appointed Monsignor Eamon Martin Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh. It means Monsignor Martin will assist Cardinal Sean Brady until he decides to step down from office, and will then succeed him as a matter of right. In a statement this morning, Mgr Martin said he appreciates the great trust that the pope has

Parachute Regiment Flags which had been erected in the Fountain area of Derry have been removed. Calls were made last night to remove the Parachute Regiment flags which had been erected ahead of the anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Thirteen people died when British paratroopers shot civil rights marchers in Derry in 1972. Events are due to be

The Fianna Fail leader is being asked to take disciplinary action against a County Councillor over what a traveller representative group has described as racist comments. Donegal County Councillor Sean McEniff, while insisting he is not racist or a bigot, said travellers should be isolated from the settled community and housed together. The Donegal Travellers

As expected, the Pope has appointed Monsignor Eamon Martin as assistant and successor to the Primate of All-Ireland. The Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Derry is to take on the role of Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh. It means Monsignor Martin will assist Cardinal Sean Brady until he decides to step down from office, which

A man has been arrested following a a burglary at the home of a 69-year-old woman in Kilmacrennan in the early hours of this morning. Gardaí say he forced his way into her bedroom and demanded cash before fleeing empty-handed. The woman, who was alone in the house, was not injured in the incident. A

The administrator of the Diocese of Derry is to be appointed Co-Adjuter Archbishop of Armagh, and will replace Cardinal Sean Brady when he retires in two years time. Mgr. Eamon Martin’s appointment will be confirmed at a press conference in Armagh this morning. He’s been in charge of the Derry Diocese since Bishop Seamus Hegarty stepped aside due to

PSNI in Strabane are currently attending security alert at the postal office. It is understood a  suspicious package has been discovered. As a result Castle Street, Castle Place, Market Street, Railway Street, Lower Main Street and John Wesley Street in the town have been closed.      

A man has been arrested following a a burglary at the home of a 69-year-old woman  in Kilmacrennan in the early hours of this morning. A man broke into the woman’s home at around 3.45. Gardaí say he forced his way into her bedroom and demanded cash before fleeing empty-handed. The woman, who was alone

Met Eireann says we can expect some snow in the Northwest over today and tomorrow – particularly on higher ground. Large amounts snow are expected to fall in England, Wales and the eastern part of Ulster with Donegal expected to escape the worse of it. Forecaster Gerry Murphy has more:

The people of Drumfries have been praised for their efforts in securing €385 thousand euro in  funding for the building of a Community and Heritage centre in the area. Inishowen Development Partnership has approved the funding under the Basic Services for the Economy and Rural Population measure of the Rural Development Programme With a total

The Donegal Travellers Project has said it is deeply shocked, saddened and outraged by the comments made by Donegal Councillor Sean Mc Eniff. The Fianna Fáil representative is opposed to the purchase of a house, by Donegal County Council, for social housing in Ballyshannon at a cost of 230-thousand euro for a traveller family. While

The organisation representing sheep and cattle farmers here says the burger controversy raises questions about the use of imported ingredients in Irish products. Silvercrest, one of the Irish factories at the centre of the burger controversy has suspended production at it’s plant today after tests were carried out there. Of the seven samples of raw

Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle and Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody will help kick off celebrations for Derry’s year as City of Culture this weekend. They will join Neil Hannon, Phil Coulter, The Undertones, Dana, and Amanda Burton for the opening concert in Derry on Sunday. The Sons and Daughters gig aims to showcase a

A phone registered to a builder accused of involvement in the Omagh bomb can be traced to within 5km of the town an hour before the explosion, the High Court has heard. The claim was made at the civil retrial of two men being sued over the bombing. Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly are defending

The Dail has been told that Justice Minister Alan Shatter has given two fingers to Donegal for two days in a row. The issue of robberies at the homes of elderly people in Donegal has been the subject of a topical issues debate in the Dail this evening. Deputies Thomas Pringle, Pearse Doherty and Padraig