Author name: oisinkelly

A Buncrana businessman has put up a €5,000 euro reward for information leading to a prosecution in the case of the assault and robbery of 96 year old Margaret Lilly at Aghilly. George McLaughlin of ‘McLaughlin Motor Factors’ made the gesture following the attack in the early hours of Saturday morning and is encouraging anyone […]

Councillors continue to meet in Lifford this evening in an effort to agree a revenue budget for 2013. The budget contained proposals for a 2 euro a week increase in rent for people living in council owned property, however councillors have blocked those proposals. This means the revenue the increase would have brought in will

The lucky Donegal lady who won the €1,000,000 top prize in the Christmas Millionaire Raffle game will celebrate her 25th birthday next week, with €1,000,000 in the bank. ‘I just can’t believe it’, she smiled in National Lottery offices today as she sipped a glass of champagne with some family members. ’I checked my ticket

A local wildlife photographer has spotted the “Bittern” bird at Inch Island, Inishowen, Donegal. Martina Gardiner was lucky enough to capture a photograph as well as a video, which is linked below. Last Year was the first in 150 years that this bird had been spotted in Ireland. Check out twitter account @visitinishowen for more

Gardai in Buncrana say they are making progress in the investigation into the assault and robbery of 96 year old Margaret Lilly at Aghilly in the early hours of Saturday morning. A man wearing dark clothing and a balaclava entered her home, punched her in the ribs, gagged her and left the house with money

The CEO of Donegal Local Development Company says anyone who claims that Donegal people are whinging or playing the poor mouth is ignoring the truth of the level of deprivation in the county. In a special feature on Donegal’s unemployment and dependency levels in today’s Irish Times Caoimhin Mc Aoigh says in the 17 years

Buncrana has been deemed ‘Cleaner than European Norms’ in the 2012 litter survey from Irish Business Against Litter. The town is ranked in 8th place out of 42 towns. Letterkenny withdrew from the survey last year. An Taisce, which carried out the survey on behalf of IBAL, praised all the approach roads into the town,

The funeral will take place today of 19 year old Jason McGovern, who died after he was assaulted in Omagh on the night of December 30th. The Monaghan student was found dead in his friend’s house in Emyvale in Co. Monaghan on New Years Eve. Post mortem results found he died from severe head injuries.

Detectives in Tyrone are continuing to question a teenager about the murder of a 60-year-old man in Augher. Aloysius Hackett was found dead at his home on Aghindarragh Road on Friday night. Police have confirmed he died after sustaining a gunshot wound. The BBC is reporting this morning that the 18-year-old who is in custody

Donegal County Council’s Budget Meeting reconvenes later today with members hoping to approve spending plans for the coming year. Tomorrow is the deadline by which the budget must be passed. The Budget for 2013 outlines revenue spending of €133 million, down over €15 million on 2012. Despite several hours of discussion into the night at

Police investigating the death of a man in Tyrone have named the victim. 60-year-old Aloysius Hackett was found on Friday evening, at a house on the Aghindarragh Road near Augher. A murder inquiry has been launched by police. An 18-year-old man – understood to have been the victim’s son, was arrested in relation to the

Donegal North East Deputy Charlie Mc Conalogue says that the attack on a 96-year-old woman over the weekend shows that now is not the time to dismantle local garda resources. The attack in Aghilly in the early hours of Saturday morning left the elderly woman needing hospital treatment and has caused shock and distress in

Four men and a juvenile have appeared in court charged in connection with the murder of Monaghan teenager Jason McGovern. The 19 year old was found dead in his friend’s house in Emyvale Co. Monaghan on New Years Eve – after he was  assaulted twice during a night out in Omagh Co. Tyrone the night

The National Sheep Chairman of the IFA has today called on dog owners in Donegal to address their responsibilities after the recent increase in attacks on sheep across the country. Speaking to Highland radio, chairman James Murphy stated that with Donegal’s large sheep population, it is important that a zero tolerance policy is taken by

Donegal North East Deputy Charlie Mc Conalogue says there must be a comprehensive review of the SUSI system of administering student grants to ensure that problems this year are not repeated next September and beyond. There had been some teething problems when the centralised grant processing system came into effect last year, but despite promises

Gardaí are appealling for witnesses to an aggravated burglary which took place at the home of a 96-year-old woman near Buncrana last night. At around 12.30am, a man wearing dark clothing and a balaclava  broke into the  woman’s home, in Aghilly – went into her bedroom where she was sleeping and demanded cash. He then

A Donegal Councillor claims the Environment Minister’s failure to publish the septic tank inspection plan is costing the the country €12,000 per day in fines from Europe. Independent John Campbell says that he contacted  Phil Hogan’s department on the issue and was told the Environment Protection Agency was drawing up the plan and a timeline

Residents in the Glenowen and Lower Creggan areas of Derry have expressed concern at the damage being caused locally by young people on motor bikes and quads. Since Christmas there has been a major increase in the use of the vehicles with one councillor claiming to have a high number of complaints about the destruction

A project to provide assistance and support for young people who socialise in Omagh is to be set up. The town’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership yesterday to discuss the recent murder of a teenager and assaults in the town. Omagh Town Cllr, and policing board member Sean Begley said that all members were in

Police investigating the murder of County Monaghan teenager Jason McGovern in Omagh have arrested a fourth person. It is believed the 19-year-old was punched at a pub on John Street on Sunday. He was hit a short time later at Cunningham Terrace car park and later died. A 19-year-old man from the Omagh area was

A Derry man who claimed he was approached by MI5 while on honeymoon in Alicante in Spain has said he is being subjected to ‘almost daily harassment’ by the security services. The man who asked not to be named said he was even approached while on holiday in London at the end of December. The

Police are appealing for information following a hit-and-run collision on Shipquay Street last night. At around 11.15pm, a collision occurred between a green Hyundi and a blue Toyota Avensis in The Diamond of the City Centre. Police are appealing for witnesses. No injuries have been reported. At around 11.40pm the green Toyota Hyundai was also

Police  investigating the death of a man following a night out in County Tyrone have arrested a third person. 19 year old Jason McGovern died after being assaulted in Omagh town centre on Sunday. A 17-year-old youth was detained in Omagh earlier today, while a 21 year old man – arrested yesterday – has been

The National Parents’ Council is hitting out at a new mobile phone app – saying it opens the floodgates to cyber bullying and even paedophilia. It’s called Snapchat – and it allows a person to send someone else a picture or video  – which will disappear, without a trace, after a few seconds. It’s already

Macra Na Feirme has joined calls on the government to make more resources available for Mental Health Services for young people. The HSE has admitted that their services in this area are stretched with 2,000 children and adolescents on waiting lists for appointments – the biggest waiting lists are in rural areas. Macra Na Feirme

Refunds are being offered for those who had tickets for the Union J appearances in Derry and Letterkenny this evening which have been cancelled. The appearances were cancelled yesterday when one of the band members was injured in an accident. The promoters are saying, that from tomorrow, anyone who bought a ticket can get a

Met Eireann says Donegal weather for 2012 was average in terms of sunshine, Temperature and rainfall. Malin Head recorded its highest daily rainfall count in a single day for 25 years in June – while the strongest gust of wind in the country was recorded in Malin last January the 3rd at 168 km per

Donegal GAA fans will get to relive the All-Ireland final win tonight when a documentary on the team’s incredible journey to glory airs on RTE. The documentary – ‘Jimmy’s Winnin’ Matches’ – will feature players, experts and Jim McGuinness himself talking about the revival of Donegal’s fortunes. The programme will show the sacrifices the players

In the North, PSNI Detectives investigating the murder of Monaghan native Jason McGovern have arrested 2 men. The two, aged 18 and 21, were detained in the Omagh area yesterday. 19 year old Jason McGovern was attacked twice during a night out with friends in Omagh, Co.Tyrone on Sunday. He was later found dead at

Donegal County Council is encouraging people to recycle their Christmas waste pointing out that real Christmas Trees can be recycled for free. Between now and the 25th of January trees can be recycled at 16 locations around the county – a list of those locations and opening times are listed HERE Donegal County Council’s Suzanne

A Derry man who punched a female police officer in the face was fined at Limavady Magistrate’s Court this week. Stephen Kelly (19) of 34, Bellevue Avenue n Derry admitted a series of public order offences which occurred on November 25 last. The court was told that police on patrol in Catherine Street in Limavady

Detectives in Derry are appealing for information following an attempted burglary at a bookmakers on Central Drive, Creggan. Sometime between 5.30pm on Monday 31st December and 9am on Tuesday 1st January, thieves tried to break in via the roof but were unsuccessful. Detectives are asking anyone who may have seen suspicious activity in the area,

Detectives investigating the death of a teenager in Co. Tyrone at the weekend have launched a formal murder investigation. 19 year old Jason McGovern from Monaghan died after being attacked during a night out with friends in Omagh. Detectives are studying CCTV footage of the assault and are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

There has been a major breakthrough in learning the movements of Donegal’s Basking Shark population. Up until now it had only been speculated as to where the animals travelled for food when not in the waters around Donegal mostly during the summer. But new research from the Irish Basking Shark Project has identified a shark

The latest Daft.ie house prices report shows that in Donegal, prices in late 2012 were 18% lower than a year previously, compared to a fall of 13% seen in the year to late 2011. The average house price is now €123,000, 54% below peak levels. Ronan Lyons of Daft.ie says that in Donegal there is

More speed cameras are to be set up around the country – in an effort to continue the reduction in the number of road deaths. Hundreds of cameras are being deployed to accident blackspots. It’s after a drop in the number of people killed last year – including a 40 per cent reduction in the

A man injured while out walking in South Donegal yesterday afternoon has been rescued following a 12-hour operation. The 28-year-old was taken from the cliff face at Slieve League by the Killybegs Coast Guard just after midnight last night. He had slipped and fell 500 feet injuring his neck and knee just after 1 pm

Investigations are continuing both north and south of the border into the death of 19 year old Jason McGovern. The student was found dead at his friend’s flat in Emyvale on New Year’s Eve. Post mortem results found he died from severe head injuries. It’s understood the teenager was attacked twice during a night out

The 39 year old man killed in a traffic accident yesterday morning has been named as Packie Gildea. At approximately 8.50am Mr Gildea was seriously injured when the car he was driving collided with a wall. He was taken by ambulance to Letterkenny General Hospital where he was pronounced dead. A post mortem will be

Gardai at Ballybofey are appealing for witnesses following a single vehicle fatal road traffic collision this morning  on the Ballybofey to Fintown road (R252) at Dooish. At approximately 8.50am a male in his 40s was seriously injured when the car he was driving collided with a wall. He was taken by ambulance to Letterkenny Regional

Detectives in Derry are appealing for information following an armed robbery in the Bracken Park area last (Sunday) night. At around 9.15pm three males armed with an iron bar and a handgun entered the shop and demanded money. They fled empty handed in the direction of Fergleen. Two female shop assistants were not injured but

More than 200 people a day left Ireland in 2012, as emigration surged to levels not experienced since the famine. It’s understood that over 26,000 people left Ireland this year to go to Australia, with around 5,000 migrating permanently. Ireland is now among the top 10 source countries for migration to Australia. Meanwhile, almost 16,000

Seamus Coleman says he’s determined to repay the faith shown in him after signing a new contract with Everton. The Irish international has penned a five-and-a-half year deal with the Toffees that will see him remain at Goodison Park up until the summer of 2018. The Donegalman signed for the Premier League side from Sligo

As New Year’s Eve celebrations get underway later today, party go-ers are being urged to leave the car keys at home. The Road Safety Authority is reminding motorists that drink-driving is not worth the risk of killing someone or themselves. It comes as thousands of people are expected to ring in the New Year tonight

Thousands of people will line the River Foyle tonight as Derry celebrates the beginning of its status as UK City of Culture with Ireland’s biggest ever fireworks display. The family event begins at 730pm with a pyrotechnic and fireworks display due to commence at 813pm. Marketing Officer with Derry City Council, Jacqueline Whorisky said tonight’s event will be a

The Donegal Mayor is predicting a positive year for Donegal in 2013. Mayor Frank McBrearty says the county should benefit hugely in a number of areas not least ‘The Gathering’ and Derry’s year as the ‘City of Culture’. Councillor McBrearty says that while there clearly are challenged facing Donegal in 2013 we must focus on

The Irish Coast Guard saved 161 lives during the past year. Figures for 2012, also show that crews responded to almost 2,000 incidents – making it the busiest year since the search and rescue service was formed in 1822. Malin Head Coast Guard dealt with 393 incidents, Valentia dealt with 690 and the centre in

A scheme to raise a World War 2 bomber from the Atlantic off Donegal, twice abandoned in the last four years, is planned to be attempted again in 2013. The man organising the bid has also sent a New Year message to families of dead Irishmen who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force to

In Coleraine, the body of Alec McKee has been found. The 56-year-old man from Derry went missing last week. His body was found in an industrial estate close to Newbridge Road in Coleraine by members of his family who were involved in searches for him in the area since Christmas Eve. Police said his death