Author name: oisinkelly

A Donegal Senator has hit out at the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter for what he describes as a ‘slash and burn’of garda resources in Donegal while the county is in the midst of a ‘crime wave’ Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill was reacting to reports that garda numbers are to be cut  by over 1,400 […]

Judging begins this afternoon at the BT Young Scientist and Technology show. In its 49th year, the competition received over 4,000 entries – an increase of 24 percent on last year. The show, at the RDS in Dublin, opens to the public tomorrow. The projects cover a vast array of topics from the theoretical to

A Co Tyrone lorry driver wanted in Donegal over sexual assault allegations has appeared in court after being detained on a European arrest warrant. Roy David Cochrane is facing extradition proceedings in connection with claims that he attacked a girl. The 42-year-old, of Loughmuck Road, Omagh, denies the charges and was granted bail to appear

A 48 year old man’s been arrested by gardai investigating an aggravated burglary on the home of a 96 year old woman in Inishowen. Margaret Lilly was assaulted in the course of the robbery at her home in Aghilly, Buncrana in the early hours of Saturday morning and is still being treated at Letterkenny General

A credit union account has been opened for those who wish to contribute to the Margaret Lilly support fund. 96 year old Margaret Lilly was robbed and assaulted in her home at Aghilly in the early hours of Saturday morning. A man wearing dark clothing and a balaclava entered her home, punched her in the

A West Tyrone MLA has hit out at the exchange rates offered to euro paying customers at Strabane’s Town Centre car parks. At the parking metres in Strabane Town Centre €1 is worth only 57 pence sterling, the actual exchange rate is considerably higher. SDLP MLA Joe Byrne said he has contacted the Department of

The Union Flag is flying over Belfast City Hall today to mark the Birthday of the Duchess of Cambridge – Kate Middleton. Meanwhile, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement is expressing “deep concern” over the violence – which has been ongoing for over a month in East Belfast. More

A builder who held a gun when he ordered liquidation staff off his premises was  given a chance by a judge this week. Judge Conal Gibbons acknowledged that the two people working for the liquidator were terrified when given five minutes to clear off a building site by Michael Herron who carried a single-barrel shotgun.

The funeral is taking place in Augher, County Tyrone today of 60-year-old Aloysius Hackett, who was shot dead last Friday night. His 18 year old son Sean, who has been charged with his murder, has been granted temporary bail to attend the funeral. At a hearing last evening at which the prosecution unsuccessfully opposed temporary

A 42-year-old man is due to appear in court in Belfast after being arrested in Omagh on a European Arrest Warrant. The man is wanted for trial in connection with three offences of rape of a child under 17 years in County Donegal. He was scheduled to appear before Belfast Recorders Court at Laganside today.

As the temperatures look set to plummet drivers are being warned to take extreme care on the roads over the next few days. The Road Safety Authority says widespread frost, fog and icy patches may lead to treacherous conditions. Met Eireann says values tonight will range from between zero and minus 3 degrees. The RSA

25 full and part time jobs have been lost with the closure of the Hotel Carlton in Belleek. The business, which is located just across the border from Ballyshannon, had been in administration for the past six months. Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Phil Flanagan is calling on the hotel’s owner, the Ulster Bank, to

The neighbour who was first on the scene after 96 year old Margaret Lilly’s was assaulted and robbed at the weekend says people in the area are now afraid to stay in their homes on their own. The attack has caused outrage in the Buncrana area, with one local businessman offering a 5,000 euro reward

Gardai are seeking a dark blue coloured Mazda 6 car with an English registration which they believe may involved in a spate of burglaries around Raphoe and Convoy last night. At least eight burglaries have been reported, with gardai saying there may have been more break-ins which have not yet been reported. In some instances,

A Strabane Town Forum member has hit out after new trees which were put up in the town centre on Friday were torn town over the weekend. The new trees were put up on Castle Street in an effort to clean up the town centre by the town forum but one was torn down within

A senior Labour party member in Donegal has accused the Revenue Commissioners of trying to bully the public into accepting their estimated value of homes and the amount of property tax that’s due. The Revenue Commissioners are to send letters to homeowners in March with a valuation and anyone who then doesn’t provide their own

A regional breakdown of the live register figures for December show a month on month increase in those signing on in Donegal but a drop when compared to December 2011. The figures show there were 20,902 people signing on last month up 326 on November. There were 694 fewer people singing on in Donegal in

Police in Tyrone have charged an 18-year-old man with the murder of 60-year-old Aloysius Hackett, the former chairman of St. Macartan’s GAA club, was found dead at his home on Aghindarragh Road in Augher on Friday night. Police said the 60-year-old died after sustaining a gunshot wound. His son Sean was arrested shortly after the

After 34 adjournments and 31 hours spanning over two days, Donegal County Council finally passed it’s Budget this morning just after 5am. Councillors were being asked to approve a budget that would see revised county council revenue expenditure dropping from €148 million in 2012 to €133 million in the coming year. At one stage it

A Neighbourhood Watch scheme is being established in the Kilmacrenan / Termon area. It follows a spate of robberies before Christmas. Local Councillor Michael McBride is helping set up the scheme – he says a meeting will takes place this Wednesday evening in the Thatched Cottage in Kilmacrenan at 7.30pm to progress the plans:

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