Author name: oisinkelly

A woman was told at Derry magistrate’s Court to ‘stay away from anyone who will lead her into temptation.’ 32-year-old Edel McLaughlin of 2g Lisfannon Park in Derry was charged with a series of disorderly behaviours and resisting police. The court was told that on May 31 McLaughlin entered a fast food outlet in the […]

A Foyle MLA says he is aware of more shooting victims in Derry who have been told they do not qualify for compensation. Earlier this week Paul Ward was told he was not entitled to a pay out because he did not co-operate with the police investigation. Mr Ward denies this and it is understood

A Church of Ireland minister has been assaulted by a gang in Strabane. The Rev Richard Bryant said he and his wife were just yards from the church when he was attacked in broad daylight. He said he was hit on the head and fell to the ground. The Reverand only moved to Strabane two

Town and County councillors are expected this evening to make a last ditch plea to Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan not to abolish their local authorities. The Minister is due to address the annual conference of the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, tonight. Speaking at the MacGill Summer School

Representatives of Donegal’s tourism industry have this week met with over 60 American and Canadian top tour operators with the hope of boosting tourist numbers from the two countries next year. The operators were briefed on The Gathering 2013 and how they can work next year’s festivities into their itineraries. The meetings come as the

Police in Derry are warning people to be vigilant following a report of a bogus caller at the home of elderly person in the city yesterday afternoon. The intruder had pushed his way into an eldery woman’s home claiming he was there to collect furniture, and only left when challenged by another family member who

Donegal North-East Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has been appointed Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Defence Deputy Mac Lochlainn was appointed to the position yesterday after a reshuffle of TD portfolios announced by Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams. He outlined to Highland Radio News what his key priorities would be in relation to Donegal:

It’s reported today that householders will be able to self-assess the value of their home for the property tax. According to the Irish Independent, people will put their property into a value bracket, using a checklist provided by the Revenue Commissioners – and those who undervalue it will face penalties. A major publicity campaign is

Letterkenny General Hospital’s new tobacco free policy has been officially implemented today, with staff, patients, visitors, contractors and others banned from smoking anywhere on the hospital grounds, including the car parks. The ban also extends to all areas of the St Conal’s campus. The Donegal Smoking Cessation Service is backing the policy, and will be

The new emergency department and medical bloc at Letterkenny General Hospital has opened, with other services moving into the new building over the next two weeks. The Emergency Department was relocated at 8 o’clock this morning, and saw its first patient within twenty minutes. Hospital Manager Sean Murphy says the move has progressed very well………….

Witnesses have described running battles between youths in Letterkenny last night with claims that there was a lack of a proper garda presence. One parent has told how her son was forced to flee the area of the Main street after he and his friends were set upon by a second large group of youths.

The Good Friday Implementation Committee has been urged to do all it can to make sure the construction of the A5 remains a priority for both the Northern and Irish Governments. The Mayors of Derry, Donegal, Strabane and Omagh attended a meeting of the committee today in Dublin with all the other districts and boroughs

A major housing development in St Johnston has been given the green light by An Bord Pleanala. The plans for 28 houses by KDC properties LTD were initially refused permission by Donegal County Council -An Bord Pleanala reversed that decision on appeal. The proposed multiple development  is made up of of 28 homes made up

The new emergency department and medical bloc at Letterkenny General Hospital has opened this morning. The Emergency Department was relocated at 8 o’clock this morning. Other services will be transferred in the coming weeks. Hospital Management are seeking the co-operation of the general public by asking them to avoid attending the Emergency Department in Letterkenny

Schools in the centre of Letterkenny are being asked to consider staggering their opening and closing times to ease traffic congestion. The issue was raised by Cllr Gerry Mc Monagle, who says there are over 2,000 pupils attending the four schools clustered around the cathedral area, and there are very dangerous conditions in the area

The Good Friday Implementation Committee are meeting today in Dublin to discuss transportation and access in the Northwest. The Mayors of Derry, Donegal, Strabane and Omagh District Council are all set to attend the meeting, with the main focus set to be the A5. All the other districts and boroughs along the A5 route will

The European Parliament has backed proposed legislation to impose sanctions on countries engaged in unsustainable fishing practices. The report, prepared by North West MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher was approved by 659 votes to 7, a margin he says is unprecedented in the area of fishing policy. In the immediate term, the sanctions will be

Emergency services have attended the scene of a road traffic collision in Fahan. Up tot four vehicles were involved in crash which occurred shortly after 11 o’clock close to the Red Door restaurant. Two Garda units and three ambulances attended the scene. It is understood that here are no serious injuries.  

A Donegal TD and Senator have clashed over the cost of administering the Household Charge. Donegal South West Deputy Thomas Pringle has hit out at the Local Government Management Agency after it emerged that over €7 million euro collected through the household charge has been used to finance the agency this year. However, Senator Jimy

Donegal Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has described comments by an Athlone District Court judge in which he described Travellers as “Neanderthal men” as utterly disgraceful Deputy MacLochlainn has called on the judge to apologise He says anti-traveller racism in all forms is unacceptable in Ireland, and it is mind boggling to think that Justice Seamus

The P-S-N-I are monitoring a Facebook page – which claims to name and shame paedophiles in Co. Derry. Police there say they know the founder of the site, which has over 1-thousand followers. In a statement, the force says officers in the Limavady area are monitoring the page, to ensure it doesn’t  breach any legislation.

A Letterkenny Councillor is calling on members of government parties in Donegal to stand up to their leader and demand an end to cuts at Letterkenny General Hospital even if it means losing the party whip. Cllr Ciaran Brogan, a member of the HSE West Regional Forum, says there have been a number of cases

A Donegal judge yesterday spoke of the dangers of heavy goods vehicles driven by fatigued workers. Judge Denis McLoughlin said it was a very serious offence people driving very large vehicles on a public road without the required rest period. Road Safety Authority officer Seamus Lynch told Dungloe District Court how tachograph records spanning four

Donegal South West Deputy Thomas Pringle has hit out at the Local Government Management Agency after it emerged that over €7 million euro collected through the household charge has been used to finance the agency this year Deputy Pringle says the fact that such a large proportion of the intake from the Household Charge is

A 41-year-old man who accidentally knocked down and killed his neighbour in a road traffic accident in Derry last year has escaped prison. Laurence Michael Conaghan from Lisfannon Park, was given a six month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and disqualified from driving for two years. He was told by Judge Piers Grant at

A Derry man who was shot by the vigilante group Republic Action Against Drugs, has been refused compensation for his injuries. In what is thought to be a case of mistaken identity, 45-year-old Paul Ward was shot twice in the stomach and still has a bullet lodged in his back since the shooting three years

A 20-year-old Derry man walked free from Coleraine Courthouse today after charges he faced in connection with the murder of pizza delivery man Emmet Shiels in Derry in June 2008 were not proceeded with. Thaddeus McAllister originally from Cable Street in the Bogside area but now with an address in London had been due to

As the Tidy Towns Award results announced yesterday are assessed around the country, a collaboration in Buncrana involving the local Town Council, Tidy Towns Committee and the Buncrana / West Inishowen Historical Society is celebrating a major accolade. The Buncrana Lighthouse Restoration Project won the Heritage Award. The eight metre tall lighthouse was first established

Highland Radio has seen internal HSE correspondents which suggests a proposed reduction in the number of locum consultants will ‘collapse frontline services’ at Letterkenny General Hospital. The contents of the document, which was provided to ‘The Shaun Doherty Show’ has been independently confirmed by senior staff at the hospital. It suggests there are proposals to

Udaras Na Gaeltachta has released annual report for 2011 which shows a slow down in the rate of job losses. While 734 jobs were created last year – there was a net loss of 104 jobs overall. 134 jobs were lost in Uduras supported companies in Donegal between 2010 and 2011. The report shows that

Letterkenny Town Council has been told that if implemented, cutbacks at the Letterkenny hospital will mark the beginning of the end for a number of services. The claim was made by Cllr Gerry Mc Monagle, as the council unanimously backed his motion seeking an immediate meeting with Minister James Reilly to lobby for more resources.

A Foyle MP is calling on the Treasury to consider reducing the rate of VAT for some tourism-related services in Derry. Mark Durkan says it would be especially important for the city in the run up to the City of Culture year. He says such a move would stimulate business and create jobs, as well

Around 50 people have  taken part in a candlelight vigil outside Letterkenny General Hospital last night to mark the closure yesterday of the Gynae ward, and the transfer of the six specialist gynaecology beds to Surgical 2. The vigil was led by Linda Cullen, who also organised last Saturday’s rally in the town centre. She

New regulations have been enacted today extending the Smoky Coal Ban to Letterkenny. In a statement this afternoon, Environment Minister Phil Hogan confirmed that seven new towns, including Letterkenny, will be included in the ban with effect from May of next year. Letterkenny’s addition is automatic, on the basis that data published recently from Census

The first of a series of community meetings to discuss The Gathering 2013 will take place this evening in Letterkenny. The purpose of these meetings is to give people an opportunity to learn what the Gathering Ireland 2013 is all about and put forward their ideas for events they would like to be involved in.

A man is seriously ill in hospital after a blaze at a house in Plumbridge, County Tyrone. The fire broke out at about 11:30 yesterday morning at the bungalow on the Tullagherin Road. The 40-year-old man sustained severe burns to the right side of his body. He was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital but later transferred

Letterkeny has retained its gold medal in the 2012 SuperValu TidyTowns Award competition, and has been named the tidiest town in the North West region, as well as in County Donegal. With 310 points, the town was two points behind national winner Abbeyshrule in County Longford, and one point behuind Category winners Westport in County

Sinn Féin’s Housing spokesperson in Derry says legislation is needed to tackle the present social housing crisis in the city. Councillor Tony Hassan says there are 70 houses coming on stream in Derry’s Buncrana Road shortly, with around 1000 applicants looking for them. He says an examination of the figures shows that the number of

Google has announced an inaugural Google Ireland eCounties Awards which ranks Donegal last. Google looked at Ireland’s 26 counties and ranked each in terms of their AdWords customer growth coupled with the number of local businesses which embraced the Getting Irish Business Online initiative over the last year. Google say they expected Dublin to be

One of Letterkenny’s biggest builders’ suppliers has closed and transferred all its business to its Derry branch. Mc Mahons of Ballyraine closed its doors on Thursday last. In a letter to customers, Mc Mahons say it is with considerable regret that due to the continuing deterioration in the construction sector. they are left with no

A survey of over 500 farmers across the country has highlighted serious concerns on rural security, with 54% of respondents dissatisfied with the efforts of the Justice Minister to protect rural communities. The survey by the IFA  highlighted shows that 11% of farm families, which is the equivalent of 13,000 households, have been victims of

More needs to be done to tackle the stigma which still surrounds mental health problems in this country. That’s the call from health professionals this morning – on World Suicide Awareness Day. New research from  St. Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin has found that over a fifth of people believe that those suffering from a

A former Council official has launched a high Court challenge aimed at overturning a finding by the Minister for the Environment’s that there was no evidence of planning irregularities in Co Donegal. The action has been taken by consultant planner Gerard Convie. Mr Convie wants the court to overturn the Minister’s finding that there was

Between 300 and 400 people turned out on the streets of Letterkenny on Saturday for a march in protest at the closure of the gynaecology ward at Letterkenny General Hospital. Hundreds of people carrying placards called on the Health Minister James Reilly to reverse the HSE’s decision. The gynae unit will close today (Monday) with

The Minister for Justice needs to toughen up the fight to ensure that rural crime is reduced so that people living rural communities feel safer. That’s according to the Irish Farmers Association which is calling on Alan Shatter to increase Garda presence in rural areas. It comes as a new IFA survey shows that 54

A petrol bomb and other missiles were thrown at police as they dealt with a hoax security alert in Derry. Officers were called to the Aileach Road on Saturday afternoon following the discovery of a suspicious object. A controlled explosion was carried out and the alert was declared to be a hoax. The security forces

The biggest mistake ever by an Irish government was recalled by the first man ever to receive the Tip O’Neill Diaspora Award. Publisher Niall O’Dowd said a government decision blocked Irish people from access to the US “in perpetuity.” O’Dowd recalled at the award ceremony in Buncrana, how O’Neill, one of the most influential Irish-American

Irish sprinter Jason Smyth completed a superb sprint double at the Paralympic Games by winning the 200m T13 event in a new world record time last night. Starting in lane five, the Eglinton athlete, who has less than 10% vision, led throughout and recorded a time of 21.05 seconds. He had won the 100m event

A residential home in Derry at the centre of abuse allegations was below minimum standard for staff training, according to an inspection last year. The The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority inspected Ralph’s Close residential home for vulnerable people in Gransha Park in April 2011. It found that “few staff had completed training in the

Hundreds are expected to take part in a march later today in protest at changes to Gynecological services at Letterkenny General Hospital. Only yesterday it was confirmed that the controversial transfer of gynae services will take place on Monday. Six specialist beds are being moved from the present Gynae ward to Surgical 2, two floors above, but