Author name: oisinkelly

Donegal All-Ireland winner Martin McHugh has called for an end to any discussion of a Donegal home coming claiming it is playing in to Mayo’s hands. Donegal play Mayo in the All-Ireland decider later this month – it has been reported that Letterkenny Chamber is calling for a home coming to take place in Letterkenny. […]

The Donegal County Board says it has yet to decide on where any homecoming after the All-Ireland Final would take place. It follows reports that the Letterkenny Chamber had expressed its desire for the homecoming to be held in Letterkenny. In a statement the Donegal County Board said the County Executive in conjunction with senior

A last ditch attempt by Marley Coaches to save the bus service that took patients from Donegal to Dublin for treatment has been rejected by the HSE. Francis Marley, presented a set of figures to show the service, stopped two weeks ago, could still operate if the HSE’s subsidy was halved to around €50,000. Those

A Donegal Senator has said the government must realise that many homeowners can simply not afford to pay property tax describing proposals as a bombshell to homeowners. The Government’s plans to introduce a market value based property tax from January. Senator Brian O’Domhnaill has described it as an unfair and discriminatory system that will cause

Hundreds of people today attended the funeral of David Charlton, husband of former Tanaiste Mary Coughlan, who died at the weekend. Mr Charlton, who was a garda connected to the Glenties District, passed away following a long battle with illness. As well as friends and family from the local area, a number of Mary Coughlan’s

800 civil service jobs are to be moved from Belfast to Ballykelly with the relocation of the North’s Department of Agriculture. The new offices will be based at the site of the former Shackleton Army barracks. Work will commence on the site over the next two years, with the new headquarters ready for occupation during

A Letterkenny Town Councillor has urged those intending to apply for a Home Insulation Grant to ensure they have recieved the grant before having any work done. The grants are available under the better energy homes scheme but the application for a grant must be made by the homeowner themselves; it cannot be made on

There’s anger in Buncrana this morning after a meeting was told last night that the Cashel na Cor support centre for people with special needs is top be cut from a five day to a three day service. The main centre is in Buncrana, and there are also centres in Carndonagh and Moville. Local Councillor

Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty has begun his visit to Australia during which he will highlight the need for Irish workers safety to be ensured and for Irish people there to be entitled to vote on Irish affairs Deputy Doherty will visit Perth, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, speaking to public meetings and engaging with local politicians,

There is anger in Inishowen after a meeting  was told this evening of plans to cut day service supports to persons with special needs and their families in Inishowen from five days down to three at centres in Buncrana, Carndonagh and Moville. During the meeting in the Cashel na Cor Centre in  Buncrana, families were

The Mayor of Letterkenny has said that his preference would be for the reception to welcome home the Donegal Team remain in its traditional home of Donegal Town. Donegal will take on Mayo in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship later this month but already the Letterkenny Chamber is reportedly pitching for the team to return

The President of Letterkenny I.T. has welcomed funding of 12 million pounds to progress plans for a Northwest Science Park on the Fort George site in Derry and in Letterkenny. The plans would see a partnership between the Northern Ireland Science Park in Belfast with ILEX and Letterkenny Institute of Technology in the North West.

Almost £1,000 which had been stolen following a charity event for a three-year-old child with cancer is thought to have been left in a church in Omagh. Oscar Knox was diagnosed with neuroblastoma – a rare cancer which mainly affects children – in November. On Friday night, almost 2,000 pounds was raised in a charity

Police in Derry are investigating the cause of a fire at the former Clooney Army base on the Waterside. The fire was spotted in derelict portable buildings on the Limavady Road site just before 8 o’clock last night, with four appliances and almost 20 firefighters called to the site. The former army base has been

Five councillors from Donegal travelled to Wexford for a conference on local government budgets, even though an almost identically titled seminar was taking place in Letterkenny the very same weekend. The Irish Independent reports today that one Wexford councillor made the trip in the opposite direction. According to the pasper, on the weekend of November

Buncrana has been found to be ‘cleaner than European norms’ in the latest Irish Business Against Litter league table which has been published this morning. Cavan came out on top, but there is no classification for Letterkenny which withdrew from the league earlier this year. Buncrana is ranked 15th of 42 areas around the country,

Donegal Action Against Austerity have called on people who have paid the €100 Household Charge to write to their local County Councils demanding their money back. The group says those who boycotted the charge have been proven right to have done so as the Minister of Environment, Phil Hogan is now cutting the third quarter

Sinn Fein in Donegal says an analysis of budgetary figures which they obtained late last week shows that Letterkenny General Hospital has been systematically underfunded for many years. Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn says that per 1000 inpatients, Letterkenny General Hospital receives the lowest budgetary allocation of any hospital in the state and the lowest allocation

The organisers of a rally in support of the retention of Gynae services in the current form at Letterkenny General have rejected HSE claims that a reorganisation would not reduce the quality of service. Concerns persist over management plans to close the Gynaecology Ward, transfer services to surgical wards and deploy staff to the new

The national Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes says it plans to hold a series of protests at local council meetings throughout the country over the coming weeks. The group is stepping up its campaign as fears mount that the 600 thousand or so homeowners, who have yet to pay the household charge – may

Former Tanaiste Mary Coughlan is grieving following the death of her husband David Charlton. He died at home in Frosses, Co. Donegal, last night following a battle with cancer. He was a Garda attached to Glenties station. The couple met when he was on duty at Leinster house and they married two years later when

There’s still no clarity about the future of gynaecology services at Letterkenny General Hospital.  Concerns persist over management plans to close the Gynaecology Ward, transfer services to surgical wards and deploy staff to the new unit which is due to open next month. Speculation is growing that a decision has been taken to implement that

Donegal South West Deputy Thomas Pringle says the potential closure the gynecology ward at Letterkenny General Hospital is a very worrying situation. Speaking following yesterday’s meeting of hospital management and Oireachtas members, the Independent TD said some concern has been expressed that a risk assessment backing the plan to transfer services to surgical wards was done without

The scale of a Donegal based businessman’s ‘Ponzi’ scheme has been further revealed today by Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Hundreds of people on both sides of the Irish border lost their money after investing with Francois de Dietrich. Liquidators have spent 18 months trying to find the missing millions. 576 investors paid in £20.2m between them. Just £6m of

A Strabane man has been placed on probation for two years and ordered to complete 100 hours community service for posting a series of racial insults on the Liverpool FC website. 27-year-old Jason Rouslton of Mount Carmel Heights, was sentenced at Strabane Magistrates Court yesterday for the offence which was committed in the early hours

Farmers in the North are calling for fairer compensation rates for those affected by major road upgrade schemes such as the A5 in County Tyrone. The Ulster Farmers Union claims local farmers are being offered compensation levels which are lower than rates offered to landowners in Great Britain affected by similar infrastructure projects. The comments

Today’s meeting between Oireachtas members and management at Letterkenny General Hospital has been described as constructive and informative. Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh, who called for the meeting, says in a discussion on gynaecology services, management advised that privacy units will be provided if that need arises. On the substantive issue of the

A 58-year-old County Derry man has admitted 11 charges of indecent assault and sexual activity with a child when he appeared at Derry Crown Court today. The man who cannot be named for legal reasons admitted the offences which occurred between January 1 1997 and July 1 2004. The case will be back before the

Donegal Creameries has reported a 12.5% rise in turnover for the first six months of the year, increasing by €4m to over €35.1. The company’s interim financial report says revenues are increasing across all sections of the business. After tax profits are down from 1.1 million euro last year to 250,000 between January and June,

The family of Castlederg teenager Arlene Arkinson have accused the police of prioritising sporting events over the search for their sister. Arlene went missing 18 years ago after a night out in Donegal, despite searches on both sides of the border her body was never found. The family have been told that a search due

A case of Tuberculosis has been confirmed at Letterkenny General Hospital, with HSE West offering screening to anyone who had close contact with the patient. The screening may include hospital patients who shared a ward with the TB patient before they were diagnosed, plus family members or people living with the TB patient. The HSE

The road safety group PARC are calling on the Transport Minsiter to stick to his promise that learner drivers who are caught driving unaccompanied will recieve penalty points. It’s reported today that learner drivers will recieve 1 penalty point and an 80 euro fine if they are caught driving without a qualified motorist. Susan Grey

Belleek Pottery are celebrating their 155th anniversary by unveiling a new limited edition ‘International Centrepiece’ today. The design is an elaborate parian china centrepiece created for the Paris exhibition of 1900 and is to on sale at 75,000 pounds, making it the most expensive item ever produced by Belleek pottery. The piece has taken a handpicked team

Donegal Oireachtas members will meet with management at Letterkenny General Hospital today to discuss a number of issues including proposed changes to Gynecology services which could see the current ward close and patients transferred to surgical beds. This is being considered as part of a strategy to free up staff for the new Emergency Department and medical

The funeral takes place in Termon today of 24 year old Andrew Duffy, the Donegal supporter who drowned after falling into a cana; at Phibsboro in Dublin on Sunday night last. Mr Duffy, a farmer, had been in Dublin for the All Ireland Semi Final, and decided to stay in Dublin with friends for the

Hopelessly insolvent – that’s how haulage firm Target Express has been described by its liquidator. A provisional liquidator was appointed by the High Court overnight, for operations in the Republic – where 297 staff are based. Target Express employed almost 400 people in total, on both sides of the border. It ceased trading on Monday

A Tyrone motorcyclist has been killed in a crash during a race at the Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man. 48-year-old shop-owner Trevor Ferguson from Castlecaulfield was married with three children. He was a former winner of six Irish National Road races. Mr Ferguson was the uncle of fellow road racer Ryan Farquhar.

The aunt of a man with autism is suing the gardai – claiming that they falsely imprisoned and assaulted her nephew in Co. Donegal. The High Court has heard that the 27 year old was arrested in September two years ago – for allegedly chasing two girls with a stick. It’s alleged that the then

The Environment Minister is once again urging those who haven’t yet paid their household charge to do so for the good of their communities, claiming those who have paid are becoming frustrated. A 100-euro fee was brought in this year, ahead of the introduction of a full property tax next year. But despite warnings of

The HSE says a waiting list for ultrasound scans at Letterkenny General Hospital should be cleared wihin six weeks, after extra sessions were organised and an imaging room dedicated to the backlog. A direct referral system has been in place for three years between Donegal Primary Care, GPs in the county and the hospital. However,

A four-day digital technology and media conference gets under way at various venues in Derry today. CultureTECH has workshops, seminars and speakers from the worlds of film, TV, animation, music, gaming, publishing, advertising and digital arts. Thirty start-up companies from Northern Ireland will be showcasing their work at the event, organised by Digital Derry and

An East Derry MLA says any profit made by NI Water should be used to improve water infrastructure, particularly in areas where flooding is a recurrent problem. John Dallat is calling on NI Water to come up with a long-term strategy to improve drainage and sewerage systems. He says the fact that such a strategy

As preparations continue for The Gathering Ireland 2013, it’s been confirmed that Paddy Harte has been appointed as Chair of the Donegal Gathering Steering Group. His appointment comes ahead of five community meetings in the county during September to discuss ideas of what events and initiatives might be linked to the Gathering in Donegal. Paddy

New laws are set to come into force which will see learner drivers who drive unaccompanied receiving penalty points. They’ll also recieve penalty points if they are caught driving without ‘L’ plates when the new laws come in. Currently if they drive alone without a qualified driver they receive a caution and a fine. Susan Grey from the Road

The remains of Andrew Duffy, who tragically died after falling into a canal in Dublin on Sunday night, have been returned to his home in Termon. They arrived in Golldrum at around 915pm last night. The funeral of the 24-year-old Donegal fan will take place tomorrow at 12 noon. Scenes of deep emotion greeted the

Buncrana Town Council and Donegal County Council have announced that the first annual Tip O Neill Donegal Diaspora Award will be given to journaslist and commentator Niall O’Dowd, one of the most prominent members of the present day Irish Diaspora. Mr O’Dowd was born in Ireland and emigrated in his mid twenties to the US

A top Donegal consultant, who is widely known for his appearances in a hard-hitting national road safety campaign, has said that excessive drinking is becoming a serious problem in Ireland. Dr Gerry Lane, a consultant in emergency medicine at Letterkenny General Hospital, says we have the second highest level of consumption in Europe. And he

Donegal County Board and GAA clubs here are likely to get just 13,000 tickets for the All-Ireland final. The exact number will be made clear next Monday, after next Sunday’s other semi-final clash between Mayo and Dublin. There was 35,000 Donegal fans at Croke Park on Sunday for the semi-final win over Cork, so a