Author name: oisinkelly

Police in Derry are appealing for information following an armed robbery that occurred at a newsagents shop on Sunday night, 19th August. At around 9.30pm, two males entered a shop at Blucher Street, one was armed with a knife and the other was armed with a hammer. They threatened the shop assistant and demanded money […]

A Donegal County Councillor has claimed that the body responsible for the Household Charge is purposely presented the compliance rate  inaccurately. Independent John Campbell says the figures which Council officials are now using over estimate registration by as much as 20%. He believes that upwards of 59% of people in Donegal have yet to pay

Newly discovered un-published letters from the world famous writer CS Lewis have recounted his visits to Donegal and in which he describes the South of the County of having a “sinister character” The Belfast writer was referring to the scenery of the county he observed between 1944 and 1968 – he described north Donegal as

A woman who was rescued by the Bundoran RNLI Lifeboat when she became trapped on rocks while walking near Mullaghmore in Sligo has praised the emergency services in Donegal. Sarah was walking along the coastline when she realised that the tide was coming back in and the amount of seaweed along the route made it

The Registrar at Letterkenny Institute of Technology says there will be late places available on courses in all departments of the college, with the initial list published this afternoon. Billy Bennet was speaking ahead of an information day to be held at the Letterkenny and Killybegs campuses on Thursday of this week. As students assess

Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh hass written to the manager of Letterkenny General Hospital seeking a meeting with all Oireachtas members to discuss the future of the Gynaecology Ward at the hospital. Yesterday, Manager Sean Murphy confirmed to Highland Radio News that a restructuring of Gynacology services is being considered as part of

A Councillor has described as “outrageous” the fact that a man convicted of attempted armed robbery in Donegal escaped with the Probation Act. Councillor Rena Donaghey was speaking after the man appeared in Court last week – he had been arrested following an attempted robbery of shop in Muff. Both the shop assistant and the

The Mayor of Derry has welcomed a full apology from the PSNI for raiding his home but says it was a long time coming. Five weeks ago Councillor Kevin Campbell’s home was raided by police with laptops and mobile phones taken away. The PSNI subsequently claimed that they searched his house in response to suspected

Bundoran RNLI Lifeboat was this afternoon tasked by Malin Head Coast Guard to an adult female who became trapped on rocks whilst walking near Mullaghmore in County Sligo. The holiday maker was walking along the coastline when she realised that the tide was coming back in and it was impossible to turn back. She had

The Donegal Fire service is in the running for a major national award for its response to gorse fires which ravaged large parts of Donegal in May of last year. The fire service has been shortlisted in the Outstanding Customer Service section of the Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards. The Council has been

Sinn Fein is to carry out a survey in North Donegal to determine levels of and attitudes to crime in the county. Cllr Jack Murray says there’s a lot of talk about crime in the county, and the party wants to make sure that in their regular contacts with An Garda Siochana, they have figures

The manager of Letterkenny General Hospital has confirmed that a restructuring of Gynacology services is being considered as part of a redeployment of resources to staff the new Emergency Department and medical bloc at the hospital. Seam Murphy was speaking to Greg Hughes on today’s Shaun Doherty Show…  

As students receive college offers this morning, a new Daft.ie survey shows they may find it difficult to find rental accommodation in Dublin, Cork and Galway, where rent is rising. Conversely, Letterkenny still has the lowest student rent in country. In Donegal, rents in the second quarter of 2012 were 2.5% lower than a year

50 thousand CAO candidates are facing big decisions today with the release of the first round of third level offers. The points race has had mixed results – requirements for over 5 hundred courses have gone up on last year’s figure, but they’re down for more than 4 hundred others. Over half of higher degree

A campaign against the reported plan to close the Gynaecology ward at Letterkenny General Hospital is gaining momentum, with over a thousand people liking a Facebook support page established at the weekend. Last week, speculation grew that the HSE was planning to close the Gynae ward as part of a strategy to staff the new

A Letterkenny Councillor says he’s been assured by management at Letterkenny General Hospital that a consultant haematologist will be appointed to the hospital in a matter of weeks. Cllr Tadhg Culbert and Cllr Ciaran Brogan both met with Hospital Manager Sean Murphy last week for a progress report. They also urged him to examine the

The University of Ulster says it will honour the offers made to students during their recent computer glitch, despite many not getting the required marks in their A-levels. The School of Engineering mistakenly responded to 370 applications with offers. The Dean of the Faculty Professor Richard Millar says they have a moral obligation to honour

Politicians from all parties are expressing sympathy with the family of a 13-year-old girl following a horse-riding accident in Eglinton. Hannah Jessica Wiley from Artigatvan was taking part in a showjumping event at Eglinton Equestrian Centre when the accident happened on Friday evening. The incident was referred to the Northern Ireland Health and Safety Executive,

The young girl who was killed in a horse riding accident in Derry has been named as Hannah Jessica Wiley. The 13 year-old from Artigarvan in County Tyrone was taking part in a showjumping competition at Eglington Equestrian Centre when the accident happened last (Friday) evening. The Health and Safety Executive in Northern Ireland has

A young girl, thought to be from west Tryone, has been killed in a horse riding accident in Derry. It is understood she was taking part in a showjumping competition when the accident happened last (Friday) evening. The Health and Safety Executive in Northern Ireland has begun an investigation. There are no further details available

New figures for 2011 show that Lettekenny Garda station dealt with the equivalent of almost 6 criminal offences everyday last year. According to the CSO, Letterkenny was by far the busiest station in the county dealing with just over 2000 criminal offences – Buncrana dealt with 505 offences last year, while Ballybofey dealt with 433.

Motorists are being warned that the price of petrol is expected to hit an all-time high next week. According to AA Ireland, the cost of a litre of petrol will increase on average to 1 euro 70, while diesel will rise to 1 euro 60 per litre. These figures are a national average – prices

National Heritage Week  kicks off for a week today with Donegal set to host the fourth highest number of events in the country Between now and next Sunday over 90 events will take place across Donegal most of which are free. Only Dublin, Cork and Galway have more. Organisers say there is something for everyone

A Donegal County Councillor is looking for a seat on the new board of Udarus NaGaeltachta having applied for a position via a government jobs website. Councillor David Alcorn is a member of the current elected board which is being replaced by a board appointed by the government. Having already served over two decades, Councillor

The Irish Farmers Association is calling on the government to introduce a number of measures to ease the losses incurred by Donegal’s Shelfish Farmers as a result of Algae Bloom. The bloom is now leaving Donegal’ shores – last month it lead to losses at a number of Donegal farms while two beaches in the

Letterkenny Live 2012 gets underway tomorrow (Saturday) with organisers expecting it to be the biggest and best so far. There are concerts on the festival gig rig at Oliver Plunkett Road on Saturday and Sunday nights. Bressie, Aslan and the Kanyu tree play Saturday while Sunday is Country Night with Susan McCann, Hugo and Off

A Derry Councillor says parents of youths found to have caused criminal damage should be forced to pay for it. Sinn Fein’s Tony Hasson says an increase in anti-social behaviour, vandalism and crime committed by young people in Derry is hard to explain. However he says that a major deterrent would be to hit parents

A Donegal Deputy has expressed deep concern that drastic cuts to frontline health services in Donegal are being secretly planned to tackle the budget crisis in the health service. The HSE overspend was €280m at the end of May and is expected to hit over €500m at the end of year. Deputy Charlie McConalogue says

The police are to re-examine the death of a Strabane teenager whose body was found in the River Mourne 36 years ago. Denise O’Donnell was 19 when she died. Her family have always believed that there was foul play. Karina Breslin-Carlins oldest sister was good friends with Denise and she says the news brought the

Transplant Team Ireland are flying out to Croatia today for the 7th European Transplant and Dialysis Games. Ireland will have the biggest team at the Games which will involve over 300 athletes from 28 countries throughout Europe. The Irish team of 26, ranging in age from 18 to 70-plus, includes 17 men and 9 women,

Donegal Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill has labelled changes to the appointment process for Údarás na Gaeltachta as nothing more than ‘Jobs for the Boys’. Senator Ó Domhnaill confirmed that he has not sought a nomination to the new board of Údarás na Gaeltachta after democratic elections to the board was ended this year in favour

Police in Derry are appealing for information following the report of a suspicious approach in the Sheelin Park area on yesterday afternoon. It’s been claimed that at approximately 2.50pm, a white van with three men on board approached an 8 year old girl. One man from the van approached the girl and grabbed her arm

Two teenagers who were told they would be shot if they did not leave Derry have fled the city. It has emerged the 19 year olds were told to be out of Derry by 11 o clock last night. The threat was issued by two armed and masked men late on Tuesday night when they

A series of public meetings will take place in Donegal next month to promote the Gathering Ireland 2013, and allow people put forward their ideas for Gatherings they would like to be involved in. The meetings will take place in Letterkenny, Buncrana, Dungloe, Ballybofey and Donegal Town The organisers say organising a Gathering event can

Street lights may need to be switched off – and community-run sports clubs will no longer exist – if people don’t comply with the household charge. That’s the warning from the CEO of the Local Government Management Agency, Paul McSweeney. Many county and city councils around the country say they will struggle to provide local

The Gaeltacht Minister is urging people interested in being appointed to the board of Údarás na Gaeltachta to express that interest before tomorrow evenings deadline. Elections to the board have been scrapped – the government will now appoint seven members from the applications which have been received. The Chairperson will also be appointed by government.

Detectives in Derry are appealing for information following an attempted armed robbery at business premises in the Blucher Street area of Derry last evening. Shortly after 5.40pm a man, carrying a baton entered the premises and demanded money from a member of staff. The man smashed a number of television screens in the premises before

A number of August 15th bonfires went ahead last night in Derry, but no incidents have been reported. There were fires in Creggan and Gobnascale, as well as Galliagh, where a three day festival began on Monday in a bid to stop the fire. Earlier efforts to remove bonfire materials in the Galliagh area led

Fianna Fáil is calling for the reinstatement of a full time Citizen’s Advice Service in Buncrana. The service has recently been reduced from a five day week full time service to a one/two day a week service causing significant difficulties for people in the area needing advice on their payments and entitlements. Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Alcohol Action Ireland is asking those who got their leaving cert results today to celebrate responsibility. Around 56,000 students received their results today and a number of events will be held in pubs and nightclubs across the country. Drinkaware-dot-ie is appealing for greater vigilance in the sale of alcohol to young people. And Fiona Ryan

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Education and Skills Charlie McConalogue has called on the Government to ensure there is sufficient third level places for Leaving Cert students. The Donegal Deputy has expressed concern that a potential significant increase in points across a number of courses, particularly such as science and technology , will increased competition for

The sister of a missing County Tyrone teenager has said she has lost faith in the ability of the police to investigate her disappearance. Arlene Arkinson is presumed murdered, and has been missing since August 1994. The 15-year-old disappeared after going to a disco in Bundoran and was last seen getting into a blue Mini

Donegal County Council has confirmed this afternoon that more non domestic water disconnections have taken place in recent weeks. The council has been adopting a get tough policy, with officials saying that will continue for the rest of the year. 12 disconnections have taken place to date, and in a statement this afternoon, the council

The Adult Education Officer with Donegal VEC says 22 people did the Leaving Cert through their office this year, with some very positive results. Martin Gormley says there is an increase in the numbers of people contemplating going back to education as a result of the economic situation, and he’s advising those who are interested

The decision of the European Commission to approve changes prepared by the Department of Agriculture under the 2012 Disadvantaged Area Scheme has been described as most disappointing by Independent MEP Marian Harkin. Ms Harkin is calling for the new requirements for payments under the DAS to be interpreted in the most flexible way by the

It has been conformed that the Council has finalised land negotiations and works on the Trusk Road Footpath are due to commence shortly. The news will be welcomed by pedestrians and motorists who use the stretch of road, in particular the residents of the Weavers Estate who have been waiting for this footpath for 10

Donegal Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill claims the Government’ review of the Domiciliary Care Allowance has again targeted the families most in need of assistance. The Government instigated a review of the DCA towards the end of last year, which resulted in over half of the children with autism and severe intellectual disabilities losing their payments

55,815 people, the vast majority of them secondary school students, receive their Leaving Cert results today, just under 2,000 less than last year. A total of 2,046 people sat the Leaving Cert exams in Donegal in June – that is around 10% less than last year. Last year more females than males sat the exam