Author name: oisinkelly

A security alert in Strabane has ended. At around 11.20 last night, a suspicious object was found in the Ballycoleman area. Some homes were evacuated as army experts examined the scene. The alert was declared a hoax at around 4.30 this morning.

Acting Garda Chief Superintendent Jim Sheridan has promised to review the overall policing along border areas in Co Donegal. It follows a meeting yesterday between Gardai and members of Fianna Fail including councillors Paul Canning, Ciaran Brogan, Dessie Larkin and Deputy Charlie McConalogue. Cllr Canning, who has been highlighting the lack of Garda manpower in

Acting Garda Chief Superintendent Jim Sheridan has promised to review the overall policing along border areas in Co Donegal. It follows a meeting yesterday between Gardai and members of Fianna Fail including councillors Paul Canning, Ciaran Brogan, Dessie Larkin and Deputy Charlie McConalogue. Cllr Canning, who has been highlighting the lack of Garda manpower in

The husband of murdered honeymooner Michaela McAreavey has appealed for privacy following the acquittal of two hotel workers over his wife’s killing. John McAreavey and family members are expected home in Ireland from Mauritius today and have insisted they do not wish to discuss the outcome of the eight-week trial. In a statement on behalf

Three men have been arrested and five assault rifles and three handguns have been seized in overnight raids in Derry. It was part of a major police operation targeting the vigilante group Republican Action Against Drugs. PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott said the operation was aimed at tackling punishment shootings in Derry. Police said a

The home of the mayor of Derry, Kevin Campbell, was raided by the police last night, Sinn Fein have said Sinn Fein MLA Raymond McCartney said laptops and mobile phones were taken away but the police gave no reason for the search. Mr Campbell was elected mayor in June. He lives in the Creggan estate.

Volunteers are being sought for a clean-up tomorrow of a section along the The Old Railway in Falcarragh. The area forms part of the route of The Coastal Cancer Challenge on Saturday the 21st of July. The challenge  includes a 16km run, a 2km Kayak, a 42km cycle  through the Creeslough/Falcarragh railway line concluding with

Journalist Mary Harte is a friend of Hugh Green and compiled this video looking back at the 20011 Donegal Person of the Years’ life. The video was made prior to Mr Green’s passing to mark the honour. Hugh Green was unable to tavel to Ireland to collect his Donegal Person of the Year Award. But

Tributes are being payed today to Donegal native Hugh Green has passed away at his home in Auckland, New Zealand over night. Mr Green was named 2011 Donegal Person of Year recognising his contribution and generosity to Donegal. Hugh Green  was born in Raphoe and at the age of 20 emigrated to New Zealand via

The teenager who died  following a car crash in Drumkeen in the early hours of yesterday morning has been named as 18 year-old Shane Patton from Cloghroe in Drumkeen. Mr Patton was driving a car which was in collision with another vehicle on the Letterkenny to Ballybofey road. He was seriously injured and transported to

Members of the McAreavey family are expected to return home this weekend from Mauritius. The families of John and Michaela McAreavey yesterday issued a statement appealing for privacy after two men were acquitted of Michaela’s murder. They had denied the charges throughout an 8 week trial. A forensic scientist had told the court there was

Nine officers have been injured after trouble erupted last night following a Protestant parade in north Belfast. Petrol bombs and bricks were hurled at police, who used water cannon. There was also violence in Derry, where missiles were thrown at officers. There have been several arrests.

Buncrana Town Council is seeking a meeting with the owner of the Lough Foyle Ferry Company with a view towards agreeing a long term plan for the operation of the Swilly Ferry service linking Buncrana and Rathmullan. The decision to seek the meeting was taken this week as the council agreed a local contribution of

Donegal County Council are appealing to homeowners to contact them if they have received a bill for the household charge in error A small number of households in the County have received a letter asking them to pay the Household Charge, even though they have already paid. Donegal County Councils Director of Finance, Garry Martin,

Buncrana Town Council has confirmed that the first half hour of parking in the town will be free. The pilot scheme will run between Monday the 16th of July and the 3rd of December in a bid to stimulate the local economy. Cllr Ciaran McLaughlin, who raised the issue in Junes council meeting has welcomed

A teenager from Drumkeen has died in Letterkenny General Hospital following an overnight crash on the main N13 Letterkenny to Ballybofey Road. The 18-year-old man was the sole occupant in one of the cars which was involved in the head-on collision involving two vehicles near Drumkeen just before midnight. He was taken to Letterkenny General

Two former hotel workers have been cleared of the murder of Michaela McAreavey in Mauritius. Avinash Treebhoowoon and Sandip Moneea had both denied killing the 27 year old newlywed at the Legends Hotel last January. The jury delivered unanimous verdicts after just two hours of deliberations. Cormac McQuinn of the Irish Independent was in court,

Donegal County Council has warned anyone who has failed to pay the 2012 Non-Principal Private Residence Charge (NPPR) that they currently owe €220 payable by the end of July. The 2012 NPPR charge was due by the 30th June and anyone who has not paid the charge is now accruing late payment fees on a

A man remains in hospital in a serious condition following an overnight crash on the Letterkenny to Ballybofey road at Drumkeen. The two vehicle collision occurred at around midnight. A man in his late teens is in a serious condition in hospital. Two other people involved in the crash also suffered injuries. The road remains

Sinn Féin are introducing a Bill proposing a cap on the interest rates charged by licensed money lenders. Currently there’s no cap in operation and some lenders are charging up to 210 percent APR on loans. The Bill is set to be debated in the Dáil next week during Private Members time, with a vote

The Regional Manager of the HSE says the subsidised bus service which brings people to hospitals in Dublin for out patient appointments is being withdrew because not enough people use it. According the the HSE there is only an average of five people a day using the service. John Hayes says the bus service had

The Post Office in St Johnston has been robbed this morning a year to the day since the premises was last targeted by in a robbery. The incident happened just before 11 o clock when masked men with baseballs bats entered the premises and demanded money. A number of cars were rammed as robbers made

The National Parks and Wildlife Service has launched an investigation into who ploughed a protected beach in South Donegal. An area more than 250 metres long by 50 metres wide was tilled on Murvagh beach near Donegal town. A wildlife ranger yesterday consulted local landowners in a bid to trace the offender, who can be

A 19-year-old man has drowned in a reservoir in Creggan in Derry. The emergency services were called to the scene early this morning, and police divers recovered the body at about 6.30am The police are not treating the death as suspicious.

The jury in the trial of two men accused of murdering Michaela McAreavey in Mauritius last year is expected to retire today. Closing arguments were heard in the case on Monday – and the judge took two days to consider the evidence before the court. He is due to deliver his address to the jurors

The Irish Farmers Association says the the Algae Bloom  currently effecting the coast is having a huge effect on shellfish, oyster and fish farmers in Donegal. Also know as the red tide, the bloom is naturally occurring and is toxic to bottom-dwelling marine species, certain species of fish and shelfish. Earlier this week large numbers

The skipper of a boat whch got into difficulty a mile off Arranmore Island yesterday has said that it is vital that Malin Head Coastguard station remains open. The crew onboard the ‘Flying Heart’ diving vessel got into difficulty yesterday morning  – they recieved assistance from the Arranmore Lifeboat within 30 minutes and were then

Letterkenny Town Council has agreed to spend some money on improvements to Lower Main Street, High Road and Port Road. The council has already secured money to complete improvements on Upper Main Street, and this will be used for the other adjoining streets, backed with money from the Smart Travel Initiative announced last week. Cllr

A decision’s likely today on whether Mick Wallace will face a motion of censure in the Dáil. The Committee on Members’ Interests reported yesterday it’s unable to establish jurisdiction to inquire into the Wexford TD’s admission of tax cheating. It was also revealed he only responded to two of seven questions put to him. Party

Two people have been seriously injured in a road traffic collision over night. The crash happened in the Drumkeen area at around midnight. As a result, the Letterkenny to Ballybofey road has been closed with traffic being diverted via Raphoe. The road is expected to remain closed for a number of hours.

It’s emerged today that from the end of this month, the HSE is withdrawing the subsidised bus service which brings people to hospitals in Dublin for out patient appointments. We understand the service provider has been told the contract is not being renewed at the end of this month, and patients are being informed that

Home Care provider Bluebird Care have today announced 75 new jobs for Co. Donegal. It comes on the back of their appointment last week as an approved provider for enhanced homecare packages 2012 (services for older persons) in Donegal. Bluebird Care are now advertising positions for care workers, live-in care workers and registered nurses –

The latest statistics from the CSO show 2,212 babies were born in Donegal last year, the majority of them to married mothers between the ages of 30 and 34. There were 508 babies born in Donegal in the fourth quarter of 2011, 6 more than during the same period in 2010. 280 of the babies

The impact of the economic downturn has resulted in a significant increase in both the number and range of services that Family Resource Centres are delivering in communities. That’s according to the 2011 annual report on the work of FRCs, which was launched today by Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald. There are 106 Family Resource Centres

Arranmore Lifeboat has been involved in an operation this morning after a boat got into difficulty a mile south of the island. The diving support vessel lost power and as a result steering before making the distress call. Arranmore lifeboat arrived at the scene, efforts are ongoing to restore power to the stranded boat –

A Derry trainee pilot stranded in Florida when his course was halted unexpectedly has said the last few weeks have been the worst of his life. 18 year-old Connor Deeney from Claudy and two trainee pilots from Donegal are among a group who were left stranded because of a dispute between The Florida Institute of

Two brothers from Lifford have been jailed for attacks on fisheries officers along the Donegal-Tyrone border. 30 year-old Joseph Colhoun, from Beechwood Grove, was jailed for a year – his brother Mark, 27 and from the same address, was sentenced to seven months. Both had previous convictions for fisheries-related matters. John McCartney of the Lough’s

A public inquiry in Northern Ireland into the A5 upgrade has found in favour of the scheme going ahead. The proposed scheme to upgrade the A5 to dual carriageway runs for 85km between Newbuildings outside Derry and Aughnacloy in County Tyrone. The public inquiry attracted more than 2,000 objections, and its results will be released

The Government has said that no predefined decision has been made in relation to the future of Malin Head Coastguard, and a decision will not be made until October. A report published last week by Fisher Consultants on the marine emergency response regimes proposed that Malin be closed. Under the proposals presented to government, Dublin

A judge has ordered Ulster Bank to bear its own costs in a repossession case because of the crisis at the financial institution. The bank was seeking the repossession of a family home in Co Donegal at yesterday’s sitting of Letterkenny Circuit Court. According the the Irish Indpendent, a barrister representing the bank asked Judge

Buncrana Town Council has been told that the fluoridation of water presents a very real risk to health, and could be part of the reason why incidents of cancer are higher in the republic than they are in the North. County Down based campaigner Walter Graham addressed members last evening, telling them that there is

A case in which a con-man was to have been sentenced yesterday was put back for a further nine days at Letterkenny Circuit Court. Judge John O’Hagan said he had run out of time to deal with Thomas Elvin, awaiting sentence for depriving victims of €177,000. 51-year-old Elvin, was convicted in December and was remanded

A Derry man charged with murder has had his bail revoked over allegations he damaged an electronic tag. Thomas Stokes, of The Old Fort, Strathfoyle, is charged with criminal damage of the tag on July 9. The 22-year-old is currently on High Court bail accused of the murder of John Mongan in Belfast on February

Restrictions at two Donegal beaches have been lifted from this afternoon. Donegal County Council says that both Rossnowlagh and Murvagh beaches are open to bathers once again after the Local Authority was forced to close the beaches when a large amount of dead fish and marine life was washed up on the shores. The red

A leading Irish-American businessman has received an honorary degree from the University of Ulster this morning at the Millennium Forum in Derry for his services to peace and reconciliation. Bill Flynn, the former chairman of Mutual of America, was previously awarded a CBE in recognition for his work in the Northern Ireland peace process. Mr

The Tip O’Neill Donegal Diaspora Award has been formally launched today, commemorating the former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, whose maternal roots are in Buncrana. The award and related events are being coordinated by Buncrana Town and Donegal County Councils to honour Mr O’Neill’s achievements in American political life and his contribution to

One take away premises in Letterkenny was served with a closure order by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland last month. The order, under the FSAI act was imposed on the Spicy Food Food Guru at 59 Port Road on June 14th, and lifted six days later on June 20th when the terms of the

Highland Radio News has learned that the Donegal company which closed yesterday with the loss of 26 jobs has received 360 thousand euro in state funding over the course of the last 11 months. Eist agus cuidiú in Gweedore, which began operations 11 months ago, has announced that all of it workers are to be

County Council has restricted swimming at two Donegal beaches in response to the Algae Bloom which is currently located of the Donegal coast. Also know as the red tide, the bloom is naturally occurring and is toxic to bottom-dwelling marine species, certain species of fish and shelfish. Currently as large numbers of dead marine life