Author name: oisinkelly

Moville born Fr Eugene Boland has been speaking of the trauma of being accused of indecent assault, the agony of the two year wait for a court case  and the joy of the not guilty verdit delivered yesterday at Derry Crown Court. This morning, he gave a lengthy interview to Shaun Doherty about his ordeal. […]

The woman who died following a crash in County Sligo yesterday afternoon has been named locally as 82 year old Eithne Gallagher from Ballyshannon. Ms Gallagher was critically injured when the car in which she was a passenger was in collision with a lorry near Cliffoney on the N15 Bundoran to Sligo road, and was

A twice daily bus service linking Burtonport and Letterkenny via Churchill has been launched today by Junior Minister Alan Kelly at a function in Letterkenny. The service will begin next Monday, run by rural transport company S.I.T.T. Councillor Mick Quinn is a member of the co-ordinating committee, and says as well as serving the West

Fishing organisations have welcomed agreement between the European Parliament and the Danish Presidency on sanctions to be imposed on countries or territories engaged in unsustainable fishing practices. The agreement was reached on foot of a report compiled by North West MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher, who has been looking at the decision of Iceland and

Donegal South West TD Pearse Doherty says his decision to take a case against the Referendum Commission ahead of last month’s EU Fiscal Treaty poll has been vindicated in a High Court decision on costs. The case centred on statements made by the commission about whether Ireland has a veto over the establishment of the

Fianna Fail Cllr Dessie Larkin is the new Mayor of Letterkenny, with Cllr Victor Fisher elected Deputy Mayor. Both were elected unanimously at this evening’s AGM. They replace Cllrs Gerry Mc Monagle and Jimmy Kavanagh.  

Gardai have confirmed that the woman who died following a crash in County Sligo this afternoon was from Ballyshannon. The woman in her eighties was critically injured when  the car in which she was a passenger was in collision with a lorry near Cliffoney on the N15 Bundoran to Sligo road. She was later pronounced dead

The Dail has been told that representatives from Ulster Bank and the Central Bank should be called before an Oireachtas Committee to address questions arising from the technical glitch which has caused severe inconvenience for customers. The issue was raised by Sinn Fein’s Finance Spokesperson Deputy Pearse Doherty. The Donegal South West TD says 150,000

Gardai in Sligo are appealing for witnesses following a fatal traffic collision at Cliffoney Co. Sligo on the 27th of June 2012. At approximately 1.30pm a female aged in her 80s was seriously injured when the motor car she was passenger in collided with a lorry on the N15 near the Village of Cliffoney. She

A Catholic priest who had been on trial for indecent assaults on a 14-year-old girl was found not guilty of all charges at Derry Crown Court today. Fr. Eugene Boland (66), of Parochial House, Killyclogher Road, Omagh, had denied five charges of indecently assaulting the 14-year-old girl between June 28, 1990 and June 30, 1992.

Singer Dolores Keane has been banned from driving for four years and fined her €300 for drunk-driving. The 58-year-old is now on her third driving ban. She had admitted at Glenties District Court being nearly twice over the alcohol limit when driving outside the courthouse on March 26, 2011. The court was told that it

Sinn Fein have called on Fianna Fail Chief Whip Ciaran Brogan to withdraw comments he made at Mondays County Council AGM meeting. After losing the vote to have Fianna Fail Cllr Rena Donaghey elected as mayor, Cllr Ciaran Brogan said that his party would no longer make up the numbers on the Council. Sinn Fein

Fr Eugene Boland has been found not guilty on all charges at Derry Crown Court. The Moville born priest of Parochial House, Killyclogher Road, Omagh, had denied five charges of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl between June 1990 and June 1992. The offences were alleged to have occurred while the teenager volunteered at a Parochial

The Council is being asked to explain why hundreds of homes in the Lifford and St Johnston areas are still with a poor water supply despite money being available to fix the problems for over a year. The issue has been raised by Councillor Gerry Crawford who says the delay in repairing the trunk line

Donegal County Council is urging home owners who have a septic tank to register it before a deadline expired next February. Donegal has the third highest number of septic tanks in the country only behind Cork and Galway. New rules announced yesterday oblige homeowners to make sure their tanks are not polluting rivers and lakes

The new Mayor of Ballyshannon has committed to tackling what he describes as the ‘scourge of drugs’ in the town. Phonsie Travers was elected as Mayor when the council met last evening replacing his Fine Gael Party colleague John Meehan – it is the third time Councillor Travers has held the position. Following his election

Coleraine has beaten Letterkenny in a bid to become recognised as Ireland’s “Best Kept Large Urban Centre”. Both were in contenton for the title in the all island competition which is jointly run by the Northern Ireland Amenity Council and the Department of the Environment in the republic. Results were announced in Belfast last evening,

A Sinn Fein deputation has met with senior Donegal County Council officials in relation to sewage schemes in parts of West Donegal. The group, led by Donegal South West Deputy Pearse Doherty, said the lack of progress on these schemes has been a major issue of concern, with residents in certain areas waiting decades for

A threat against a former prisoner and community worker in the Creggan area of Derry has been condemned. Sinn Féin Justice Spokesperson, Raymond McCartney has called on whatever organisation issued the threat to the life of Sean McMonagle to lift it immediately, and to do so publicly. Mr Mc Cartney says Sean Mc Monagle has

Many Ulster Bank customers are still waiting to have their account details brought up to date, one week after a computer glitch caused chaos in the bank’s system. The malfunction’s been fixed, but staff are working to clear a backlog of payments that might not be resolved until next week. With pay day for many

As expected Ballyshannon Town Council has elected Cllr Phonsie Travers as its next Mayor. The Fine Gael representative replaces his party colleague John Meehan. Fianna Fail had proposed Pat O’Malley for the position but he was defeated by five votes to four. This evenings result will come as no surprise as Fine Gael hold five of the nine seats

Inspections of septic tanks by council officials will begin next year. The Minister for the Environment says householders who own septic tanks can register with their local authority from this evening. They have to sign up by February 1st 2013. Inspections will be free – but it’s not yet known how many will be carried

A 21-year-old trainee mechanic has appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of Donegal born journalist Eugene Moloney in Dublin city centre last weekend. Gary Burch of Kennington Close, Templeogue has been remanded in custody until next Monday. 55-year-old Eugene Moloney died after he was punched in the head while walking home on Camden Street

It has emerged that a bus carrying Letterkenney St Eunan’s Under 21s Gaelic Football team players from a friendly match at Sigerson’s Park came  under ‘missile attack’ from youths in Strabane. The incident happened in the are of the Ballycolman shops last week but full details area only emerging now. The bus carrying the team

One of the two hotel workers on trial for the murder of Michaela McAreavey in Mauritius has told the trial that he was beaten, tortured and threatened with a gun by the police, following his arrest. Avinash Treebhoowoon is the first defence witness to give evidence in the trial. He told the court that he

Gardaí are continuing to question a man in his 20s over the murder of a journalist in Dublin at the weekend. 55-year-old Eugene Moloney, who born in Donegal, died from a single blow to the head after he was confronted by a number of men on Camden Street in the early hours of Sunday morning.

€16,000 is being provided to Letterkenny Town Council for drainage works at Elmwood Downs. Part of the estate has been badly affected by flooding in recent years, and during a recent visit to Letterkenny, Junior Minister Brian Hayes met with a number of residents. Town Engineer John Mc Carron presented him with a plan to

Figures released by Donegal County Council indicate that 10% of business premises in the county are vacant and available for rent or lease. Sinn Fein Councillor Marie Therese Gallagher says this is a strong indication of how many businesses have now closed in Donegal and how few are being opened. Last year the council wrote

Donegal is one of just 12 counties in Ireland which it is claimed are being ignored by foreign investors considering locating industry in Ireland. According to figures from Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Minister Richard Bruto, Donegal received no visits from potential foreign investors in the first six months of this year. Dublin continues to receive

The majority of Donegal County Councillors have voted in favour of a material contravention of the county development plan to facilitate the construction of a wind-farm close to Donegal Town. However in a recorded vote the motion failed as it didn’t get the 21 votes required to be carried. Eco Wind Power is seeking to

The doors of 80 Ulster Bank branches will stay open until 7 o’clock every day until Friday to deal with the payments backlog following last week’s system failure. Officials from the Central Bank met with management at Ulster Bank yesterday to put pressure on them to resolve the issue. The technical glitch – which was

The new Mayor of Donegal says he believes his profile nationally and internationally will help him to promote Donegal and build on the work of his predecessors. Cllr Frank Mc Brearty was elected Mayor of Donegal last evening in a two way contest with Fianna Fail Cllr Rena Donaghy, becoming the first Labour politician to

All the evidence has now been heard at the trial of Fr. Eugene Boland in Derry. The Moville born priest of Parochial House, Killyclogher Road, Omagh, denies five charges of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl between June 1990 and June 1992. The offences are alleged to have occurred while the teenager volunteered at a Parochial

Fianna Fail has claimed that 32% of the voting public have been excluded after a power sharing pact saw Frank McBrearty elected Mayor in Lifford on Monday. Fianna Fail nominated Councillor Rena Donaghey for the position but Labour, Sinn Fein and the Independents stuck to an agreement which saw the Inishowen representative defeated by 17

Gardai are investigating an incident at a party in Annagry early this morning, during which a 19 year old man sustained serious injuries. The man, believed to be from the Gweedore area, is seriously ill with head injuries in the ICU at Letterkenny General Hospital. Gardai cordoned off the scene of the incident today and

On the closing day of the trial of Fr. Eugene Boland the jury heard from several character witnesses for the priest. The Moville born priest of Parochial House, Killyclogher Road, Omagh, denies five charges of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl between June 1990 and June 1992. The offences are alleged to have occurred while the

As expected, Frank McBrearty Junior has been elected the Mayor of Donegal. His party colleague, Councillor Martin Farren was elected Deputy Mayor. They replace Councilor Noel McBride  and Councillor Barry O’Neill respectively. Fianna Fail proposed Councillor Rena Donaghey as Mayor but a power sharing pact between Labour, Fine Gael,Sinn Fein and Independents held with Councillor

The widower of Michaela McAreavey was heard to mutter the word “lies” today as  a lawyer for one of the men on trial for her murder opened the case for the defence. The trial of two local hotel workers – Avinash Treebhoowoon and Sandip Moneea – is now in its sixth week. They’re accused of

Donegal County Council will not be releasing the full details of a 90 thousand euro evaluation of the Whole System of Work to either the public or councillors who sanction the spend. The WSW has cost the Donegal public almost 3.5 million euro to date but has yet to be used. It is a system which is claimed

Donegal County Council has written off 3.4 million euro in rates due last year deeming the money irrecoverable. Figures released by the council show that of the almost 21 million euro in rates demanded off businesses last year just 15 million euro has been collected. 22% of businesses have entered a payment plan with the

Two teenagers have been arrested in Derry in connection with an assault on a couple aged in their 60’s on Greenhaw Avenue on Wednesday last. A 19 yr-old and a juvenile have been charged with GBH, common assault and possession of an offensive weapon. They were arrested last night, and are due to appear at

Donegal County Council is considering spending more money testing  the Whole System of Work. The controversial  system has cost the county almost 3.5 million euro to date and has been in development for 17 years – it aims to set out a way of working to make the Council run more efficiently and cost effectively.

Raphoe based Cllr Frank Mc Brearty will be Mayor of Donegal after the County Council’s AGM this afternoon. All five independent members have confirmed they will be honouring the pact agreed in 2010 and supporting Cllr Mc Brearty’s candidacy, despite a concerted Fianna Fail campaign. Raphoe based Cllr Frank Mc Brearty will be Mayor of

The people of Westport, Co Mayo, are celebrating this morning – after the town was named the best place to live in Ireland. The competition – run by The Irish Times – pitted the town against Cork City, Rathmines in Dublin, Ardara in Donegal as well as Killarney. But the panel were won over by