Author name: oisinkelly

More socio-economic results have been released by the Central Statistics Office from Census 2011. In April last year, there were 72,146 people in the labour force in County Donegal, an increase of 7,054, or 11%, since April 2006. However, the labour force participation rate in the county is considerably lower than the national average. In […]

The Western Development Commission has launched a one million euro loan fund for creative industries in the West and North West. The commission says it’s particularly interested in sole traders or small companies which have the potential to make a major contribution, but can lack access to funding and resources. The commission says events such

Double killer John Gallagher has today been  released from Central Mental Hospital following an assessment of the Mental Health Review Board. John Gallagher was found guilty but insane of the 1988 fatal shooting of his former girlfriend Anne Gillespie and her mother Annie Gillespie in the grounds of Sligo General Hospital when they were visiting

In Mauritius, the trial of two men accused of killing Michaela McAreavey has been adjourned for legal argument. The pair deny murdering the 27-year-old during her honeymoon in Mauritius in January of last year. Proceedings were halted this morning after a motion was put forward by one of the lawyers in the case. The trial

Farmers in Donegal are facing a crisis with the harvesting of silage as one of the wettest Junes in decades takes it’s toll. It’s understood that just over half of the first cut has been harvested, with the season running more than two weeks later than normal. And as the wet weather continues there are

A West Tyrone MLA has called for a drunk drivers jail sentence to be increased. Ross Hussey spoke out after being handed a petition calling for Connor Breen’s sentence to be made longer. Strabane man Simon Glen was killed when the car he was driving along Omaghs Doochary Road was ploughed into by a drunken

The Arranmore Lifeboat was called out in the early hours of this morning to assist a French fishing vessel. A crew member on board the vessel which was located 50 miles northwest off Arranmore had complained of chest pains . Initially the coastguard helicopter was called out, but when they couldn’t airlift the casualty as

A man has been charged in connection with a paramilitary-style shooting in Strabane in April 2010. Ryan McColgan, who was 24 at the time, was brought out of a house at Lisnafin Park into the garden, where he was shot in both legs. The man who is due to appear at Dungannon Magistrates Court today

The yacht leading the Clipper Round the World Race has arrived in Derry this morning. The Australian boat and its nine competitors, including the Derry/Londonderry vessel, have spent 11 months circumnavigating the globe. The boats arrival in the city will be the highlight of a week of celebrations. Five more ships are expected tomorrow and

The Sea Sessions festival gets underway in Co. Donegal today. It celebrates surfing, music and art over three days in Bundoran. The event is worth around 5 million euro to the local economy. Spokesperson Daniel Browne says Delorentos, the Happy Mondays, and Jape are just some of the names set to take to the stage:

Homeowners who haven’t paid the 100-euro household charge are to get letters next week, warning that they’ll face penalties if they don’t pay up. The Environment Minister has told the Dail that 960-thousand out of 1.6-million homeowners have so far registered for the tax. That represents a complience rate of 60 per cent. However Phil

The CEO of Ulster Bank has finally broken his silence on the I-T debacle which has left customers facing serious problems with their accounts. Jim Browne says the bank is aiming to fix the problems – which have affected automatic payments – by early next week. But he’s refusing to say whether that means Monday

Met Eireann has warned of heavy rainfall in Donegal this evening as thunderstorms have moved up from southern parts of the country. But the Northwest looks like it will escape the flooding that has hit the North-East and South of the country. Earlier this afternoon there were huge downpours in several parts of the county,

It’s been revealed that almost a quarter of a million pounds was spent on the Strabane dole office just months before the announcement that 80% of staff are being relocated to Derry. Documents released under Freedom of Information also reveal how £400,000 in total has been spent enhancing and maintaining the facility in the past

Donegal had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country last year. That’s according to 2011 Census figures released today by the Central Statistics Office. Cork City and Waterford also showed high rates of unemployment, while Limerick City had the highest unemployment rate in the country last year. New information also released shows that the

Promoting Letterkenny will be a key priority for the town’s new Mayor, Cllr Dessie Larkin. Cllr Larkin and his Deputy Cllr Victor Fisher were elected unanimously at last night’s AGM. It’s his third time in the chair, and his second time to hold the title of Mayor of Letterkeny, making him the first person to

Letterkenny Town Council is to receive €232,000 for an active travel programme in the town, designed to encourage walking and cycling as well as promoting public transport. A town centre parking strategy is also included in the package which was announced this morning by Junior Minister Alan Kelly. Minister Kelly says the Town Council’s application

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.