Author name: oisinkelly

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has been blocked this evening from raising the plight of Highland bakery staff in the Dail. He was seeking to raise the matter after today’s stand-off between staff and officials working on behalf of the Revenue Commissioners. The stand-off began this morning when agents acting on behalf of Revenue arrived at the […]

The Court of Criminal Appeal has reserved judgement in the case of three Northern Ireland men appealing against their convictions for membership of the IRA. In November 2010, Gerard McGarrigle, Desmond Donnelly and Jim Murphy  were convicted of membership of an illegal organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hÉireann, otherwise the

A cyclist was taken to hospital for treatment after he struck a parked car outside Donegal town shortly before 5 o’clock on Monday evening. It is understood the cyclist hit the wing mirror of the car which was parked on the side of the Ballybofey road just outside Donegal Town. The cyclist was taken to

The Taoiseach has appeared to suggest that Sinn Fein was behind protests in Donegal on Monday. Enda Kenny was met by a vocal crowd of protesters at Loreto Community School last evening; his car was struck by a number of eggs as it approached the school. This was one of the most recent protests the

Highland Radio News has learned that the stand off at the Highland Bakery premises has ended. There are no further details at present. Below is the original story which was broken by Highland Radio News… A stand off has developed between staff and officials from the Revenue Commissioners at the Highland Bakery factory premises on

Army bomb experts have made safe a number of bombs in Derry. A security alert at Maureen Avenue in Derrys Bogside has ended, but a number of residents have not yet been allowed to return home as further tests are being carried out. A 30-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of dissident republican activity.

A Councillor in Derry’s Bogside says storing explosive devices in a residential area is highly dangerous, and lives could have been lost. Northlands SDLP Cllr John Bopyle was speaking after a security alert in the Maureen Avenue area during which a number of viable devicesd were found in a flat. A 30 year old man

The FAI has announced an investment of 100,000 euro in funding for soccor clubs in Donegal. Plans have also been announced for a Festival of Football in Donegal in July to coincide with the association’s AGM in Letterkenny. Senator Jimmy Harte says the FAI and Donegal County Council are to be congratulated on the initiative,

A security alert in Derry’s Bogside has now ended, however police remain at the scene carrying out further examination. Police say a number of viable devices found at a property in Maureen Avenue, a residential area, have been made safe by ATO and have been taken away for further forensic examination. A number of residents

The trial is underway in Mauritius of two men accused of murdering Michaela McAreavey. 29-year-old Avinash Treebhowoon and 41-year-old Sandip Mooneea are accused of killing her while she was on honeymoon in January 2011. They both deny any involvement in Mrs McAreavey’s death. Police believe the daughter of Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte was strangled

Police remain at the scene of a security alert in the Maureen Avenue area of Derry’s Bogside although the street has now been reopened to traffic. Following a search operation last night, a suspicious object was found and a man, believed to be 30, was arrested on suspicion of dissident republican activity. All residents have

A Chinese woman accused of murdering her husband in Derry last year had in excess of £100,000 in her bank account, a police officer told Derry Magistrate’s Court today. 39 year old Suwei Shang of Francis Street in Derry is charged with murdering Damian Keenan on November 1st. During a bail application in Derry yesterday

The latest rent survey from Daft.ie suggest that the urban-rural rental gap is widening with rents in Dublin and Cork rising with the reverse being the case in the rest of the country. Prices in Ulster fell marginally but one of the biggest drops in rent prices was recorded in Donegal. In Ulster, rents in

Donegal South West Deputy Pearse Doherty has criticised the decision to continue with early polling on the county’s offshore islands. Voting in the Fiscal Treaty Referendum will take place on Monday next May 28th, four days before the rest of the county. Deputy Doherty says it’s an unfair decision which raises constitutional issues for those

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny attended  Loreto Secondary School, Milford this evening to present an award after it recently won the National Smart Class Initiative. Below is a transcript of the speech he delivered to students, teachers and parents at the school. I’m delighted to present this prize to Milford Loreto Donegal. Not just a SmartClass

Enda Kenny has been met by protestors during a visit to Loreto Community School in Milford this afternoon – with reports that his car was pelted by eggs. He was in Milford to make a presentation at the School which recently came first in the National Smart Class Initiative. There is anger at his late

The Managing Director of Largo Foods’ Donegal plant has confirmed that 60 full and part time jobs are to go. Ray Coyle said the jobs are going in the packing department, which to be automated. Mr Coyle concluded that if the jobs losses are not implemeted as part of a cost cutting exercise, then the

Police confirm that a  man has been arrested over an incident in Derry last month in which a pipe bomb was left under a car owned a police officer’s parents. The device was left at Drumleck Drive in the Shantallow area on the 15th April of April. The PSNI officer does not live in the

A woman has described how two men tried to hijack her car in Letterkenny as she drove home from a friend’s house. The woman was travelling along Pearse Road in the early hours of Sunday morning, she stopped to allow two men to cross the road but the men turned on her and tried to

Donegal South West TD Thomas Pringle is in the High Court today calling for his challenge to ‘effects’ of  the May 31 referendum on the Fiscal Stability Treaty to be heard sooner rather than later. Mr Pringle claims the Government intends to use a “Yes” vote in the referendum to push through another treaty in

A 26 yr-old man has been arrested in Derry today in relation to an incident in Drumleck Drive on the 15th of last month. What was described as a viable device was left under a car owned by the parents of a serving police officer.

A man has appeared at Derry Magistrates Court charged with murder and attempted murder after two sisters were shot, one of them fatally, in County Derry at the weekend. 18 year old Lauren O’Neill lost her life as she tried to prevent her 21 year old sister Brenda from being shot. Brenda O’Neill’s young children

Taoiseach Enda Kenny is in Donegal today for a number of engagements. He’ll visit the Pramerica plant in Letterkenny at lunchtime, before travelling to Milford where he will make a presentation at Loreto Community School which recently won the National Smart Class Initiative. Mr Kenny will conclude his visit with a number of engagements in

A councillor in Newtowncunningham is claining today that burglaries and break ins are becoming more prevalent in rural communities, and the lack of a visible garda presence is adding to the problem. Cllr Paul Canning says a premises in Newtowncunningham was broken into with a number of items, including security cameras, stolen. Also, he says,

A 26 year old man has been charged with murder and attempted murder after two sisters were shot, one of them fatally, in County Derry at the weekend. A 21 year-old woman remains in a critical condition in hospital, following the shooting in Bellaghy on Saturday morning. 18 year old Lauren O’Neill lost her life

Up to 70 jobs are to go at the Largo Foods plant in Gweedore. The Donegal News is reporting this morning that a notice put up at the plant on Friday says the jobs will go in June and July, with approximately 35 jobs going in each of the two months. There’s been no statement

The Taoseach has been accused of running scared after declining to meet with a number of campaign groups during his visit to Donegal tomorrow. Taoiseach Enda Kenny will visit Loreto Community School, which recently won the National Smart Class Initiative, to meet with parents, teachers and pupils. However a number of groups including Donegal Action

In Derry, a 21 year-old woman remains in a critical condition in hospital, following a shooting incident in the  village of Bellaghy. Brenda O’Neill and her sister Lauren, who’s 18, were both shot in the incident – which took place yesterday morning. Lauren was killed – as she tried to protect Brenda from being shot.

Letterkenny Town Council officials have been tasked with improving safety at Ballymacool Park with one councillor concerned a child could be injured or killed  if action isn’t taken. Councillor Dessie Larkin raised the issue after reports of children chasing balls which escaped the park on to the Glenswilly Road. He wants officials to to seek

A woman’s been shot dead in Bellaghy in County Derry. Another woman’s been seriously injured after the shooting in William Court this morning. A man in his 20s has been arrested. He’s currently being questioned at the Serious Crime Suite in Antrim.

Irish wholesale and retail grocery group BWG has acquired Donegal-based rival Morris Brothers for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 1952, Morris Brothers is a family-run wholesale and retail grocery company based in Convoy. It has annual revenues of about €30 million, is profitable and employs 30 staff. The company’s owners, Fintan Morris and Joseph Morris,

Health officials are investigating the outbreak of a mystery virus at a Donegal school. Three teachers from Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada on Arranmore Island are suffering from a virus. One has been treated in hospital. No other staff or pupils at the school have been affected. Six other teachers at the 60-pupil school are now looking

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Young People and Children Charlie McConalogue says if specific measures to tackle youth unemployment are not put in place, then emigration will continue to be a major issue. The Donegal North East TD, who has just published a strategy document on the matter, says the current Government’s various job plans have

Over 600 thousand people still haven’t paid the new household charge. The latest figures from the Department of the Environment show that so far, over 940 thousand people have paid the controversial 100 euro tax. And fewer than 25 thousand homeowners have paid the charge, since the March 31st deadline. The news comes as the

It’s been confirmed that DLDC, the Donegal Local Development Company has been asked to deliver the Local and Community Development Programme in the Donegal gaeltacht this year. This would have been one of the functions carried out by MFG, which went into administration last September, and still hasn’t been replaced. DLDC says it has developed

Gardai are investigating the armed robbery of a shop in Glenswilly. At 9.45pm last evening two men entered McFadden’s shop in Breenagh one armed with a knife and the other a baseball bat and demanded money from the two female members of staff. The men, dressed in dark clothes and wearing balaclavas, escaped with a

The group which organised the Education Rally in Letterkenny last March says following Minister Ruari Quinn’s visit to Donegal today, it’s even more important that parents, teachers and others support their planned vigils on May 31st as the country votes on the EU Fiscal Treaty. Between 3 o’clock and 4 o’clock, it’s intended that one

Education Minister says it would be premature to commit his department to a new education campus in Buncrana. Speaking during his Donegal visit today, Minister Quinn said he can make no commitments on the proposed new three school campus in Buncrana, as a site has not yet been identified. The new development has not been

A Derry man will go on trial later this year charged with attempted murder and sexual assault. The 32-year-old who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the alleged injured party appeared at Derry Crown Court today. He pleaded not guilty to a series of charges which include attempted murder sexual assault,

A suspected pervert was the subject of an attack, his solicitor told a court today. The 42-year-old man, accused of child-sex offences, wore a plaster over stitches above his right eye when he appeared at Ballyshannon District Court. He is accused of exploiting children, exposing himself in his window, and having child pornography on his

The Education Minister was greeted by around 40 protestors at the opening of the new Finn Valley College this morning. Ruari Quinn said good morning to the protesters, and he said he would take their concerns on board. Doengal South West Deputy Dinny McGinley spoke with the protesters and he will raise their concerns with

A 21-year-old woman has died following a car crash in County Fermanagh near Pettigo. She has been identified as Gemma McHale from the Castlederg area. The collision happened on the Letter Road in Kesh in the early hours of this morning. Only one vehicle was involved. Police said the road will be closed for the

Two-thirds of voters aren’t happy with the Government’s performance according to a new opinion poll. The survey for today’s Irish Independent is also the latest to show a significant increase in support for Sinn Féin. Fine Gael’s down two points to 34 percent, while Labour drops four to 15 percent. Fianna Fáil’s unchanged on 17