Author name: oisinkelly

Donegal South West Deputy Thomas Pringle has hit out at the Government’s negative campaigning on the upcoming referendum, describing their approach as “Machiavellian”. Deputy Pringle claimed there is provision for more money to be made available under the current bailout programme, and questioned the government’s claim that the European Stability Mechanism is the only future […]

The daughter of a 72-year-old man who died after confronting a burglar at his Coleraine home has spoken of her family’s heartbreak. Bertie Acheson was assaulted by a man who broke into his house in Glenmore Gardens in the early hours of Monday morning. The police said he suffered a heart attack brought on by

A West Tyrone MLA says he wants answers from Environment Miniser Alex Atwood about the failue of ther North’s Planning Service to enforce planning regulations at a gold mine near Omagh. Ulster Unionist MLA Ross Hussey has welcomed the Northern Ireland Ombudsman’s recommendation that the Planning Service should pay a total of £30,000 compensation to

Donegal County Council will officially honour the late Garda Gary McLoughlin at the County House in Lifford tomorrow afternoon. 24-year-old Garda McLoughlin died from his injuries after the garda car in which he was travelling was struck by a car in Burt while on duty three years ago. The late Garda McLoughlin is the second

A judge has ordered that 27 people who failed to turn up for jury duty in Donegal yesterday be brought before the court to explain why they failed to show. Judge Donagh McDonagh was speaking as a jury was sworn in at Letterkenny Circuit Court yesterday. He is quoted in this morning’s Irish Times as

One person had died and two have been injured following a collision near Ballyarnett Village in Derry, close to the Donegal border. There were two cars involved in the crash on Alder Road at 12.20 this morning. The male driver of one of them lost his life. Investigations into the cause of the collision are

A drug dealer was today given a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years at Donegal District Court. Judge Kevin Kilrane told Thomas Skeffington, who was found with 247 grammes of herbal cannabis worth almost €4.000 at his home that he was not a small cog in a chain of drugs distribution where “very unfortunate”

The Garda Commissioner has admitted that the closure of garda stations will impact communities. But Martin Callinan says that he and his colleagues are working to minimise the impact of station closures. Three Donegal stations, Culdaff, Doochary and Dunkineely have already been earmarked for closure, with fears there may be more to come. At a

Gardai in Letterkenny are continuing their investigation into the paramilitary shooting incident at Legnatraw, St. Johnston at quarter to eleven last night. A 29 year old man was shot in both legs and both arms. He was brought to Letterkenny General Hospital last night, where his condition was described as stable but it’s since emerged

A Donegal councillor says the planning permission for the Asian Hub in Athlone is to be welcomed if it creates jobs, and it should help to relax rural housing policy insofar as planning is concerned. Cllr Paul Canning says it’s difficult to understand why Planning Departments up and down the country refuse planning permission for

A pensioner collapsed and died of a heart attack after struggling with a burglar demanding money, the PSNI confirmed last night. 72-year-old Bertie Acheson was found dead at his home in Coleraine, Co Derry, where his ailing wife was then forced to hand over her purse with £375 before the man fled. Mr Acheson had

A man in his late twenties has been shot in a punishment style attack in Donegal. Two armed and masked men entered the man’s home in St Johnston, close to the Derry border, and shot him in the legs and arms. It’s understood the man was originally from Derry, and had been living in the

There’s been another break in at Immaculate Conception College in Derry’s Waterside, the third in a week. On this occasion, thieves entered through windows at the front of the school and escaped with a safe containing a sum of cash.

Detectives investigating the murder of pensioner Bertie Acheson during a burglary at his home in Coleraine are waiting for the results of a post mortem examination which is taking place this afternoon. The PSNI says the investigation into Mr Acheson’s death in the early hours of yesterday morning is continuing, but they need more assistance

Donegal County Council considered a 116 million euro Capital Programme yesterday, but Councillors expressed concern at the capital projects in their electoral areas that did not appear on the list. Just over 116 million euro will be spend on roads, sewerage, water and other major works between now and 2014. County Manager Seamus Neely has

An initiative is to be launched to address the concerns of small businesses in border counties, and make it easier for them to operate both North and South. Junior Enterprise Minister John Perry has agreed to bring a Border Regional Authority delegation to meet with Minisetr Richard Bruton and also to formulate a plan to

A pharmacist from Donegal had just been elected as the new President of the Irish Pharmacy Union. The IPU represents over 1800 pharmacists across the country. Rory O’Donnell is a native of Dungloe and is the proprietor of a pharmacy in Gweedore in the West Donegal Gaeltacht. He says while times are difficult,  pharmicies will

As the remaining 15 workers at the Oatfield factory in Letterkenny prepare for the shut down of the facility at the end of the month, the town’s Mayor is calling on owners Zed Candy to honour their responsibilities in relation to redundacy payments. Cllr Gerry Mc Monagle spoke to workers last evening, and says they’re

A Donegal auctioneer says there is very keen interest in agricultural land in the county, with the sale of a 71 acre farm in five lots at the weekend. In total, the farm near Ballyare realised 830,000 euro, with some of the plots securing 15,000 euro an acre. Auctioneer Boyd Robinson says it is a

The North’s Environment Minister says there are no immediate plans to dive at the site where it had been thought a submarine was submerged in Lough Foyle, but it may happen in the future. A sonar image captured by a team from Mallow during a search in March suggested the possibility of a submerged submarine

A major police investigation is underway in County Derry after a 72-year-old man died during a burglary at his home in Coleraine. Police have indicated he was involved in a confrontation with an intruder who broke into the house in Glenmore Gardens at around half past one this morning. They describe the intruder as being

A 39-year-old Derry man has been convicted of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend. Stephen Cahoon of Harvey Street, admitted killing 30-year-old Jean Teresa Quigley on July 26th 2008 – but denied her murder. He strangled the mother of four in the bedroom of her home in Cornshell Fields in Derry. He claimed he was provoked because

In 2010, Amy Rose Harte produced a documentary on Oatfield Sweets, which was broadcast both on Highland Radio and Newstalk. This is a link to the documentary, in two parts. It was posted online by Sound Engineer Lochlainn  Harte. http://lochlainnharte.tumblr.com/

Cardinal Sean Brady has granted sabbatical leave to the Parish Priest of Pomeroy in Tyrone. The Primate of all Ireland accepted Father Martin McVeigh’s request to leave following an incident in which a powerpoint presentation he gave to a meeting of Communion class pupil’s parents displayed graphic images. Father McVeigh denies any knowledge of the

The owners of the Oatfield brand will begin meeting with staff today ahead of the closure of the factory at the end of May. Zed Candy confirmed on Friday that the plant would close, with production moving to a factory in the UK. Confirming their intention to close the plant at the end of May,

A Donegal Deputy has said a Sinn Fein/Fianna Fail coalition is a distinct possibility in the near future. Yesterday former Fianna Fáil deputy leader Eamon O’Cuív called for his party to consider entering a coalition with Sinn Féin. Eamon O’Cuiv said they would be “natural coalition partners” with Fianna Fail due to their Republican ideology.

Thousands are expected to attend a rally against the Republican Action Against Drugs group in Derry later. It follows the punishment style shooting of an 18 year old and death threats to a businessman, who had previously been shot by the group. The SDLP’s Pat Ramsey says the group known as RAAD, need to stop

The Chair of the Donegal County Development Board says every help possible will be offered to the 15 workers whose jobs will go when Oatfield in Letterkenny shuts its doors at the end of May. Cllr Dessie Larkin says training opportunities will be made available, and there is expertise in the town and the county that can be

It’s emerged that there is no submarine or shipwreck at the bottom of Lough Foyle. It follows a series of sonar surveys commissioned by the North’s Department of the Environment. They now say the images found by a mallow based Search and Rescue Team in March were an anamoly. According to Environment Minister Alex Attwood, an

A Dungloe Councillor is calling on Junior Minister Dinny Mc Ginley to become involved in the campaign to have a tourist officer located in the town over the summer. Cllr Marie Terese Gallagher says Failte Ireland has withdrawn funding for the provision of a staff member to work at the Temple Crone Centre. Previously, there

The North’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has repeated he would be prepared to testify at the Smithwick tribunal. Speaking on the fringes of an international conference on conflict resolution in Dublin this afternoon, Martin McGuinness told the BBC he would be prepared to testify at the Smithwick tribunal if asked. However, he added he

The Managing Director of Zed Candy told Highland Radio News this evening that representatives of the company will meet individually with each of the remaining Oatfield workers on Monday. The plant will close at the end of May, and production will switch to a plant in the UK. Donegal Senator Jimmy Harte has called on

The Oatfield factory in Letterkenny is to close at the end of next month, with the loss of 15 jobs. In a statement, Oatfield Confectionery says this difficult, but unavoidable business decision was made following a detailed review of manufacturing operations. The company says the past number of years the factory in Letterkenny has been

A man is to be released from custody after being refused bail by a district judge from Co. Donegal. Judge Sean MacBride allegedly told the defendant he would ‘swallow him up and spit him out’. Judge MacBride is also alleged to have told the defendant he believed himself to be “mentally and psychologically superior to

Donegal Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill has slammed the Chief Executive of An Post for failing to provide any clarity on the reasons behind the closure of two post offices in Donegal. An Post CEO Donal Connell appeared before the Oireachtas Communications Committee in Leinster House this week. Senator O Domhnaill asked Mr Connell about the

One of the organisers of a rally against Republican Action Against Drugs has said last nights shooting was deliberately timed ahead of tomorrows protest. Davy McCauley of RAAD – Not In Our Name, which is holding a rally tomorrow, said he was “disgusted”. He said this was RAADs attempt to say they won’t go away

The family of Denis Donaldson is preparing to take legal action against the Irish government to force the state to hold an inquest into his death, it has been reported. Yesterday, an inquest into Donaldson’s death was adjourned in Letterkenny for the ninth time. In 2006, Donaldson — a former leading Sinn Fein figure who

A teenager has been injured in a paramilitary-style shooting in the Creggan estate in Derry. The shooting happened in the Rinmore Drive area shortly after 10 o clock last night. An 18-year-old man was shot in both legs. He was treated in Altnagelvin Hospital’s A&E department before being discharged. SDLP MLA Pat Ramsey said he

The Central Bank Governor Patrick Honohan is callling for a yes vote in the EU Fiscal treaty referendum. In a speech last night the Governor also suggested banks should not shy away from repossessing buy-to-let properties held by delinquent borrowers. He said financial institutions have been too slow to deal with the growing problem of

Socialist MEP Paul Murphy travels to Dungloe this evening to attend a meeting opposing the EU Stability Treaty. Donegal South West Deputy Thomas Pringle and Cllr John Campbell will also address the gathering at the Temple Crone centre. Paul Murphy says the treaty is inextricably linked with water charges and other taxes which, he claims,

Representatives of Google and the tourist review site Trip Advisor were among the speakers at a Failte Ireland North West event this week highlighting the importance of a strong online presence. The e-business conference looked at the extent to which travellers now use the Internet both for information and for booking. The conference was told

The family of murdered republican double agent Denis Donaldson want the European Court to investigate delays in his inquest. Their solicitor Ciaran Shiels said today(Thurs) that they believe the delay six years after his death is three times what is acceptable under the European Human Rights Convention. He told coroner Dr Denis McCauley during the

It’s feared that hundreds of farmers in Donegal will lose out after Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney today confirmed there will be no Agri-Environment Options Scheme this year. The IFA say they had expected a new round of AEOS to open next month, particularly for those who have recently come off REPS 3. Donegal County Chairman

There were just over 161,000 people living in Donegal in 2011, with 27.5% of the county’s population living in urban areas, compared to a national average of 62%, living on less thsn 3% of the country’s total land surface. According to the latest figures published in Census 2011, Donegal’s fastest growing town is Carndonagh, which

Donegal North East Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn has clashed with the Taoiseach at a Committee examining the referendum on the EU fiscal treaty. The Taoiseach told the Sinn Fein Deputy that the decision in relation to the treaty, was down to the people of Ireland. But Deputy MacLochlainn put it to Enda Kenny that the treaty

A Dail committee has been told that potential growth has been lost in Donegal because of delays in licensing aquaculture projects. Deputy Joe Mc Hugh told the meeting of the Communications, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Marine Committee today that Marine Harvest in Donegal had waited 20 years for licences. That means, he said, aquaculture companies

A Former Governor of Mountjoy Prison has said it was the wrong decision to put Martin McDermott in an open prison. 26-year-old McDermott, from Raphoe, escaped from the low security Loughan House prison in Blacklion last month. He was serving a sentence at Loughan House for the manslaughter of Garda Gary McLoughlin in Burt in

A Fianna Fáil private member’s motion calling for a review of fuel prices was defeated in the Dáil last night by 86 votes to 45. The party had put forward a proposal to reduce the price of diesel and petrol by four cent a litre. During last night’s debate, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said

The government says it’s not possible to confirm when work will begin on new buildings for Gortahork National School and St Mary’s National School in Stranorlar. The issue was raised on the adjournment in the Seanad last night by Senator Brian O’Domhnaill, who called for the two projects to be included in the government’s 5

The judge in the retrial of a County Derry man accused of murdering a woman pregnant with his child will begin his summing up today. 39 year old Stephen Cahoon admits killing Jean Quigley at her home in Cornshell Fields in Derry on July 26th 2008, but denies murder. Stephen Cahoon was arrested in Donegal