Author name: oisinkelly

Donegal fishermen have welcomed an agreement by the Council of Ministers in Europe to scrap the issuing of transferable fishing quotas. There are fears the move would have meant the privatisation of the Irish Fishing Industry, with the possibility of Irish Quotas being sold off to other European States to the highest bidder. This is […]

Police in Derry have seized drugs estimated to be worth £800,000 and arrested a 33 year old man. Local officers, with assistance from colleagues in Organised Crime Branch, stopped a van on the Glengalliagh Road shortly after 7pm last night. A 33 year old man was arrested and a substantial quantity of herbal cannabis which

A Councillor has called for a crack down on on-street drinking in Letterkenny claiming it to be one of the key factors in a recent spate of violent crime. Councillor Tadg Culbert has questioned if gardai have issued a single fine for the offence of drinking alcohol in public since a by-law was introduced making

Donegal Creameries and ZedCandy have both been heavily criticised by members of Letterkenny Town Council for their role in the demise of Oatfield in Letterkenny. Letterkenny’s Oatfield sweet factory finally closed at the end of last month with the loss of 17 jobs – manufacturing of the sweets has been switched to Britain. Last nights

Police in Derry say they do not believe the dissident group “Republican Action Against Drugs” poses any threat to next year’s UK City of Culture events. During a briefing last evening, Chief Superintendent Stephen Martin called on the group to disband, and refuted figures published in the Guardian newspaper that up to 85 men have

Foyle MLA Mark H. Durkan says the decision to centralise health administration in four sites will see 15 staff in Derry face a commute of an extra 100 miles, and create problems for all staff in the Western Health Trust. Currently each of the five health trusts has its own administration department which includes payroll

A rock face in County Donegal is causing a stir, with some people saying they see the face of Jesus in it. It’s been discovered at Glenveigh National Park, but its precise location is a secret so far. Those who see the image in the rock say it shows Jesus with his head bowed, and

A call has been made to Ireland’s diaspora to come home to where the heart is. Taoiseach Enda Kenny urged the 70 million people worldwide of Irish descent, and even those who just want a touch of Irishness, to make a trip to the Emerald Isle next year to be part of The Gathering 2013

The mother of Andrew Allen, who was murdered by Republican Action Against Drugs earlier this year, has said that the people who killed her son are nothing but thugs. 24-year-old Andrew Allen was murdered at his home in Buncrana in February when four masked gunmen fired shots through the window of his home. According to

There has been a dramatic increase in hoax phone-calls to Donegal’s fire service Acting Chief Fire Officer Joe McTaggart says there has been an increase in hoax calls of more than 60% in the past five years and other vital services are suffering as a result. Mr McTaggart told the Shaun Doherty Show earlier that

Buncrana Town council is to write to the HSE calling for English fluency standards to be put in place for Doctors from outside the country being employed in Ireland. The issue was raised by Councillor Mary Kelly who says she has been contacted by numerous people who claim to have not understood Doctors from outside

The Mayor of Letterkenny has said the minimum of 10,000 euro it costs to clean chewing gum off the town’s main street could be better spent of other more important projects. Councillor Gerry McMonagle was speaking following the weekend launch of Donegal County Council’s Gum Litter Awareness campaign. Run by the Gum Litter Taskforce in

Measures to boost trade between Britain and Ireland will be on the agenda during a meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly today. The co-chairmen of the Assembly, Deputy Joe McHugh, and Laurence Robertson MP, have said that building trade opportunities between Britain and Ireland is key to economic growth. Taoiseach Enda Kenny will speak on

A fire at the weekend destroyed one of the oldest houses in Letterkenny. Units of the fire brigade were called to the scene on Saturday afternoon at Kiltoy House in the Gortlee area of the town. The site, which forms part of the old unifi factory site, had been unoccupied for a number of years.

The Community Relations Council in Northern Ireland says sectarianism remains deeply rooted in society there, despite the progress made in the peace process. The issues are to be discussed at a conference in Belfast this week aimed at tackling division. When the GFA agreement which led eventually to the power sharing government at Stormont was

Two men being questioned about dissident republican activity have been released unconditionally. The men, aged 41 and 47, were arrested in Strabane on Friday. Five other people arrested on Saturday – four men and a woman ranging in age from 33 to 46 – are still being questioned. Police carried out searches in Toome, County

Felix Healy has resigned from his position as Director of Football at Finn Harps. In a statement released on the clubs website this morning, they said he had resigned due to other commitments. The club stated that they will release a statement regarding the new management structure as soon as possible. Finn Harps were beaten

Police have arrested four people over alleged dissident republican activity. The three men and a woman were detained in Toome, County Antrim and Pomeroy, Carrickmore and Omagh in County Tyrone. Houses in all four places are being searched. The three men are aged 33, 44, and 46, while the woman is 37. They are currently

The Sisters of Nazereth says it has worked with HIQA to resolve issues highlighted in a report published today which was triggered after a number of residents of Nazareth House died of suspected flu. The two inspections were carried out by the Authority in early April after seven residents of Nazareth House in Fahan died

Two men have been arrested in Strabane in relation to dissident republican activity The men aged 41 and 47 were arrested during an operation in the town earlier this afternoon. They have been taken to the Antrim Serious Crime Suite for questioning. These are the latest in a series of arrest in the Strabane area

Comedian Brendan O’Carroll says he is edging closer to entering the world of politics and has not ruled out running for a seat in the Dail. The Mrs Brown’s Boys Star has a political heritage – his Mother Maureen was a TD in Dublin for the Labour Party. Speaking on the Shaun Doherty Show ,

A HIQA report has found that the there were some deficits in the standard of cleanliness and hygiene at Nazareth House in Fahan. The report also found that there appeared to be no established procedure to enable early detection of influenza in the nursing home. The two inspections carried out by the Authority on 2,

A Donegal GP has said ‘it is no wonder Ireland is broke’ given the cost the state is paying for medicine Dr Paul Armstrong is a GP in Lifford and was a key player in the founding of the NowDoc service. He has used the example of a major cholesterol-lowering drug which is now out

Donegal County Council’s Gum Litter Awareness campaign was launched in Letterkenny today by Cllr Noel McBride Mayor of Donegal and Cllr Gerry McMonagle Mayor of Letterkenny. Run by the Gum Litter Taskforce in association with local authorities throughout Ireland, the National Gum Litter Awareness campaign aims to reduce littered gum. It hopes to do so

North West MEP Marian Harkin says she believes if the referendum on the Fiscal Treaty is postponed, the government will have a better chance of getting it passed. Ms Harkin called for the postponement in light of the recent change of president in France, and in particular the decision by the German Bundestag to defer

The River Links Project linking East Donegal and West Tyrone is being formally in Doneyloop this afternoon. The project involves neighbouring communities aliong the banks of the Finn and the Foyle working together on projects with funding from the EU interreg programme. Initiatives include a community centre in Stranorlar, a walkway linking Clady and Doneyloop

Software company Kainos is set to create around 60 new jobs in Derry. The firm has announced it is investing £10m in its operations. Kainos is one of Irelands most successful, indigenous ICT companies and employs more than 300 staff across its offices in Belfast, Dublin, London and Gdansk in Poland.

Buncrana Town Council has been told it would not be viable to introduce a 30 minute grace period for pay and display parking in the town. The issue was raised by Cllr Ciaran Mc Laughlin, who said he’d like to see a system similar to the one agreed in Letterkenny last year. However, officials say

Foyle MLA Martina Anderson may be on the way to Europe. She was selected at a convention in Derry last night to go forward to replace Barbara De Bruin as one of Northern Ireland’s three MEPs. She must now be ratified at a Northern Ireland convention, for which she is, so far, the only nominee.

Software company Kainos is set to create around 60 new jobs in Derry. The firm has announced it is investing £10m in its operations. The North’s Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said most of the software engineering posts will pay above the private sector median, contributing £1.6m a year to the Northern Ireland economy. Kainos is

The Taoiseach has ruled out delaying the referendum to ratify the EU Fiscal Treaty – despite Germany saying it’s putting off ratification until next month. Enda Kenny says there’s a legal obligation on us to vote on May 31st and therefore the date of the referendum will not be postponed. He’s also ruled taking part

The discovery of a mysterious object in the river Foyle, has turned out to be a rock outcrop. Divers inspected the site last week and despite poor visibility, no evidence of a reck was found. It was thought that the mystery wreck could have been a submarine or U-boat. But Environment Minister Alex Attwood said

Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh has told the Dail that the history of the extension at Letterkenny General Hospital will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of many sub contractors who got burned and lost money on the project. Deputy Mc Hugh was supporting Senator Fergal Quinn’s Construction Contracts Bill which is

A private members motion expressing concern about cuts to the domiciliary care allowance and the effect on people with disabilities has been defeated in the Dail by 81 votes to 41. The Independent TD Catherine Murphy, who tabled the motion on behalf of the technical group, said there was evidence that children, particularly those  with

Buncrana Town Council’s finances are moving in the right direction, according to Mayor Cllr Nicholas Crossan. Cllr Crossan was speaking after the council approved a draft unaudited financial statement for 2011, showing that while the council did have a deficit of €335,000 last year, it fell for the third year in a row, The council

It’s emerged that the Western Health Trust is to carry out a formal review of the treatment and care of a baby who died from pseudomonas in Derry. Caolan Burke died from the infection at Altnagelvin Hospital when he was 10 days old. In a letter to the baby’s parents, the Western Health Trust said

Over six years after its first planning bid, the development company Jansu has submitted a scaled down application for a mixed development at the site of the old Fruit of the Loom dye house in Buncrana. An initial application submitted in 2006 was rejected by Buncrana Town Council, but a revised application was cleared by

A 19 year old woman has been stabbed in Milford,  a man’s been arrested. Gardai in Milford have confirmed they are investigating the circumstances of a stabbing incident at a dwelling at Lough Rd, Milford at approx. 7.30pm last night. The woman is being treated at Letterkenny Hospital for her injuries they are not believed

There’s been another shooting incident in Derry, this time in the Glendara area. Police say at approximately 10.30pm last night it was reported that a 39 year old man answered a knock to his door and was confronted by two masked men. As he attempted to close the door three shots were fired at him,

Police in Derry have renewed their appeal for witnesses to a fatal road traffic collision on the Racecourse Road, Ballyarnet in the eatrly hours of last Thursday morning. 25 year old Sean Paul Cullen died in the collision. Last night, police revisited the scene between the hours of midnight and 1am, stopping motorists and passing

A human foetus has been discovered outside a property at Brenter, near Dunkineely. The foetus was found at about 5.15pm yesterday and taken to Letterkenny General Hospital where tests confirmed an age of approximately 13 weeks. Gardaí say it is unclear how the foetus came to be there, but they are concerned for the welfare

The Government’s guaranteeing the cut in the lower rate of VAT to the end of next year. It was reduced to 9% last year for certain tourism and leisure businesses as part of the jobs initiative. The VAT rate applies to a range of services in the tourism sector, including hotels, restaurants, leisure centres, and

A man who shone a laser at a police helicopter was told his action could have had ‘catastrophic consequences’. 28 year old Jagpal Irwin of 22, Ard Na Smoll, Dungiven admitted the offence which occurred on January 30. The court was told that at 10.30 that night, police were on an operation in Dungiven. A