Author name: oisinkelly

Two people convicted of homicide-related offences are currently on the run from open prisons in Ireland – according to an opposition spokesperson on justice. The revelation comes after another three prisoners escaped from Loughan House in Co. Cavan for a number of hours yesterday. The inmates were apprehended in a joint operation involving Gardai, the […]

The Committee on Fisheries in the European Parliament has approved the introduction of new trade measures including sanctions which are designed to prevent overfishing by non EU country. Ireland North West MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher was appointed to oversee the introduction of the measures. There aim is to pressure the Faro Islands and Iceland

Letterkenny is to be excluded from this year IBAL litter survey with Buncrana the only town in the county to be monitored. Letterkenny is one of a number of towns across the country to be excluded from the survey due to a cut in funding – but the negative reaction from local elected representatives to

Clinics have been cancelled at Letterkenny General Hospital today following another very busy night. The 20 beds in the hospital’s overflow ward are full which means people are being treated or awaiting treatment on trolleys in the outpatient department. As a result, Mr Mohomad’s and Dr Steel’s medical clinics have been cancelled – Mr Patel’s

A Derry man accused of murdering the mother of his unborn child has begun giving evidence at his retrial. Stephen Cahoon, 39, admits killing Jean Quigley at her home in Cornshell Fields, in Derry, on 26 July 2008 but he denies murder. He was arrested in Donegal shortly after the killing. n July 2009, a

It is reported that newspapers owned by publishing group Johnston Press are to be dramatically redesigned  to make them cheaper to produce in the latest move by the group to cut costs. Johnston, which has some 36 titles across the island, including the ‘Donegal Democrat’  will employ five templates across its newspapers here and in

The Donegal Sports Partnership says Donegal can benefit from a 30 million euro Sports Capital Fund announced last month, and is running a workshop tonight to help clubs who want to apply for funding. Minister Michael Ring has already acknowledged that because the budget is smaller than before, grants will be capped at 25,000 per

President Michael D.Higgins has praised the role that Derry and its people have played in nurturing the peace process. He made his comments during a visit to the city yesterday. While there, President Higgins visited Rosemount Primary School, and delivered a key lecture at the Magee Campus of the University of Ulster. Speaking on the

A Donegal Councillor says Donegal is being unfairly penalised as the Arts Council strives to cut costs. Cllr Jack Murray says funding to arts groups in the county has been cut by 19.4%, compared to a 3.2% cut in the Arts Council’s own funding. As a result, he says, a number of arts organisations in

Gardai and other emergency services are at the scene of a crash on the road between Donegal Town and the Barnesmore Gap, close to the turn off for Lough Eske. Its understood there are some injuries, the extent of them isn’t known. Traffic is moving on the road, but there are delays.  

The Smithwick Tribunal has heard a claim that Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness was involved in authorising the IRA murder of two RUC officers in March 1989. The claim, which Sinn Fein denies, was made by former British intelligence officer Ian Hurst – also known as Martin Ingram. The two RUC officers were

Police in Strabane have arrested two men as part of an investigation into a shooting and assault on a 26 year old man in the town earlier this month. The suspects, aged 27 and 28, were detained in the town this morning as part of an ongoing investigation into the attack at Carlton Drive on

Gardai are appealing for help from the public in relation to a spate of break-ins in the Lifford, Raphoe and Carrigans area over the weekend. Three houses, which were vacant at the time, were targeted between 11.30am and 1pm on Sunday. A significant amount of jewelry was taken. At least two men in a green

A priest has denied indecently assaulting a woman 20 years ago when he appeared at Derry Crown Court today. Fr Eugene Boland, whose address was given on court papers as Parochial House, Killyclogher Road, Omagh, denied five charges of indecent assault alleged to have occurred between June 28, 1990 and June 30, 1992. The 65-year-old,

The family of a man who had part of his face bitten off at a house party in Letterkenny have spoken of his mental anguish. The 22 year-old was amongst a group of people who attended a house party in the town on Friday night last – he was bitten in the face with damaged

Garda management failed to comply with the law when eight out of nine Gardaí assigned to serve in Gaoth Dobhair in the heart of the Donegal Gaeltacht could not carry out their duties through Irish. A report of an investigation, published today in An Coimisinéir Teanga’s Annual Report for 2011, found that the Garda Commissioner

A twister has been spotted in Donegal. The mini tornado was pictured by Jason McGibney near Fintown. A tornado is a violently rotating column of air which normally forms when there is a presence of thunder. You can view Jason’s picture of the twister below:

A man’s been released without charge after being questioned about the murder of a man in County Donegal. 24-year-old Andrew Allen died after he was shot a number of times through the window of his home in Links View in Buncrana in February. A man in his 30s was arrested on Sunday morning for questioning

It is claimed American Senators who visited Donegal on behalf of President Ronald Reagan in the 80’s to report on the benefits job creation only witnessed ‘ money for middlemen and not one decent job proposal’ The claim is made in a letter to the Irish Independent by a Declan Foley Berwick, Australia, who claims

Letterkenny Mayor Cllr Gerry Mc Monagle has expressed his shock at the latest knife attack which occurred  outside Gallagher’s Hotel in the town last evening. A man in his early 30’s  was attacked on the footpath between Gallagher’s Hotel and McCarry’s Bar shortly after 7.30pm – he was stabbed in the face, head and chest.

Raymond Coyle, who was publicly involved in recent protests against RAAD in Derry has received a death threat from RAAD. he warning, delivered by the PSNI, said that he would be ‘executed’. The businessman was shot by dissident republicans for selling so-called legal highs in his shop in February 2010. ‘RAAD – Not in our

Fianna Fail Senator Brian O Domhnaill is calling on the Government to take decisive action to help Donegal families in serious mortgage difficulty The Senator claims the Government has all but ignored the deepening mortgage arrears crisis since coming to office 13 months ago and we are now seeing the extent of the pressure on

Two teenagers from Donegal are in the running to be named Youth Entrepreneurs of the Year 2012. 14-year-olds Aoibhinn and Ria Gallagher from Ballyshannon are among six finalists who will have their businesses judged in Dublin on Thursday. The girls produce a pre-packed baking mixture which they sell to local businesses. The manager of the

The dangers of meningitis and septicaemia are being highlighted today, on World Meningitis Day. The illness causes the deaths of around 1-thousand children around the globe every day. Those who survive can be affected with brain damage, blindness, deafness, behavioural problems and memory loss. Clodagh Hegarty is with the Meningitis Research Foundation – and explains

77 schools across the country have been given the green light today to replace their rented prefabs with permanent classrooms. Education Minister Ruairí Quinn has announced the first round of approvals which will see 14 million euro spent on the building of 94 mainstream and 57 learning support classrooms. It’s part of a 35 million

Former County Manager Michael McLoone has again defended the Whole System of Work after the controversial project hit the headlines once again. The Irish independent reports states the Council ignored a damning report in paying an extra €90,000 to consultancy firm – that payment has been defended by the council today. The WSW is a

A silent protest in opposition to cutbacks at a home for intellectually disabled people in Sligo takes place this evening. The rally’s been organised by the families and friends of Cregg House’s residents, and by staff members. It’s understood talks between management and the HSE over the 1.3 million euro cut in funding for the

The future of Letterkenny General Hospital and the health service in Donegal is the subject of a public meeting being hosted by Siptu in the Mount Errigal Hotel this evening. The union says cutbacks in the hospital’s funding and the outsourcing of some services including the shop are causes for concern, as is the moratorium

A Donegal TD is urging parents not to resort to moneylenders to pay for First Communions in the coming weeks. Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Children Charlie Mc Conalogue says a recent EBS survey suggests that Irish parents will spend a total of €33 million over the next few weeks on their children’s First Communions, while

The SDLP’s Colum Eastwood has been replaced on the Stormont justice committee by the Mid-Ulster assembly member, Patsy McGlone. The Foyle MLA was at the centre of controversy last week over his attendance at the paramilitary-style funeral of Seamus Coyle, who Mr Eastwood has described as a close friend. His party colleague, Mark H Durkan,

Gardai in Letterkenny are appealing for information about a weekend incident in the Glenoughty Close area of the town in which a car was destroyed in a fire. The incident happened in the early hours of yesterday morning, with gardai saying the woman who lives in the house outside which the fire happened had to

Gardai in Buncrana are continuing to question a man who was arrested yesterday morning in relation to the murder of Andrew Allen in February. The 24 year old died after being shot through the window of his home at Lisfannon in February. The man, in his thirties, was arrested in an undisclosed location in County

A man has been arrested as part of the ongoing investigation into the murder of Andrew Allen outside Buncrana in February. The man, in his thirties, was arrested in County Donegal this morning, and is being held at Buncrana Garda Station under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939. Earlier this month,

A spokesperson for the Department of the Environment says around 300 thousand homes will be unable to have a water meter installed – during the inital roll out of the scheme. But the Department expects that figure will be much lower as the scheme continues – and that the exact number will be a matter

Udaras na Gaeltachta has approved the appouintment of a new Chief Executive. Last evening, the Board of Údarás confirmed that Steve Ó Cúláin will take over the top job, subject to completion of contractual arrangements. He’s been with an t-Udaras since 1980, and is currently employed as Planning and Policy Manager. Glencolmcille Udaras Chairperson Liam

An arrest warrant has been issued for a man accused of raping a teenage girl in the grounds of Foyle and Londonderry College in Derry.   Adam Titheridge, who has an address in Sittingbourne, Kent, is accused of raping the 15-year-old girl on July 8, last year. The 20-year-old is also accused of assaulting the

The Catholic Church is describing as “inconclusive”, a meeting in Pomeroy last night. The meeting, involving parents and representatives of the Archdiocese of Armagh, discussed an incident involving a local priest last month. The meeting was called after indecent images were projected onto a screen during a power-point presentation that Father McVeigh was giving at

The Manager of the City of Derry Airport says the loss of the Flybe routes this summer are dissapointing but not all together suprising. Flybe’s service out of Derry was introduced for a four month period, the airline has this week confirmed that the route will not be returning for 2012. Damien Tierney says that

The Killybegs based Atlantic Dawn Group has launched boar fish on the Chinese market with the hope that it could lead to a multi million euro revenue stream. Karl McHugh, joint chief executive of Atlantic Dawn Group, is currently in China with the fisheries Minister trying to tap in to the market. The company has

There are calls for An Taisce to withdraw its highly critical report on local planning practices in Ireland after the heritage body admitted it was flawed. In the report Donegal ranked as having the worst planning system in the country . The report was based on  eight aggregated scores for each county, however overzoning was

Voters are turning their anger on the coalition – according to a new opinion poll. The IPSOS-MRBI survey for the Irish Times, shows support for both Fine Gael and Labour is down, satisfaction with the Government, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste all take a hit. Meanwhile support for Sinn Féin and others is up substantially.

PARC has welcomed the implementation of legislation which closes a loophole which allowed up to 75% of people convicted in court of a motoring offence to escape penalty points. As it stands, a driver summoned to court is not directed to take their license with them which means that in many cases no record of

Donegal County Council is to meet with Coillte to discuss imposing weight limits on forestry roads. Cllr Martin Harley moved a motion calling for a  limit of 17 Tonnes to be imposed. Officials suggested a blanket ban might not be appropriate, and said individual roads could be considered after consultation. Cllr Harley says rather than

Thw ‘tow path’ section of the Strabane Canal will open for the first time in 50 years this June. Strabane District Council announced this week it will be officially opening a section of the canal in Ballymagorry for public access in June 2012 for the summer season. The ‘tow path’ aspect of the project will

An elderly man has died in a house fire in Castlederg. He died when a blaze broke out at a detached bungalow in the Munie Road area on Thursday morning. The incident was reported to the emergency services at 11.35am. The alarm was raised by a family member who discovered the fire on arrival at

St. Eunan’s National School in Raphoe, has won this year’s Show Racism the Red Card, Creative Competition. Over 120 schools participated in the competition – which asked pupils to come up with different ways to get across an anti racism message. St. Eunan’s were awarded the top prize of a laptop for their school at

Gardaí have launched an investigation after a man was stabbed in Letterkenny overnight. The man, in his late 20’s, was taken to taken to Letterkenny General Hospital, his injuries are not believed to be critical. The assault happened at around 1030pm in the Mountain Top area. A man in his late 30’s was arrested at