Author name: oisinkelly

A Donegal Councillor has hit out at the Irish Wind Energy Association after a spokesperson for the association said Donegal has an obgligation to facilitate windfarm developments as part of Ireland’s commitment to the Kyoto agreement. Cllr Seamus O’Domhnaill also hit out at the IWEA for going straight to the media with cocerns regarding a […]

The general public have no need to fear the current infection outbreak at Nazareth House, Fahan, a top health official has stressed. Dr Peter Wright, Director of Public Health at HSE North West, said while the body were still awaiting test results – which he said they expected this evening – it was likely to

Donegal County Council is facing punishment from the Government in the form of cuts to services over non-payment of the household charge, according to Donegal North-East Deputy, Charlie McConalogue. He says this is the latest attempt by the government to shift the blame for their failure on the household charge fiasco. In the run up

The Irish Wind Energy Association has expressed concern at a move by the Donegal County Council to include substantial changes to the draft County Donegal Development Plan. The proposed amendment seeks to impose mandatory 1km separation distance between wind turbines and dwellings. However, the IWEA says such a move is wholly unnecessary. Expressing concern at

Foyle MP Mark Durkan says it’s time to refocus the campaign for a new North West Enterprise Zone incorporating parts of Derry, Donegal and Tyrone. At the weekend, Northern Secretary Owen Paterson said such zones are a devolved responsibility in Northern Ireland, but there’s been much more rapid progress in England, Scotland and Wales. Mark

GP’s are being asked to report any unusual clusters of respiratory illness, following the deaths of six people at a private nursing home in County Donegal. Visitor restrictions are in place at Nazareth House in Fahan, Buncrana where the deaths took place over the last 12 days. Laboratory tests and swabs have been taken –

More details are emerging this evening about the deaths of six elderly patients at the Nazareth House nursing home in Fahan. Five of the deaths occurred in a cluster in the last five days – it’s thought these may have been the result of a respiratory-type illness. All of the people who died were aged

The HSE is investigating the deaths of six elderly patients at a nursing home in Buncrana.. The victims  are believed to have had a respiratory type illness at the private facility. The deaths happened over an 11 day period, five of them in five days . The HSE says all residents are receiving either active

Detectives in Derry are appealing for information following a report of a sexual assault in the Waterloo Place area of the city during the early hours of this morning. Shortly before 2.30am, it is alleged a woman in her twenties was attacked by an unknown male. The man is described as black, and was wearing

A man in custody for possessing a rifle with intent to endanger life last August was refused bail at today’s sitting of Derry Magistrate’s Court. 44 year old Tony Taylor of Bishop Street in Derry is charged along with 24 year old Mark Kerr of Carranbane Walk in the city with possessing the weapon on

Several thousand euro worth of jewellery has been taken in a break in at a jewellers at Letterkenny Shopping Centre. Thieves broke through a roof into an adjoining clothes shop, smashed through plasterboard and then cut a hole at the rear of a glass cabinet, taking diamond rings and necklaces. A full inventory check is continuing at

The Donegal man who led the ‘Walk for Change’ from Malin Head to Dublin in protest against austerity measures says it was the best thing he has ever done. Joe Murphy and his four fellow walkers arrived in Dublin on Friday after embarking on the walk from Malin on March 7th. The five walkers made

A Donegal South-West Deputy has hailed the countrywide campaign against the household charge as a success. Nationally it’s been estimated by the government that 805,000 of the 1.6 million properties in the country registered by Saturdays deadline. While Donegal was said to have the lowest collection rate of any council in the country. Deputy Thomas

A Derry City Cllr has hit out at weekend petrol bomb and arson attacks on cars and a house in the Galliagh area of the city. The first of the attacks took place at Fern Park on Saturday morning when a petrol bomb was thrown at the door of a house. Meanwhile, a number of

Donegal County Cllr Paul Canning says this is simply another cost cutting measure by the Irish government. He says if the Education Minister goes ahead with this proposal then it will result in the closure of every rural school along the border in Donegal. Cllr Canning says it will result in people from towns like

Families living in the border area are to be consulted about the option of sending their children to primary and second level schools in the neighbouring jurisdiction. A decision to carry out the survey has been agreed by the Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn, and his counterpart in the Northern Ireland executive, John O’Dowd. Education

Plans to develop the riverside in Strabane and Lifford will be formally launched today at the Alley Theatre in Strabane. Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council are both backing the Riverine Project with funding from the International Fund for Ireland. The project is intended to address the impact of the conflict on the Strabane

Donegal TD Joe Mc Hugh says establishing a North – South Parliamentary Forum is a priority for him between now and the summer. Deputy Mc Hugh was speaking after chairing a policy session that will focus on cross border and UK trade at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis at the weekend. Among those who addressed

A new National Housing Construction Index complied and issued by a construction consultancy shows the slow down in the construction sector continues in Donegal. Link2Plans has published a National Housing Construction Index detailing Planning Applications and Commencements throughout the months of January and February 2012, and comparing them with the same period in 2011. In January and

One person has been arrested folllowing a drugs seizure in Letterkenny last night. Gardai have confimed that herbal cannabis with an estimated value of 500 euro was recovered. No further details have been disclosed.

Three men have been treated for smoke inhalation after a petrol bomb was thrown at a house in Derry. The device hit the door of the house at Fern Park in Shantallow. The attack happened at a quarter past eleven last night. Meanwhile, four cars have been set alight in a series of what the

It’s been confirmed that the body found on the shore of Lough Foyle near Redcastle last week was that of a 22 year old man from Derry. Eamonn Moore Jefferson Court in the city centre had been missing since November of last year. The remains were discovered by walkers on the shores of the lough

Strangford MLA Mike Nesbitt has been elected as the new leader of the Ulster Unionist Party. He defeated South Down Assembly member John McCallister by 536 votes to 129 in the contest at the UUP General Meeting in Belfast. Mr Nesbitt takes over from Tom Elliott – who announced his resignation just 18 months after

Today is the final day for payment of the 100 euro Household Charge – before fines are added, from tomorrow. County and Town Council offices in Lifford. Letterkenny, Carndonagh, Milford, Dungloe, Buncrana, Bundoran and Donegal Town are open today to accept payment of the charge, and will remain open until 4.30 this afternoon. Members of

A Derry garage owner has been jailed for four years after admitting possessing guns and ammunition in Stratford on Slaney in County Wicklow. 53 year old Emmuanuel Patrick Ryan of Rathmore Park in the Creggan pleaded guilty at Wicklow Circuit Court to possessing an assault rifle and a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, along with a quantity

Police in Derry are urging the community to keep their homes safe following a number of thefts Police are urging people to make sure their car doors and windows are locked at all times, especially at night. As well as home security, the police are advising the public to lock up sheds and garages and

A Donegal School today shuffled its way in to the Guinness Book of World Records. Over 700 pupils, teachers and parents successfully beat the world record for the most amount of people, in one place, doing the shuffle dance move made famous by dance outfit LMFAO. Teacher and organiser Nathania McDonnell of the Lorretto Convent

The group of Donegal anti-austerity walkers who left Malin Head on March 9th have now reached Dublin and are making their way to Phoenix Park today. The group are hoping to get people from Donegal to walk with them tomorrow from O’Connell Street at noon to the Conference Centre, where they will stage a peaceful

The Government’s announced it won’t have to pay the Promissory note for the former Anglo Irish Bank this weekend – and will settle it with a Government bond instead. But Michael Noonan’s warned that talks need to continue to find a long-term solution to the debt at I-B-R-C. And he says the decision to allow

Donegal no longer has the oldest population in the country. According to new census figures released yesterday, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim now have higher percentages of elderly. Census figures for 2011 shows an increase in the population of Co Donegal. The 2011 figures show that at the time of the Census the population of the

A Donegal man has been acquitted by a jury of 34 counts of raping and indecently assaulting a woman when she was a child. The jury spent nine hours on day six of the trial deliberating on 46 counts of indecent assault and rape of the woman. On the remaining 12 counts the jury informed

A father who assaulted a former IRA man who raped and sexually abused his young daughters has escaped jail. The 37-year-old, who cannot be named to protect his daughters’ identification by court order, admitted swinging a golf club at the pervert and then, when it smashed, sticking the shaft into his side. Judge John O’Hagan

Mobile roaming charges within the EU – are set to reduce substantially from this July. MEPs in Brussels have finalised an agreement on future roaming charges that will allow users to make and receive calls at much cheaper rates while abroad. They’ll also be able to access emails and use the Internet on their smart

A body has been recovered in the Inch area of Lough Swilly near Rathmullen this evening. A search had been launched this morning between Ramelton and Rathmullen for a man who had been missing from his home since yesterday. The man, who is 73 years of age, was last seen around 8pm last night. The

The Justice Minister has apologised for Martin McDermott’s transfer to a low security prison. And Alan Shatter says steps are now being taken to ensure such transfers won’t happen again……..

A 27-year-old Derry man has been jailed today for being disorderly at Altnagelvin Hospital’s A&E department. Eamonn Brady of 53c Clooney Terrace in the city admitted the charge that occurred on December 30 last. The court heard that Brady was taken into custody on another matter and the custody officer directed that he be taken

A search has been launched in Ramelton for a man missing from his home since yesterday. The man, who is believed to be in his 80s, was last seen around 8pm last night. Search and rescue teams have been searching the River Lennon since early this morning. Members of the Lough Swilly Lifeboat and Mulroy

The Irish Prison Service is admitting that it was wrong to allow inmate Martin McDermott to be transfered to an open facility, from which he had absconded in 2007. The 25-year-old from Raphoe in Donegal, was found guilty in 2009 of the manslaughter of Garda Gary McLoughlin and initially sent to Portlaoise prison. He was

The area around the  end of Lower Main Street in Letterkenny and Ballymacool Terrace has now reopened after an incident last night. Traffic to and from Glenties and Churchill had been diverted via the Rockhill Road for a time, but traffic is now moving as normal.  

The leader of the Green Party is accusing the Government of arrogance over its decision not to proceed with seven planning investigations, including one in Donegal. The inquiries were set up by Eamon Ryan’s predecessor John Gormley – during his time as Minister for the Environment. The current Environment Minister Phil Hogan says external investigations

The CEO of An Post is to be asked about the closure of post offices across the country, including Laghey and Menalaragh in Co Donegal. Donegal Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill has confirmed that a Joint Oireachtas Committee will request the attendance of Donal Connell to discuss the persistent closures of rural post offices. Senator Ó

Donegal Deputies Pearse Doherty and Pádraig Mac Lochlainn have launched a bill that will reverse the Household Charge. The Local Government (Household Charge) (Repeal) Bill 2012 will, if passed, reverse the household charge and allow the Department to reimburse those households that have already paid it. Sinn Féin will be tabling the bill during private

  It’s been confirmed council offices in Donegal will open on Saturday to facilitate payment of the Household Charge.   The council’s headquarters in Lifford will be open, as will public service centres in Letterkenny, Milford, Donegal Town, Dungloe and Carndonagh.   The Town Council offices in Buncrana and Bundoran will also be open.  

Gardai are investigating an incident in Letterkenny last night in which a woman was struck by a vehicle at the end of Lower Main Street, close to Ballymacool Terrace. The incident happened at around 7.20pm. The woman is being treated in hospital, but it’s not thought her injuries are life threatening. The area remains closed

Donegal County Council is throwing its wait behind the campaign to keeop Lifford Hospital open. This week, members agreed to back any proposals the friends of the hospital come up with for the hospital’s future, after the HSE and the minister said they would carefully consider any suggested alternatives to closure. Cllr Gerry Crawford moved

It’s emerged that a Donegal prisoner who escaped from an open prison earlier this month had absconded from the same facility once before. The Department of Justice has released details of a report from the Irish Prison Service on the escape of Martin McDermott from Loughan House in Co. Cavan on the 15th of March.