Author name: oisinkelly

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.

Police are appealing for information after a substantial quantity of lead was stolen from the roof of a school in Derry. The theft at Long Tower Primary School on Bishop Street occurred sometime after 6 o’clock on Monday night and 8 o’clock yesterday morning. Police in the city are urging people to look out for

The HSE is warning that the Emergency Department at Letterkenny General Hospital is extremely busy today, with a high number of patients requiring admission. The HSE says anyone attending the Emergency Department at Letterkenny General Hospital can expect delays, and people are being urged to contact their GP or GP Out-of-Hours service in the first

The number of planning permissions granted in Donegal continues to fall, but the rate of decline is slowing. There were 189 permissions granted in the final quarter of last year, compared to 232 in the final quarter of 2010. That’s a fall of 18%, compared to a fall of just under 50% between 2010 and

The Deputy State Pathologist is due in Letterkenny this afternoon to carry out a post-mortem examination on the body discovered near Redcastle last evening. The badly decomposed remains were discovered on the shore of Lough Foyle shortly after 4 o’clock, with gardai predicting the body may have been in the water for between four and

Gardai are investigating the discovery of human remains near Redcastle. The badly decomposed remains were discovered by walkers on the shore of Lough Foyle shortly after 4 o’clock last evening The remains have been removed to Letterkenny General Hospital for examination. Gardai have contacted the PSNI in relation to the discovery and in an effort

The family of murdered PSNI officer Ronan Kerr are preparing to mark the first anniversary of his death. The 25 year old died when a booby trap car bomb exploded under his car in Omagh in April last year. A splinter group claiming it was made up of former members of the Provisional IRA claimed

Donegal County Council are again urging people in the final days running up to the household charge deadline to pay the tax. The Government has been criticised for its handling of the household charge campaign – however, a surge in online registrations was reported yesterday, ahead of the deadline of this Saturday. Director of Finance

Members of Donegal County Council are backing calls for Junior MInister Ciaran Cannon to meet with parents in the Finn valley area to discuss new school transport arrangements which will limit the education choices of second level students. Up to now, students have been abole to go to the school of their choice, but now,

A judge yesterday hit out at the shame of young people without jobs finding money to drink and then carrying out assaults in towns across the country. Judge John O’Hagan was dealing with two brothers who smashed a man’s face in a Christmas holiday attack outside a Ballyshannon chipper after a night on the drink.

Donegal County Council is to establish a call centre In Milford to handle all calls to the authority. In a lengthy report on the council’s financial situation, County Manager this week confirmed he intends to established what he called a contact centre by July. Some councillors were unhappy that the proposal was presented without debate,

The jury in the trial of a Donegal man accused of raping a woman when she was a girl has been sent home for the night having failed to reach a verdict. The man has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 46 counts of indecent assault and rape of the woman, who

Cross border linkages have disappeared off the political agenda in the Republic of Ireland, according to the Director of Letterkenny Institute of Technology. Paul Hannigan was speaking in Lifford as he asked councillors for their views on the future direction of the college. The I.T. is preparing a strategy document for the Higher Education Authority,

A man accused of running around Galliagh in Derry in an “enraged state of mind” with a handgun and a can of petrol has been refused bail. John McGinley, of 123A Bloomfield Park, is charged with possession of a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and possession of a petrol

People are being warned to be on the lookout after reports of people claiming to be from the Council trying to collect the household charge. There has been a number of reports today of people going round door to door in the Glengad and Buncrana areas pretending to be from the local authority. Donegal County

Donegal Circuit Court has today ordered the immediate return of money frozen in an Ulster Bank account to its rightful owner, Sharman Duncan. Judge John O’Hagan said €32,606 held in an account by Thomas Elvin was the property of Ms Duncan after prosecutor Patricia McLaughlin said there was no dispute about its ownership following Elvin’s

Former Fianna Fail Minister Dr James McDaid has come to the defence of Bertie Ahern stating he believes evidence he gave to the Mahon Tribunal about a dig-out was true. Dr McDaid says that while he accepted the majority of the Tribunal’s findings,  it is wrong to treat them as infallible and for them not

The jury in the trial of a man accused of 46 counts of indecent assault and rape of a woman in Donegal over 30 years ago, is expected to retire to consider its verdict today. The trial reached its closing stages on Friday and Mr Justice Paul Carney will charge the jury later before sending

Sinn Fein says the deadline for paying the household charge should NOT be extended. Latest estimates put the number of people who have signed up at less than 370 thousand, as the clock ticks down to Saturday evening’s deadline. The government has insisted there’ll be no extension to that date. Sinn Fein’s finance spokesman Pearse

Government parties and Fianna Fail have both been accused of time wasting and delaying tactics in a bid to block emergency motions relating to the Household Charge in the Donegal Council chamber. Sinn Fein Cllr Jack Murray had submitted a special motion that members instruct the County Manager not to use powers given to him

There’s been another flare up in the Donegal Council Chamber less than a fortnight after a meeting agreed that members would observe standing orders and not interrupt or challenge colleagues while speaking. The latest row cam as Cllr Frank Mc Brearty sought to move an emergency motion that the council would provide money for road

A spokesperson for Donegal’s Islands has welcomed Deputy Dinny McGinley’s reaction to a report that sets out a three year survival plan for the islands. The report, which was launched yesterday on Arranmore Island, has called for a ban on salmon fishing to be reconsidered. It claims scientists agree there is a surplus of wild

Road safety chiefs in the west have expressed concern about a new game among young motorists which they warn is putting many lives at risk. They have said young drivers are engaging in a “beat the clock” game where they try to trim minutes off the estimated journey times on SatNavs. The practice is said