Author name: oisinkelly

Two people had to be rescued off the Donegal coast at the weekend after their boat’s engine lost power. Bundoran RNLI Lifeboat was tasked to the scene to aid a small pleasure craft, following a mayday call to Malin Head Coast Guard on Saturday evening. The alarm was raised when two emergency flares, deployed from […]

What has been described as a viable device, has been made safe in the Drumleck Drive area of Derry. A security alert had been ongoing since the device was discovered leading to homes being evacuated. The police have conformed that the ATO has made safe the device which has been taken away for further examination.

Donegal County Council will be among 34 of the country’s City and County Planning Authorities to come under scrutiny in a new report to be released later this morning. Each of the Authorities is graded in an academic style under 8 criteria, including the percentage of vacant housing stock in a region – with 9

A woman has been threatened with a knife and had her car stolen by four men in Derry. She had just got into her car after leaving a shop on the Buncrana Road at about 9 o clock last night when the men surrounded the vehicle. They threatened her with a knife and pulled her

A car has been destroyed in a petrol bomb attack in Derry. Police and fire crews were called to Ardnamoyle Park in Shantallow at about half past two this morning. A petrol bomb was found at the scene. No-one was injured. Police are appealing for anyone with information about the attack to contact them.

Hundreds of Anti Austerity protesters from Donegal are gathering at the Labour Party’s Annual conference in Galway today. The Donegal Action Against Austerity group is leading the protests with dozens of their supporters joining others from around the country on Eyre Square. DAAA says the people are being treated with contempt by the government with

Donegal County Council has been awarded one of the biggest allocations outside of Dublin to tackle the problems of Litter and Graffiti. The Minister for the Environment today announced the provision of €2,150,000 in grants to local authorities, 27,000 of which will come to Donegal. Nationally, the money is the be split between Anti-Litter &

Over crowding has eased somewhat at Northwest two main hospitals. Those on trolleys awaiting or receiving treatment at Letterkenny General Hospital peaked this week at 7 according to the INMO. The organisation’s latest figures show that has been reduced to 2. At Sligo General Hospital there were 18 on trolleys yesterday, today that figure has

The slipway at Burtonport is to be strengthened and resurfaced. A deal has been reached between Donegal County Council and Junior Gaeltacht Minister Dinny Mc Ginley for a 40,000 euro project. It’s proposed that the work will be done on a phased basis so the Arranmore Ferry is not disrupted. Minister Mc Ginley says it’s

A number of Donegal companies are to accompany Agriculture and Marine Minister Simon Coveny on a trade mission to China next week. The list includes Marine Harvest, Atlantic Dawn, Hannigans and Mc Brides. Donegal North East TD Joe Mc Hugh met with Marine Harvest last evening ahead of the trip. He says it’s significant that

The decision by St Vincent’s Hospital to withdraw treatment for pain relief from a 40 year old Donegal man has been reversed after the HSE confirmed last night they would fund the treatment Thomas Keavney from Convoy had been told the treatment was being discontinued because he was from “outside the catchment area”. However, following

Buncrana Town Council is to reinstate diving boards in the area for the summer season in a bid to attract more visitors. The Mayor noted that during the recent warm spell, hundreds of people visited Buncrana. And he says if diving boards were reinstated, then it would ensure that visitors would return during the Summer.

Calls have been made for Letterkenny Town Council to seek funding for an outdoor basketball court. Although there are a number of indoor facilities in the town, there is no outdoor facility. A number of Town Cllrs said Gartan Field would be the obvious place for an outdoor basketball court. But Cllr Dessie Larkin said

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for the murder of Joanne Mathers in Derry 31 years ago this week. Ms. Mathers, a 29 year old mother-of-one, was shot dead by the IRA as she collected census forms in the Gobnascale area on April

What is thought to be a submarine or boat has been identified submerged in Lough Foyle. The North’s Environment Minister Alex Attwood has said he had viewed sonar images of the vessel. Urgent work is now to be undertaken to determine how and when the submarine or boat came to rest in the lough. The

The CEO of Donegal Creameries says Oatfield plant in Letterkenny has not been sold, but may be in the future. Ian Ireland was speaking after the publication of the company’s End of Year Report today. One aspect of the report shows the value of land held by Donegal Creameries fell by nearly 12 million euro

There remains a relatively high number of patients either waiting for or being treated on trolleys at Letterkenny General Hospital. According to figures compiled by the INMO six people were on trolleys yesterday, that figure has grown to seven today. The situation is even worse at Sligo General Hospital which services some areas of South

The final line-up for the Donegal Live event taking place in May has been confirmed with its organisers promising it will be one of the biggest Tourism events ever held to showcase Donegal. The event is in Donegal Town from the 25th to the 27th of May and will have concerts from Goats Don’t Shave,

Donegal Fine Gael TDs Dinny McGinley and Joe McHugh have been called on to clarify their stance on what has been described as ‘the Education Minister’s attack on small rural schools’ Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill set the challenge after Galway Fine Gael Senator Fidelma Healy Eames described the policy as ‘social engineering of the worst

A court in the North has found that AIB and its investment arm engaged in “negligent misrepresentation” of the terms of an investment product sold to Donegal Cllr Frank McBrearty jnr and his wife. The couple had invested more than half of the €1.5 million compensation Mr McBrearty received from the Irish State with the

Buncrana Town Council is to write to the Finance Minister expressing deep concern at the current price of petrol and diesel. Sinn Fein Cllr Ciaran McLaughlin says many families and businesses in the town were struggling with the continuing rising costs, and Minister Michael Noonan must be urged to act. A number of other Cllrs

Donegal Action Against Austerity is calling on people from Donegal and across the country to descend on Galway this weekend, to protest at Labour Party National Conference. The group want to see scenes simiar to that in Dublin earlier this month at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis. DAAA says the people are being treated with

A security alert ended in Derry just after 9 o’clock last night after a suspect device was declared a hoax. The object was found on Lower Bennet Street. Following the discovery, Foyle Road was closed at it’s junctions with Craigavon Bridge and Bishop Street, and 10 homes were evacuated.

A security alert is ongoing in Derry with the Foyle Road closed and homes evacuated. Following the discovery of a suspicious device the Foyle road at its junctions with Craigavon bridge and Bishop street has been closed Police say up to 10 homes have also been evacuated as a result. Army bomb disposal experts have

Police in Foyle are investigating reports of two seperate incidents last weekend which they believed are linked and come as a resault of fights being organsised through social networking, At around 1am on Saturday morning a 28 year old man was assaulted by a group of unknown youths on the Old Strabane road, earlier there

There seems to be a slowdown in the numbers registering to pay the new household charge. To date, just over 891 thousand homeowners have paid the 100 euro tax. That’s about 1,000 more since yesterday. The Local Government Management Agency, who have been tasked with collecting the charge, say just over 1,000 households a day

Donegal County Council has been heavily criticised for not sending over any representatives for the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in America this year. According to Letterkenny Town Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh, members of the Donegal Association in New York were disappointed that the County Council had no representative at the parade. Councillor Kavanagh, who was

An agency which helps people sort out their finances dealt with a record number of new clients in the first three months of the year. MABS, the Money Advice and Budgetting Service operates at 60 locations across the country. The agency has offices in Letterkenny, Buncrana,  Donegal Town and Derrybeg. The Agency says it regularly

A lot of land in Donegal will have the lowest reserve when houses, land and an unfinished housing estate go under the hammer for the first time in an Allsop Space auction next month.. The one-acre site at Beechwood Park, Convoy has a reserve of just 5,000 euro. This will be the second of five

The full property tax – when introduced – will be graduated and related to site value. That’s according to the Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte, who says it’ll be a more fair payment whereby wealthy people pay more than those on lower incomes. The comments follow the controversy sparked by the household charge – an

Twice as many women in Donegal as men suffer a stroke each year. New figures from the Irish Heart Foundation show that out of 86 stroke-related deaths in Donegal in 2010, 56 women died compared to 30 men. The statistics were released to mark the start of National Stroke Week. Dr Angie Brown, medical director

A Fianna Fail Town Cllr came in for criticism from his fellow members last night when he put forward a motion calling on Letterkenny Town Council to show it’s concern as the current government continues to attack rural Ireland. The Mayor of Letterkenny, Cllr Gerry McMonagle claimed that Cllr Tadgh Culbert had some neck on

TD Thomas Pringle says the recent case of a Donegal man who has been denied treatment in St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin has highlighted the complete failure of the government’s health policy. Last week Thomas Keaveney from Convoy, revealed on Highland Radio that his treatment for chronic pain will no longer be available to him

Letterkenny can become a tourism hub in the Northwest. Donegal County Councils Tourism Development Officer told Letterkenny Town Council last night that the town has the potential to become the county’s centre of tourism. With Letterkenny within close proximity of Glenveigh National Park and Sliabh Liag, plus the opportunities that will come with Derry becoming

Six men arrested following an Easter Commemoration in Derry on Monday have been released without charge. The men had been arrested and brought to Antrim PSNI station during a follow up operation after a masked member of the Real IRA read a statement at the event threatening further attacks against the police.

It has been claimed that management of The Milford Inn are ‘hopeful’ that the hotel will be open and operational again by July this year. It was announced last Thursday that the Milford Inn went into administration. It is understood the hotel, which operates under the Best Western brand and is part of the Blaney

Letterkenny Town Council is to hear calls for the holding of ‘town hall’ type meetings which would allow the public engage more with the council. The proposal is coming from Councillor Dessie Larkin who wants the meetings in different areas of the town at least once a year. He believes the council should be more

The Teachers Union of Ireland is threatening a period of industrial unrest if there are further wage cuts in the sector. The TUI – which is holding its annual conference in Wexford – says the pay and conditions of second and third level teachers have been eroded in recent years. The union says the standard

A former head of IDA Ireland has called for a special cross-border development zone to be set up to give a boost to the economic development of the border regions of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. At a recent conference, Padraic White emphasised that “the immediately adjoining border areas have common economic threats but

HSE figures show more than 80% of patients copming to the Emergency Department at Letterkenny General Hospital are admitted or discharged within six hours, and over 90% are seen within nine hours. Donegal North East Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn says this is nother reason why Letterkenny General Hospital should not face cuts of millions to

The Chair of the Joint Policing Committee in Donegal says an analysis of burglary figures for 2011 proves the need to strengthen rather than cut garda resources in Donegal and the border counties. The comparative study published in today’s Irish Times shows there were 475 burglaries in Donegal last year, up 16% on the previous

Six men have been arrested in Derry after the Real IRA threatened police and soldiers with further violence at a republican commemoration in the City Cemetery yesterday. A number of commemorations took place across he North West on Sunday and yesterday, one of the biggest of them at Drumboe in Stranorlar on Sunday, addressed by

An analysis of burglary figures for 2011 shows a significant increase in the border counties, but a fall in the west of Ireland. The comparative study published in today’s Irish Times shows thjere were 475 burglaries in Donegal last year, up 16% on the previous year. There was a 20% rise in Cavan / Monaghan

An eight person has died at a private nursing home in Donegal, as part of a flu outbreak there. The patient passed away at Letterkenny General Hospital earlier today. This latest death is thought to have been caused by Influenza A – the flu strain that killed six other elderly people at the Nazareth Home

Police in Derry are appealing for information following an assault in the Mimosa Court area of the city on the evening of Saturday 7 April. At approximately 10.45pm, a 15 year old boy was assaulted by four masked men at the rear of a house, his injuries are not thought to be life threatening. The