Author name: oisinkelly

Two of Donegal’s women County Councillors have called on women in Donegal to get empowered and to come out and defend rural Ireland. Councillors, Cora Harvey and Maire Therese Gallagher made the call ahead of international women’s day which is tomorrow. They are calling on more women to come out behind any local campaigns to

A Letterkenny man with a series of drugs convictions has been jailed for ten years by a Cavan Court. Bernard Alcorn of Cluain Ard, Letterkenny faced charges of possession of drugs for sale or supply under Section 15A Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977/8 In April of 2010 in a joint operation between Donegal Gardaí and

  A 12 year old girl from Dungloe, who was battling an immune system disorder, has died. Catriona Melly  was diagnosed with Immunodeficiency, meaning that she had a very poor immune system, when she was just one year old. In 2006 she underwent a bone marrow transplant, which left her with a number of additional medical

Health Minister Dr James Reilley has assured the people of Lifford that the local community Hospital will not close this year and suggestions on how to keep it open will be considered. There is currently a three month consultation process on going into the future of the facility which has been earmarked for closure by

An inquest has heard that a nurse who was home from Australia died in a tragic accident when she was on her way to a morning appointment with her hairdresser. 26-year-old Deirdre Burke lost control of her car and was in a dreadful head-on collision with a car carrying two sisters who were seriously injured,

Figures released from the INMO show that there were 9 people awaiting treatment or being treated on trolleys at Letterkenny General Hospital this morning. This tallies with staff claims that it was an exceptionally busy night at the Emergency Department which lead to an over spill in to the day ward. The overcrowding lead to

County Council engineers are to examine how many home and estates are not connected to the Letterkenny  main sewer put potentially could. Despite being in close proximity to the  town sewer network there are still many homes in the Letterkenny area that would have a septic tank. While housing estates, particularly those having problems with

The fact over 60 people have already applied for a single part time position at the Cara House Family Resource Centre underlines the importance of the services it provides. That is according to Susan McCauley who runs the Letterkenny based facility. It offers services for the community from the very young to the older often

A teenager from south Donegal is recovering in hospital this morning having been struck by car. The incident happened on the Mountcharles by-pass last evening. The 16-year-old man was removed to Letterkenny General Hospital where his condition is described as stable. The driver of the vehicle was treated for shock.

Turf cutters from Donegal are being asked to attend a protest outside Leinster House in Dublin tomorrow evening. The rally, which is taking place between 730pm and 9pm, is against the ban on cutting turf in raised bogs. The protest is being organised by the turf cutters and contractors association. PRO of the group, Deputy

A number of streets in Strabane were cordoned off today because of a security alert. The police said they received a report of a suspicious object in the Butcher street area this morning. Butcher Street and Barrack Street were closed and a number of properties had to be evacuated. Bowling Green Street and Market Street

Northern Ireland’s senior coroner has told a preliminary hearing in Belfast that the inquest into the death of Arlene Arkinson may not start for two years. The 15-year-old, from Castlederg, went missing after a disco in Buncrana in 1994. Her body has never been found. The examination of her death had been due to begin

A Foyle MLA has said he is concerned at a lack of an Irish Government commitment to help fund the running costs of the new radiotherapy centre at Altnagelvin. Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan has welcomed the Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s restated commitment to the help fund the construction of the new which will provide treatment

The family of a Derry man murdered in Buncrana last month have held a candlelit vigil in Derry to mark what would have been his 25th birthday. Father-of-two, Andrew Allen who was originally from Derry, was shot dead at his home near Buncrana in February. The vigilante group Republican Action Against Drugs later said it

Emergency Services are at the scene of a road traffic collision in Letterkenny. The crash happened shortly before midday on the Derry Road. There are no confirmed injuries. Motorists can expect traffic disruption in the area as emergency services deal with the incident.

Letterkenny IT’s hopes of become part of a technological university with other colleges could have hit a problem with claims the group is significantly short of the level of staff qualifications they need to be successful. There are currently  four groups of colleges hoping to become technological universities According to the Irish Examiner Higher Education

A consultation process is to take place with Letterkenny businesses on the issue of illegal signage after which the council has promised to get tough on those that continue to flout the law. Most feel that if illegal signage is not addressed Letterkenny will be unable to improve it position in the Tidy Towns competition.

A Derry man who bit a portion of another man’s ear off in an assault was jailed at Derry Crown Court. 22 year- old Gregory O’Hagan from 8, Glenbrae Gardens and Michael Patrick Dixon also 22 and of 19, Kavanagh Court both admitted being involved in the incident that occurred on October 2 2010. The

The Mayor of Letterkenny has expressed his shock that Bus Éireann has never approached the owners of the Letterkenny Shopping Centre with a view to securing its customers parking. Despite the bus station in Letterkenny being one of the 5th busiest in the country, there is no parking available for its customers. A meeting is no

A London man has been given a nine year sentence for the violent rape of a young foreign student he shared a house with in Donegal. Mark McAnaw of Harrow View, Harrow, Middlesex denied the charges initially and claimed that he had simply hugged and comforted the 19-year-old student. He later told the jury during

Police say a Strabane security alert in which a number of homes were evacuated was an elaborate hoax. The Ballycolman Avenue/Melvin View area of the town had been cordoned off for a time today. Army bomb disposal officers carried out a controlled explosion and declared the device a hoax. During the alert about 30 to

The Mayor of Buncrana says the primary reason for a significant fall in numbers signing on in Inishowen is emigration. There was a drop of 7% in the numbers on the live register on the peninsula. Most other offices recorded a drop – in Killybegs the number of the live register dropped by 14% Independent

The former head of the KFO has warned again that Donegal’s Mackerel fishing industry faces being wiped out if action isn’t taken to tackle the over fishing of stocks by other countries. Joey Murran claims the EU has done nothing over the last two years to stop Iceland and the Faroe Islands from multiplying its

This afternoon sees the launch of Donegal Business Week by the County Enterprise Board, with an emphasis this week on confidence and resilience. Over 800 businesses are taking part in a series of events between now and Friday, with business strategies being discussed along with issues such as wellbeing and risk taking. Enterprise Board CEO

There’s been a 3% drop in the year on year Live Register figure in Donegal. There were 21,267 people signing on the register in the county at the end of February, down 300 on the January figure and down 650 on the figure for February 2011. There were 4,615 people on the register in the

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s sent his congratulations to Rory McIlroy after he reached top spot in the world golf rankings. The Northern Ireland golfer became the second youngest world number one in the history of the sport after winning the Honda Classic in Florida. The victory comes just a week after Tourism and Sports Minister

Gardai are working with police in Spain and Slovakia to investigate a foreign currency investment scheme which has cost dozens of Irish clients millions of euro. The scheme had been promoted by a Letterkenny based financial advisor.. The scheme, run from an office in Barcelona, was portrayed as a “safe bet” which allowed people to

IMPACT’s North West spokesperson says health service managers are being set up to fail in Donegal. Health service unions are meeting with senior HSE managers this afternoon to discuss the executive’s budget and service plan. Richie Carrothers of IMPACT says he fears for the future of services across the board, particularly at Letterkenny General Hospital

Part of Benone Beach in County Derry was evacuated and sealed off for a time following the discovery of a device yesterday afternoon. It’s understood the device dated back to World War 2. Army explosives experts were called to the scene, and a controlled explosion was carried out to make the device safe.

There’s been a home heating oil theft from a filling station on the road between Letterkenny and Stranorlar. At around 5.10 this morning, 30 drums of home heating oil were taken from the N13 premises. The drums are royal blue in colour. Anyone offered oil for sale in suspicious circumstances, particularly in 20 litre drums,

A Donegal Deputy says returning emigrants are being unjustly denied social welfare payments and other supports, and Social Protection Minister Joan Burton must intervene. Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn says the Habitual Residence Condition has resulted in many returning Donegal emigrants being denied immediate access to social welfare support when they return home. The clause was

There’s been another armed robbery at a commercial premises in Derry, this time at a takeaway in the Spencer Road area of the city. Police say that at around 11.15 last night a man entered the premises armed with what has been described by witnesses as a hammer or pickaxe type weapon. He demanded money,

One of the most vociferous campaigners for victims of the Omagh bombing has died. Laurence Rush passed away at Knockmoyle Lodge nursing home outside Omagh early this morning. His wife Elizabeth, was among 29 people killed in the atrocity in August 1998 which was carried out by the Real IRA. Last year, a High Court

The funeral took place in Lifford this morning of 22 year old David Colhoun, the local man whose body was recovered from the River Foyle during the week. He’d gone missing last May after fleeing police custody in Strabane following his arrest for what was described at the time as a minor offence. His skeletal

A new survey shows that almost a quarter of pupils in Protestant primary schools come from a Catholic background. The ‘Our School Community’ survey also found that Protestant schools throughout Ireland cater for a broad range of religious and cultural diversity. Academic success and reputation was the most important reason for almost half of parents

The campaign group Co-operating for Cancer Care NorthWest says it remains convinced the proposed North West Radiotherapy Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry remains on track, and will be delivered. It follows a meeting in Leinster House this week between the Oireachtas Health committee and its counterpart in the Stormont Assembly, at which cross border

A Donegal TD has suggested that the Irish economy could benefit greatly if we were to harvest copper and other metals from the sea off Ireland’s coast. Deputy Joe McHugh was speaking in the Dail during a debate on new legislation which will govern those who deal in scrap metal and cash for gold operations.

Donegal Pet Rescue says it is shocked at the discovery of a lamb found hanging from a tree in Letterkenny. Following a tip off from a member of the public representatives from the group found a lamb hanging dead around 10ft of the ground from a tree in the Lurgybrack area. Donegal Pet Rescue has

The Fianna Fáil leader is promising “swift and comprehensive” action against anyone named in the Mahon Tribunal report as having abused their position in office. His comments can be seen as meaning that action will be taken against former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern if the tribunal finds against him. Opening his first Ard Fheis as leader

Police in Foyle investigating the sudden death of a woman in her 40s have issued an appeal for information relating to her last known movements. Forty-one year old Michelle Clift was last seen in the Foyle Park area around 8.30pm on February 29th. Her body was recovered from the river close to playing fields in

It was confirmed today that legendary rockers Horslips and former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor are to headline this year’s Rory Gallagher tribute festival. The event takes place in Ballyshannon from May 31 to June 3. Also confirmed as playing the festival are Dr Feelgood and former Thin Lizzy and Motorhead guitarist Brian Robertson. The

A member of a gang which fled from gardai in a high-speed chase after stealing gold, jewellery and cash in a crime spree was jailed today for six months and fined €1,000. Ballyshannon District Court heard that Edward Connors was among a group of three men and a juvenile who carried out three burglaries in

The HSE is being urged to make a definitive statement on when the long awaited new bloc at Letterkenny General Hospital will be operational. Donegal Cllr Liam Blaney, a member of the HSE West Regional Forum, raised the issue of the new Emergency Department and Medical Assessment Unit at a meeting in Galway this week,