Author name: oisinkelly

Met Eireann is warning that there will be extremely windy conditions again tonight. The West and North of the country will be among the areas worst affected by the adverse weather – which has caused some travel disruption today. Siobhan Ryan of Met Eireann says conditions will remain extremely windy this evening and tonight. But […]

The strong winds and heavy rain are also causing disruption to some Eircom phone services. The company says it has received reports of almost 5,000 faults on its system. The areas worst affected include counties Donegal and Sligo. Eircom says it has deployed additional crews to repair the faults as quickly as possible.

The ESB is still working to restore power to around 6,000 homes this evening. Severe winds and stormy conditions have resulted in fallen power lines – with counties Donegal, Sligo and Mayo the worst affected. A number of roads remain blocked with fallen trees and debris – and motorists are advised to take to the

The Department of the Environment has said there are “no plans” for any further inquiry into the alleged misappropriation of 3,000 votes in the 2009 European elections in the Ireland North West constituency. The department was commenting on last week’s confirmation that the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission has closed its file on the investigations. However,

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says 16 people were on trolleys at Letterkenny General Hospital this morning. A very busy weekend with a lot of admissions last night has left the hospital with a beds crisis. Such was the level of activity that there was a patient over spill in to the outpatients ward

A County Donegal priest is to appear before Derry Magistrates Court tomorrow on a number of indecent assault charges. Fr Eugene Boland, whose address is listed as the Parochial House, Killyclogher County Tyrone faces four charges of indecent assault on a female. On WednesdayFr Boland, originally Moville, appears in Court on what is called a

Power is starting to return to homes after storms battered the country overnight. 15-thousand ESB customers were in darkness this morning, after power lines were damaged – but this number has been reduced to 10-thousand homes within the last hour. Donegal and Sligo in the North West were the worst hit areas with thousands also

The Manager of the Donegal Donkey Sanctuary has described the condition of a Donkey discovered in Fanad as one of the worst cases of cruelty he has ever seen. Following a tip-off, the weakened animal was found barely conscious and lying in 18 inches of slurry in a derelict building in the townland of Arraheera.

High winds and heavy rain have left many roads across Donegal in a treacherous condition this moring. Debry and fallen trees have blocked or partially blocked a number of roads. The Harry Blaney and the Foyle Bridges are expected to remains closed through out the morning. The high winds, which are expected to persist through

Letterkenny General Hospital is experiencing, what has been described as, a beds crisis this morning. The emergency department was very busy over the holiday weekend and most notably last night which has lead to an over spill of patients in to the outpatient department. Twp outpatient clinics for today have been cancelled – they are

Strabane Sinn Féin Councillor Jay Mc Cauley has described a major incident of Fly tipping at Strabane Cemetery over Christmas as a totally insensitive act which distressed and angered people visiting the graves of loved ones. The Technical Services Department of Strabane District Council has since cleared the rubbish. Councillor Mc Cauley says given that

Donegal house prices continue to tumbled according to the latest statistics from property website daft.ie. Asking prices fell by an average of 8.1% in the final three months of 2011, compared to static prices between June and September. The average asking price in Donegal in late 2011 was €155,000, a fall of €116,000 from the

Due to  forecast  high winds Donegal County Council  will be closing Harry Blaney Bridge  from 7pm this (Monday) evening. The bridge is likely to remain closed tomorrow morning. Diversions are available via Milford on the the R245 and R246. The weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow: Scattered showers at first this evening, some wintry, but

A man armed with a gun has assaulted a man in Derry. The masked man, who police believe was carrying a firearm, entered a house in St Eithnes Park at 11 o’clock last night. He attacked a man in the house before making off in a silver coloured car. The victims’s lip was cut in

Donegal County Council is owed in excess of 8 million euro in unpaid water charged with reports that a significant percentage of that is due from Schools and state agencies. The figures published in today’s Irish independent show that outside of the main urban areas, Donegal has one of the largest amounts of un paid

A Mother who gave birth on the roadside was back home with her baby son in time to ring in the new year. Anita Guidera writes in the Irish Independent that Gary McBride delivered his son Harry on the roadside near Kilmacrennan after mum Claire went into unexpected labour on their way to Letterkenny General

Two claims have been made to who caught the first salmon of 2012. A man Dublin man claimed to have caught the first salmon in the River Liffey yesterday morning, while a Tyrone man claims to have made the first catch at the Drowse Salmon Fishery between Kinlough and Bundoran. Declan Briggs claims to have

Gardaí at Falcarragh and Milford are investigating an incident on the back of Errigal road between Dunlewey and Glenveagh on Friday afternoon where a van was set on fire. Gardaí and a fire crew from Gweedore attended the scene where a Volkswagen Caddy van was alight. The road was closed for approximately 30 minutes due

Motorists in Donegal are being warned not to get behind the wheel on New Years morning if they are going out drinking tonight. Gardai will be operating a number of checkpoints around the county tonight and tomorrow morning, and will be carrying out random breath tests. New lower drink-driving limits are now in force –

Fianna Fail County Cllr Liam Blaney has said it’s not as simple as just putting the budget through. He says the 29 elected councillors do have a duty to pass the budget, but the people deserve to get the best value for money, and the current budget proposed doesn’t represent value for money. Cllr Blaney

The Mayor of Donegal says Councillors have a responsibility to the people of the county to pass the council’s budget for next year. The 29 elected representatives could not agree on how the council’s income would be spent next year when they met before Christmas. Councillors meet again in early January and must agree the

The Mayor of Donegal has said that with another challenging year ahead, people must try and remains positive. Councillor Noel McBride says Donegal faces serious challenges in the year ahead, but if people stick together we can get through them. In wishing the people of Donegal a Happy New Year, the mayor said the people

Republican Action Against Drugs has rejected Sinn Fein claims that it was behind a fire at a GAA club in Derry on Wednesday. The police yesterday ruled the fire as not suspicious but today changed their stance to suspected arson  – an internal investigation has been launched to look at the police handling of the

Plans for the development of St Eunan’s college in Letterkenny are in jeopardy following an objection lodged by a local residents association. The plans include the demolishing  the 1979 annexe to the rear of the school and to demolish the existing gymnasium and to construct a new 900 pupil school building on three floors alongside

The police are now treating a fire which caused extensive damage to a GAA club in Derry as suspected arson just a day after saying it was not being treated as suspicious. The blaze broke out at Sean Dolan’s in Creggan in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Police initially said they believe it started

Despite final figures for the end of this year expected to show a significant increase in visitor numbers to Ireland, Donegal business are reporting no positive bounce. There was a 10% increase in visitors from continental Europe, an 8% rise in numbers coming from North America, and a 5% rise in British tourists. The number

Hundreds turned out in Ballybofey last night to support a fundraising dinner held by the  family of a young woman who died from cancer days after giving birth. 34 year-old Melissa Hamilton died in September, eight days after giving birth to her third child, Grace. She had only been told the previous month that she

Detectives in Derry are appealing for information after a report of an aggravated burglary at residential premises in the Lower Galliagh Road area of the City on Wednesday night. Sometime around 11.30pm, it was reported that two masked men entered a house in the area. As a result, a man in the house at the

There have been reports of three whales and a dolphin have been found beached in recent days. The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group says it recieved reports of a pilot whale on Fintra Beach in south Donegal earlier this week. And in the latest discovery, a male sperm whale was found stranded on Omey Island

Buncrana Town Council has committed to make every effort to ensure Inishowen benefits to the maximum from Derry being the City of Culture 2013. The issue was raised at the December monthly meeting of Buncrana Town Council by Cllr Ciaran McLaughlin who called for a meeting with the Derry City of Culture Committee 2013. He

Aliens There were 61 reported sightings of UFO’s in Ireland this year, only one of those came from Donegal. The UFO research association of Ireland revealed that sightings were up 75% on 2010. There were a further three reported UFO sightings in Sligo. While many believe airborne Chinese lanterns or balls of lighting are responsible,

The PSNI have confirmed that a security alert in Strabane today was an elaborate hoax, investigations are underway. All roads that were closed are now reopen. Earlier today Bridge Street was closed to traffic and pedestrians, while the the Fiveways junction at Bradley Way was also been closed. The hoax today caused much disruption in

Army bomb experts have been sent to the scene of a security alert in Strabane. Police were called to Bridge Street after a suspect object was found at a tyre depot, close to the back of a local Chinese take-away. Bridge Street is closed to traffic and pedestrians, while the the Fiveways junction at Bradley

A Priest involved in a out-of-court settlement after allegations of a sex assault has been banned from saying Mass where he now lives, in France, according to the Irish Independent. Father Andrew McCloskey paid out €20,000 in 2005 to a man who claimed he had been sexually assaulted by him when he was 18. A

The most recent hospital performance indicators published by the HSE show Letterkenny General Hospital is generally performing well, but money remains a serious problem. The hospital is rated as performing very well in many areas, with room for improvement in others. However, the figures show that at the end of October, Letterkenny General was just

The number of people arrested in Donegal on suspicion of drink-driving over the Christmas period has shown a significant drop on last year. 22 people were arrested on suspicion of drink-driving across the county from December 1st up to St Stephens Day, compared to 29 last year. Gardai say there was the same number of

Strong winds and rain will continue to pummel the county today, although temperatures will remain mild for this time of year. A storm depression tracking eastward over the Irish Sea brought strong and gale force winds with severe gusts hitting the north and northwest coast yesterday. Gusts of up 130kmh knocked down ESB powerlines in

Gardai in West Donegal are investigating a break in at Molloy’s Supermarket in Derrybeg on Christmas day. Thieves stole charity boxes that were. beside the  window they smashed. It is understood they then fled the scene without taking any more as an alarm activated on the premises.

The Deputy Mayor of Derry says a fire at the Sean Dolan’s clubhouse in the city last night is a blow for the GAA and the entire Creggan community. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, with Cllr Kevin Campbell saying arson hasn’t been ruled out. The overnight fire caused extensive damage to

The Road Safety Authority is advising people to be extra careful on the roads in the coming days – as Met Eireann has issued a severe weather warning. Winds gusting up to 140 kilometres per hour will batter the country today and tomorrow – which is likely to lead to fallen debris or tree branches

A road safety campaigner in Donegal is describing the possibility of further cuts to the Garda Road Traffic Corps as “ludicrous”. Mary Clinton of A-Ceart was speaking after it emerged that the number of Gardai in the traffic corps has already been cut from 12-hundred to 950, and is set to decrease further in 2012.

Former Oireachtas members in Donegal are paid a combined total of just over €404,000 in pension payments. According to the figures collated by the Irish Independent, the largest Oireachtas pensions being received by former Donegal Oireachtas members are going to Dr James Mc Daid at just over €97,000 and MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher at

Police in the Scottish Highlands are continuing their investigations into the death of a Donegal fisherman whose body was recovered from Ullapool Harbour on St Stephen’s Day. However, they do not suspect foul play. The search began on Monday after it emerged that  Philip Anthony Toland from Glengad hadn’t been seen since Christmas Day. His

The Letterkenny Joint Policing Committee is to hold a series of public meetings in the new year, aimed at briefing people on crime patterns in the area, and also seeking their views on how policing in Letterkenny should be prioritised. Cllr Dessie Larkin is Chairperson of Letterkenny JPC – He says seperate meetings will be

Donegal Local Development Company has published its end of year report, saying that all investment targets have been exceeded, particularly in the Leader programme. DLDC had been allocated just over a million euro for Leader in 2011, but had extra projects ready to proceed in the hope that extra money would become available. It then

The body of a Donegal born fisherman has been recovered from a harbour in Scotland. A search had begun for 34 year old Philip Anthony Toland from Glengad after it emerged he hadn’t been seen since at the pier in Ullapool in the early hours of Christmas morning. Police, Coastguard, the RNLI and Grampian Police

A 19-year-old man is seriously ill in hospital after he was found with head injuries in Omagh this morning. The man was found lying in Gardenville Avenue off the Gorteen Road just before 5 o’clock It is not yet known how he received his injuries. Police are appealing for information.

Donegal may be set to lose its unenviable reputation as one of the country’s most dangerous counties for drivers, with the number of deaths so far this year just a third of last year’s total. A comparitive study published by the Irish Independent today shows that based on last year’s Road Safety Authority statistics, Donegal

Police in Derry are appealing for information following an assault in the city in the early hours of Christmas morning. The PSNI say that shortly after 12.30 on Sunday morning,  a window of a house in Lapwing Way  was smashed, and a 31 year old man assaulted in the street by 2 unknown men. The

The Taoiseach has paid tribute to members of the Defence Forces serving abroad over the festive season. In his Christmas message, Enda Kenny also vowed that the government will make the unemployment crisis its main priority over the coming year. Mr Kenny urged people across the country to look after the elderly and vunerable over