Author name: oisinkelly

A Donegal South West TD has called for a NO vote in the referendum to give the Oireachtas powers to conduct inquiries. Deputy Thomas Pringle and other members of the Technical Group of Independent TDs and Senators say the wording of the constitutional amendment could end up giving politicans too much power, and they want […]

Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh has told the Dail that people in mortgage difficulties want to be responsible. Over the weekend, Deputy Mc Hugh appealed on Highland Radio News for people to send him their experiences and ideas to solve the problem. He told the Dail this afternoon that people in Donegal North

Donegal County Council is to start cutting the water supply to non-domestic customers who refuse to pay their bills. The council says the customers who will be targeted are those who have failed to either pay what is owed or make contact about payment options. The disconnections will commence throughout the County in the coming

The tax payer looks set to foot a legal bill estimated in the hundreds of thousands for the failed appeal by government against Pearse Doherty successfully forcing the Donegal by-election. Yesterday the Government withdrew its appeal  in the Supreme Court which was hearing a motion from Deputy Doherty to have the case dismissed. The last

A leading Donegal road safety campaigner has hit out at the sentence handed down to a driver convicted of the death of a Fanad woman and her unborn child. 29-year-old Publican, Kevin McArdle, from Carrickmacross was given a four-prison sentence with the final year suspended after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of

A Derry GP has won his appeal against being found to have carried out a sexually motivated examination on a female patient. Earlier this year, a General Medical Council panel imposed a nine-month suspension on Dr Lee Casey over alleged improper conduct six years ago. However, its determination was completely quashed by a judge at

Colaiste Ailigh’s new school building in Letterkenny should be finished and opened within two years, Donegal VEC has been told. Cllr Dessie Larkin, a member of the committee, says during a discussion this week on the provision of temporary prefabs on the school’s existing premises on High Road in the town, CEO Mary Ann Kane

Donegal Mountain Rescue is appealing for Vehicle Storage Facilities over the winter period. In a statement posted on it’s Facebook page last night, the team said for the past two winters, their four vehicles were parked outside, and came under enormous mechanical pressure because of the amount of work they had to do. This winter,

It’s been announced that a Ministerial meeting of the British-Irish Council will take place in Gweedore next month. The meeting, which will consider minority languages and their place in the community, has been organised to tie in with an international language conference which is also taking place in West Donegal. Junior Gaeltacht Minister Dinny McGinley

The Peace Bridge in Derry has been named as one of the winners in the Construction Employers Federation awards. Ilex and Graham Construction were confirmed as recipients of the Achieving Excellence Partnering Award. The Peace Bridge was one of 12 projects to be shortlisted in the category. ILEX spokesperson Brenda Fraser says the public response

The latest statistics from Google show that traffic to Highland Radio’s website continues to increase. Last month alone the website had 250,000 unique visitors accounting for 1 million page views. In the first 9 months of this year our listeners around the world clocked up 2.4 million unique visits accounting for 8 million page views.

Gardaí are understood to be investigating after a tyre on Dana’s presidential campaign car blew out on a motorway, amid claims it may have been slashed. The Independent candidate was asleep in the back of the car, which was being driven by her husband, when the incident happened near the toll-bridge on the M4 last

Donegal’s Sinn Fein TDs have said that the Minister for Justice must consult with local communities over Garda station closures. Deputies Pearse Doherty and Padraig McLaughlin have written to Alan Shatter demanding that he doesn’t sign off on the closure of any station. They have said before he does, he must consult with Joint Policing

Local traders in Letterkenny are exploring the idea of developing a themed quarter in the Lower Main Street area. Traders have been in touch with the business Chamber and are proposing a unique space in the area for shops, bars and restaurants. The promoters are modelling their idea on similar type quarters like the Titantic

It is understood that the creditors meeting for community development agency MFG was yesterday told that the company has liabilities in excess of one million euro. The company closed suddenly last month with the loss of 130 jobs in the Gaeltacht. MFG was responsible for administration of funding and community supports for numerous projects across

A seminar is being held this weekend recognising the importance of Donegal’s historic graveyards in a heritage, cultural and religious context. The free seminar is hosted by Donegal County Council and takes place in Maghery this Saturday. There will be a number of speakers on the day giving information on the relevant legislation, maintenance, and

A BBC programme has aired claims that the PSNI missed clues in the hunt for the murderers of IRA informer Denis Donaldson, shot dead in Co Donegal five years ago. The former paramilitary and senior Sinn Fein officer was found dead in his remote home at Cloghercor, near Doochary in Co Donegal, on April 4,

The campaign to have special status given to the newly formed Strabane Academy will step up a gear next week, when the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Education Committee visits the school on October 26th The academy was formed when Strabane High School and Strabane Grammar joined together, the first time a Grammar and non-grammar school have

A Donegal North East Election candidate says his inclusion on a list of people who have failed to disclose election expenses and donations was due to a miscommunication which has now been cleared up. Ryan Stewart, who contested the election as an independent, was named thios evening by the Standards in Public Office Commission as

Detectives in Derry investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Caolan Page in the city at the weekend are studying the results of a post mortem examination which was completed earlier today. Police are also continuing to examine CCTV footage and interviewing a number of potential witnesses about what happened in the area of Magazine

Derry has become the first city in Ireland and the UK to be fully upgraded with fibre broadband technology. In a statement today, BT confirmed it has completed the rollout of the project, announced as part of its sponsorship of Derry’s year as UK City of Culture in 2013. Almost 40,000 homes and businesses will

A Donegal man raped his ex-partner in front of their infant child the Central Criminal Court has heard. During that attack the man tried to rape the woman seven times before succeeding. He will be sentenced next month by Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan. The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to rape of the woman at his home

National Irish Bank secured summary judgment orders for almost €12 million against Donegal property developer Brendan Gildea. Orders were also secured for about €6 million against his wife arising from their personal guarantees of the debts of their property company. There was no appearance by or on behalf of Mr Gildea, his wife Tessie and

People living in rural areas of the County are being urged not to keep large sums of money in their property. The warning comes after €30,000 was stolen from a shed in Raphoe. The money, which was kept in a biscuit tin in a cupboard in a back shed, was stolen sometime between 8pm on

Police in Foyle have launched Operation Relentless – an operation that focuses on tracking down those people who have failed to turn up at court and are wanted for criminal offences. Area Commander Chief Inspector Jon Burrows says the operation has been running since the beginning of October and to date police have arrested 44

The annual Road Safe Road Show takes place over the next two days in Letterkenny, with over 3,000 Transition Year students attending, along with students from Donegal Youth-reach and Fas. The show is now in its fourth year, and again features hard hitting testimony from emergency service personnel who attend crash scenes and people affected

A Donegal Deputy claims up to 10% of the County could be left with a blank television screen when the analogue service is switched off next year. It was confirmed at the weekend that analogue services will be switched off on 24th October 2012 with terrestrial TV then only available with a digital TV or

A post-mortem examination on the body of County Donegal teenager Caolan Page is due to be carried out this morning. The 19 year old from Upper Kildrum in Carrigans was discovered in Magazine Street, Derry, early on Saturday morning. Meanwhile, thousands of people have paid their respects to the Donegal teenager on a Facebook page

Police in Derry say a Poast Mortem examination on the body of 19 year old Caolan Page who died in mysterious circumstances in the city over the weekend will not now take place until tomorrow. A spokesperson says once the PM has been completed, initial results from it are likely to inform the direction of

A man allegedly told his former partner he would cut her throat and ‘cut her into little pieces’ after she refused to give him money Derry Magistrate’s Court heard today. 40 year old Charles O’Donnell of 19, Market Street was charged with assaulting the woman and making threats to kill against her on October 15th.

3,000 homes and businesses in Derry were left without power for a time this afternoon. Just after 12 noon, Northern Ireland Electricity says damage was caused to an underground electricity cable by a third party. The areas affected included Steelstown, Shantallow and Gransha. The fault was repaired and supplies have been restored.

Fine Gael Deputy Joe McHugh is asking the people of Donegal to offer their solutions to the mortgage arrears problem. On Wednesday  the Dáil will debate the Keane Report on Mortgage Arrears which was  published last Wednesday by the Minister for Finance. Deputy McHugh is asking people to forward to him their experiences of being

Farmers in Donegal are being urged to attend a meeting on Tuesday night at which the issue of CAP reform will top the agenda. The meeting is organised by the ICSA’s Donegal branch, but  farmers who are not members of the organisation are also encouraged to attend. John Barron, the ICSA’s Rural Development Chair, says

The government has today awarded new oil and gas exploration licences for the Rockall and Slyne basins off the west and Northwest  coast. Licences were granted for the Porcupine basin off the south east coast. Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte said the licences were granted following an assessment of 15 applications

Police have confirmed that a post mortem will take place later today in effort to determine what led to death of a young Donegal man in Derry at the weekend 19 year old Caolan Page was found collapsed in the Magazine Street area of the city in the early hours of Saturday morning. He died

Gardai have made two major seizures of fireworks in the Moville area. On Thursday, as part of a planned search, gardai seized are large quantity of fireworks from a house in Moville. On Friday a car was stopped in the area and 700 bangers and 500 fireworks were found in the vehicle. A man was

Presidential candidate Martin McGuinness was verbally abused as he campaigned at Letterkenny’s St Eunan’s cathedral yesterday. Mr McGuinness was verbally set upon by a Ballybofey man who had been canvassing for Dana outside the Cathedral. Deputy Padraig McLaughlin, who was canvassing along with Martin McGuinness yesterday, said it was an unfortunate incident:

Gardai continue to search for a man who escaped after a high speed car chase in Letterkenny at the weekend. Gardai began a pursuit of a vehicle yesterday afternoon after it was noticed speeding in the Glenswilly direction. The man abandoned the car in the Breenagh area and fled on foot through fields.

A prominent anti-drugs campaigner in Donegal has again hit out at the government for failing to tackle the issue of drug driving. PJ Blake was speaking after the EU Night without Accident initiative was rolled out at two Letterkenny clubs on Saturday night. It involved designated drivers being given wristbands to receive free soft drinks

The New York State American Irish Legislators Society has been visiting Donegal as part of a one week Irish trip. County Mayor Noel Mc Bride met with the group in Letterkenny today, saying it was a very good exchange. The society was founded in 1973 and raises money for educational and cultural Irish programs. Cllr

The Inishowen based founder of the road safety organisation PARC says she believes Transport Minister Leo Varadker is determined to address loopholes in current law under which people are avoiding penalty points. Susan Grey says the minister has also pledged to ensure that definitive legislation is in place under which all injuried drivers at crash

The 19 year old Donegal man found unconscious in Derry City Centre in the early hours of yesterday has died. The man, named locally as Caolan Page from Upper Kildrum, Carrigans was found  in Magazine Street. It’s understood he had been drinking in a local bar before he was found, with speculation that he may

A young Donegal man remains  in a critical condition after an incident Derry on Saturday night. Police have told Highland Radio News that they are investigating the discovery of an unconscious man in the Magazine Street area, and will make no further comment. Police are still trying to determine how the man suffered his injuries.

The government has been called on to re-instate funding previously announced for an Autism Spectrum Disorder Unit for the Finn Valley college. 150,000 euro was approved for the unit in 2008, however it was not drawn down and as a result the funding was pulled. Raising the issue, Senator Brian O’Domhnail says the Unit is