Author name: oisinkelly

Highland Radio News has learned that a major drugs operation is ongoing in Inishowen. Gardai stopped a vehicle on the peninsula, a subsequent searched uncovered what has been described a major cultivation factory. Gardai are expected to release further details later this morning.

A number of people are in hospital being treated for serious,  injuries following an over-night road traffic collision. The crash, thought to have involved two vehicles occurred on the Clonmany to Ballyliffin road close to the school at Rasheney. It is understood those injured are being treated at Altnagelvin and Letterkenny General Hospital. The road

A Donegal Town Councillor has slammed the Queen’s visit to Ireland stating everything is wrong with it including its cost and the timing. Bundoran Sinn Fein Councillor Sean Carty says the cost, estimated at 30 million euro, is wrong at a time when benefits, childcare, wages, healthcare, education and is been slashed. His view was

Donegal Airport has been told it will continue to receive state support but will have to refocus away from commuter service for passengers and seek other work. Regional airports in Sligo, Galway and Waterford are facing closure as Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar  says he does not have sufficient funds to subsidise them. Of the

Old Bailey bomber Marian Price is due in court in Derry this morning, charged with encouraging support for an illegal organisation. The 57-year-old veteran republican was arrested in west Belfast on Friday in connection with a parade in Derry on Easter Monday in which a masked paramilitary spoke to crowds in the city cemetery. Price,

The Mayor of Donegal says her views are in line with her party’s, the Queen’s visit to Ireland next week is premature. Sinn Fein’s Cora Harvey says she also supports her party’s decision to “celebrate Republicanism” just yards from one of the venues to be visited by Queen in Cork. Councillor Harvey also claims that

Police have said a 36-year-old woman arrested by detectives investigating the murder of PSNI officer Ronan Kerr has been released unconditionally. She was held in the Pomeroy area on Tuesday. 25-year-old Constable Kerr, was killed when a bomb exploded underneath his car outside his Omagh home last month.

A leading coroner says he wants more debate and proof before the Government decides to rubber stamp laws to reduce the drink-driving limits. Dr.Denis McCauley, GP and Coroner for Donegal North East, says he is not convinced the provision of the Road Traffic Act 2010 to reduce drink driving limits from 80mg/100ml to 50mg/100ml will

Paint bombs have been thrown at First Derry Presbyterian Church ahead of its reopening on Sunday. Two and a half million pounds was spent refurbishing the historic building which was closed in 2002 due to dry rot. Reverend David Latimer said the incident was minor and involved a small number of young people. He says

An appeal of the decision by Fine Gael to throw  Councillor Terence Slowey out of the party, will be this weekend. Fine Gael made the decision following a Standards in Public Office report found that Councillor Slowey had acted ‘recklessly’ in double claiming expenses. Councillor  Slowey appeared before the SPOC in relation to expense claims

Northwest MEP Jim Higgins has called for a massive rise in fuel subsidies for the fishing industry. Yesterday a cross-party resolution approved in Strasbourg said emergency measures were urgently needed to help the hard-pressed fishing industry cope with high oil prices. The sector wants the current ceiling on the level of state aid which could

The North West Alcohol Forum says the Tipperary alcohol case points to the real need for training of bar staff on the dangers of alcohol. The Tipperary case ruled that two bar staff could not be held responsible for the death of a customer. However, Alcohol Forum Director Eamon O’Kane says while the case adjudication

Calls have been made to address the number of derelict buildings in Buncrana. Cllr Ciaran McLaughlin has called for immediate enforcement procedures against all property owners who fail to address their responsibilities in relation to empty buildings. He says that the number of derelict buildings is on the rise in the town, and he has

A Donegal County Councillor says this weeks announcement of additional money for the county’s roads is just half what is needed. An additional allocation of 4 million euro was announced under the government’s new jobs initiative. Commenting on the allocation Donegal County Council’s Roads & Transportation Committee Chairperson Cllr Jack Murray said it was  half

Letterkenny Town Council is to look into providing a serviced site for motor homes, with Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh calling it a growth area that should be tapped into. It follows a recent initiative by a supplier in the town which saw hundreds of motor homes at a recent weekend event. Raising the issue in the

Thieves stole the 50 seater 1992 yellow Lough Swilly bus from Carndonagh in the early hours of Tueday morning. They then drove the bus for six miles around narrow country roads before abandoning it across public road on the Isle of Doagh. The theft only came to light when shocked motorists couldn’t get past the

There’s concerns over the cases of 25 people who were examined at the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit at Letterkenny General Hospital. It’s emerged a nurse working at the unit was not registered with the nursing board, An Bord Altranais. The administrative blunder could potentially affect the outcome of the cases that the nurse was involved

A Lifford Garda detective has claimed he doesn’t think a local man charged with being a member of the IRA has had any connection with any republican group for at least ten years. 49-year-old Philip McGavigan, of Coneyburrow, Lifford has pleaded not guilty to membership of the IRA, on February 2, 2010. Detective Garda Trevor

Letterkenny Town Council has been told that part of the legacy of Derry’s UK City of Culture designation will be an unparalleled digital infrastructure. During a presentation this week, Aideen Mc Ginley, the CEO of the regeneration company ILEX said Letterkenny IT is involved in a bid to bring significant investment to the Fort George

A multi-million euro project has been launched aimed at securing the conservation of the freshwater pearl mussel in Donegal. The County Council has been awarded funding under the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund. It is thought that unless measures are put in place to ensure successful breeding and survival of juveniles, the existing populations

Calls have been made to help Buncrana Leisure Centre gain more funding as it struggles to survive. At yesterdays Town Council meeting, Cllr Lee Tedstone called on the Council to help the local leisure centre to attract more funding. Although the swimming pool isn’t threatened with closure, not enough people in the town are currently

There has been a mixed reaction locally to the governments announcement of a new Rural Broadband Scheme aimed at providing universal broadband access throughout Ireland by the end of 2012. Failte Ireland has welcomed the move, saying it is a welcome development particularly for counties like Donegal. Meanwhile Fianna Fail Deputy Charlie McConolougue says the

Junior Minister Dinny Mc Ginley says extra funding through the Jobs Initiative means that Donegal County Council has received the second highest additional allocation of any county under the  Roads Restoration Improvement Grant. The council has been allocated just over €4 million in extra funding under the extension announced in the Dail yesterday. Minister Mc

14 Donegal Schools have been included in the Summer Works Scheme for 2011 through the government’s  new Jobs Initiative. An extra 30 million euro has been announced for small works on schools across the country. Work carried our will include window androof repair, increasing accessability and improving toilet facilities. Welcoming the accouncement Labour Senator Jimmy

Engineers and Council Officials are to assess whether it would feasible to link the Windyhall Road outside Letterkenny to the new road which is now being developed beside the Pramerica building. Cllr Ciaran Brogan raised the issue, saying that getting on and off the Windyhall Road is dangerous, and it would be far safer for

Letterkenny Town Council is to invite members of the Stevenson Family and the local aero club to a meeting next month to discuss how the authority can help with the ongoing improvement of the airstrip on Stevensons Field outside the town. Cllr Jim Lynch says the council should provide financial support, however, County manager Seamus

The UK’s Supreme Court is due to rule later today on whether a Sinn Fein MLA and a Derry journalist should be compensated for murder convictions which were later quashed. Foyle MLA Raymond McCartney and Journalist Eamonn MacDermott were convicted of murdering RUC officer Patrick McNulty in Derry in 1977. Mr McCartney was also found

A man who died after he fell overboard from a boat this morning has been named locally as Cathal McDaid from Culdaff. A rescue operation was launched shortly after 10 o’clock this morning after he went overboard from the vessel off Achill Island , County Mayo. The Malin Head Coastguard and the search and rescue

A search operation has been launched for a fisherman lost overboard from a vessel off Achill Island this morning. It is understood the alarm was raised at 10.20am. The Malin Head Coastguard and the search and rescue helicopter are involved in the operation. It is understood the missing man, thought to be from Inishowen,  has

There were 21,727 people signing on in the county at the end of April, up 16 on the previous month, and up 731 on April 2010, a year on year increase of 3.5%. The biggest increase was recorded in Letterkenny, where there were 6,123 up 9.1% on the April 2010 figure. The affect of job

Police on Derry’s Waterside are investigating the cause of a fire which broke out at a house in Mimosa Court shortly before 11 o’clock last night. Two people were in the house at the time, but had left before the time the fire and rescue service got there A number of adjoining houses were evacuated,

Senator Jimmy Harte says he expects to have replacements in place on both Donegal County Council and Letterkenny Town Council within a month. Last night, he went to a meeting of Letterkenny Town Council to formally confirm his resignation and commit himself to supporting the council in the Seanad. He confirmed to Highland Radio News

Letterkenny Town Council has been told that the designation of Derry as UK City of Culture 2013 will not just be a one year event, but should mark a sea change for the city and the North West region that will go far beyond the year. During a joint presentation by ILEX and Derry City

What’s been described as a “viable military hand grenade” was thrown at police in Derry yesterday as they were clearing the scene of a security alert in Derry. Several homes had been evacuated and Army bomb experts had been called to the scene to examine a suspicious object in Creggan’s Southway Road area. The alert

There’s been an increase in the number of death certificates which mentions alcohol following the introduction of a new codification system. According to the Central Statistics Office, alcohol was mentioned on death certificates in 1,895 cases dealt with by coroners during a three year period between 2007 and 2009. Chairperson of the Coroners Society, Clare

The public inquiry opened in Omagh this morning into the proposed A5 dual carriageway. Objectors called for the inquiry to be postponed, stating some people haven’t received documentation in time. One objector, Victor Christie, read correspondence from the EU comission querying the legality of the project. Conor Loughrey from the Roads Service said that 38%

Junior Agriculture Minister Shane McEntee says the experience of communities in dealing with recent fires in Donegal will provide a template for the rest of the country. The minister, who visited Donegal at the weekend says the emergency services and local communities worked together to save homes and other properties in a way which exemplified

Police are investigating the death of a 49-year-old man in Co Derry on Saturday. A white powder was taken from a car in the Moneyneaney area of Draperstown, where the man’s body was discovered. A PSNI spokesman said a number of police officers and medical staff were taken to hospital as a precaution. Police have

Letterkenny Councillor Dessie Larkin is asking the local Town Council to seek an early meeting with Education Minister Ruari Quinn to discuss the needs of Primary and Post Primary schools in the town. Cllr Larkin says a meeting between a Fianna Fail deputation and the previous minister saw a commitment given that the town would

Former Ulster Unionist David McClarty from Coleraine is the only independent. The Ulster Unionist Party Leader, Tom Elliott has come under fire for calling Sinn Fein “scum” after he was elected. But he’s standing by his comments – which were made amid heckling from Sinn Fein supporters…….. Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, the outgoing Deputy First