Author name: oisinkelly

Meanwhile, the Taoiseach has condemned what he’s described as deliberate “arson attacks” on land and stock in the North of the country. In the Dail, Enda Kenny hit out at what he said were deliberate attacks……….

The government is being told it must respond to the situation created by the onging fires in Donegal. After some respite this morning, fires began reigniting in the early afternoon. The Fire Service says there are now six different fires being tackled across Donegal. At 5.20 this evening,  Chief Fire Officer Bobby Mc Menamin outlined

Fire officers say they are now making good progress in their battle to control a series of fires on scrubland in the north-west of the country. Fires have been raging in Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim. The Fire Service says blazes  in Dungloe, Ardara and Glenties have been substantially brought under control, however, concern remains over

Meanwhile, in Letterkenny, the fire service had to be called out twice last evening when bushes were set alight in Ballyboe Park, close to the Glencar Shopping Centre. Local Councillor Gerry Mc Monagle says the behaviour of those who started the fires is in stark contrast to the bravery and commitment of the Firefighters who

The body of the young Irish backpacker who died while scuba-diving in Australia more than two weeks ago will be returned to her family today. 23-year-old Elaine Morrow was diving off Queensland on April 18 when she failed to surface. Her body was recovered by divers. The young biology graduate’s remains are expected to be

Fires that raged through parts of the west Donegal for three days — destroying thousands of acres in their path — are finally under control. The fire at Dungloe has been closed down this morning, while the fire in the Ardara/Glenties area is under comtrol. Firefighters assisted by the Defence Forces and Air Corps personell

Gardai have recovered tens of thousands of euro worth of property stolen in creeper burglaries across the north-west. It follows an intense year-long investigation by gardai in Co. Donegal targetting gangs who broke into a series of homes while owners were sleeping at night – hence the description “creeper” burglaries. Donegal gardai and officers with

Fire fighters and the defence forces are continuing to battle raging gorse fires in West Donegal which, they say, were started deliberately. Three army corps helicopters, two of which are equipped with Bambi buckets, have been deployed to assist. Each bucket is capable of carrying twelve hundred litres of water. Fires have been reported across

The Defence Forces have been deployed to help a major operation to tackle a large gorse fire in West Donegal. Up to 50 personel will help ten units of the fire service already fighting the blaze in Lettermacaward and Dungloe. Four houses in the area have been evacuated and fire fighters have requested the assistance

A 64 year old man died in a quad bike accident on a farm near Cardonagh, Co Donegal. Hugh ‘Heela’ Doherty was pronounced dead at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. A son of the dead man, who was also on the bike at the time, was injured in the incident on Friday afternoon. Both men were

The Minister for Defence is being urged to dispatch the army to assist with a serious gorse fire in West Donegal. A number of families have been evacuated from their homes as over one hundred fire fighters continue to battle the blaze outside Dungloe near Lettermacaward. The Donegal fire service say they believe the fire

The head of Retail Ireland says he’s confident that Xtravision has a future. Today the company said it would continue to operate as normal after the High Court appointed an interim examiner yesterday. Xtravision employs 1,300 people here and has more than 180 stores both sides of the border, includiong a major outlet at Letterkenny

Donegal tourism from Scotland is set for a major boost, with 50 representatives of the tourism industry participating in the Donegal Live Glasgow event tomorrow. The organisers says with sterling so strong against the euro, it is also a good time to target the Scottish market and help bring more visitors to our county,” he

The Mayor, Cllr Colum Eastwood has hit out at those responsible for a vandalism attack which saw £50,000 worth of damage to musical equipment in a van that was set on fire outside of a city centre hotel in the early hours of this morning. Describing the attack as “ a disgraceful act of wanton

A security alert in Derry this morning has been declared an elaborate hoax. The PSNI removed a suspicious object from Racecourse Road in Shantallow earlier this morning. A number of families had been evacuated from their homes while army bomb disposal teams investigated the device. Police say the investigation is now over.

The Irish Postmaster’s Union is holding its Annual Conference in Letterkenny today, with members to debate a proposal that post offices be allowed deliver additional public services, like Motor Tax Renewal, in an effort to cut State costs. The IPU says it can also be part of the reform of the Irish Banking Sector. The

There’s another security alert in Derry this morning, this time in the vicinity  of the Racecourse Road. Police and army  personnel are at the scene. There are diversions in place in the area. Meanwhile, police say a device found close to a van in Maghera in County Derry yesterday morning had partially exploded. The owner

A suspected explosive device has been discovered in County Derry. It was spotted under a van in the Willow Glynn area of Maghera this morning. The PSNI says an initial assessment of the object has indicated it is a viable device. Local residents have been moved from their homes and a security operation is continuing.

Fianna Fail Cllr Seamus O Domnhaill has called on the Council to lobby the relevant departments to ensure that a proper package of money is allocated to repairing bridges in Donegal. A recent survey of bridges in the county by the council showed that the counties bridges are in need of repairs at the minute.

Up to fifty firemen are currently fight a large gorse fire in the Drumfires area of Inishowen. It’s believed the fire started after a spark came off a steam powered tractor which is doing a charity drive from Mizen to Malin Head. There is heavy smoke along the Mountain Road area between Buncrana and Crandonagh.

Independent Deputy Thomas Pringle has revealed that he spent €6,900 in his General Election campaign. He says his sucess shows you dont have to spent a vast amount of money to be elected And Deputy Pringle believes the main political parties, who all spent over €20,000 in the by-election in November, spent a lot more

An Independent candidate in last Novembers Donegal South-West Dáil by-election has been referred to an Garda Síochána over her failure to submit a statement outlining her election expenses. Dunfanaghy-based businesswoman Ann Sweeney was one of six candidates. The Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) today revealed that Sweeney had been the only candidate not to

Donegal VEC are looking at the possibility of using the old Finn Valley College as an Adult and Education Training Centre. It’s hoped the building could be used to train VEC staff-teachers, caretakers, administration and VEC members, parents associations and student counsel. The old Finn Valley College was refurbished in 2003 and has seven classrooms,

Donegal County Councillor Jimmy Harte has been elected to the Seanad on the Industrial and Commercial Panel. The Labour Councillor was deemed elected on the 22nd count yesterday evening. He was the first candidate to make the quota on the panel. After the 22nd count he has a total of 115, which was 8 votes

he Real IRA, which has threatened to kill more PSNI officers, has refused an offer from a Derry priest to hold talks with him. The group said police officers would be targeted “regardless of their religion, culture background or motivation”. The threat was made in a statement at a rally in Derry on Monday. Fr

Police are appealing for information following a shooting incident in Strabane. Three shots were fired at the front door of a house in the Carlton Drive area at approximately 1am yesterday while a mother and her 27-year-old son were inside. Neither were injured. The incident is the latest in a spate of shootings carried out

The family of murdered PSNI officer Ronan Kerr have placed a notice in this mornings newspapers thanking those who helped with his funeral. The 25-year-old Catholic constable died when a booby-trap bomb exploded under his car in Omagh earlier this month. In the notice, his mother Nuala, brothers Cathair and Aaron, sister Dairine and wider

With the counting of votes in the Seanad Election continuing, Donegal Cllr Jimmy Harte remains in a strong position. After the 12th Count has has 74 votes, 32 off the quota, and remains in fourth place with nine seats to be filled. The other Donegal candidate, Danny Byrne, was eliminated after the 10th count, at

Gardai in Letterkenny are still questioning three men in their 20s following what’s been described as a spate of crime across the town last night. Three premises were ramraided, one premises was burgled and two cars were burned out. Pauric Mc Ginty is owner of the North West hearing centre, one of the premises which

The counting of Seanad Election votes for the Industrial and Commercial Panel is underway, with Cllr Jimmy Harte showing strongly after the seventh count. He received 70 first preferences, and with a total of nine seats to be filled, he is currently ranked fourth of 35 candidates with 71 votes, 35 short of the quota.

The arrival of the good weather, a later than usual Easter and a combination of a number of bank holidays have all contributed to a bumper kick off to the tourist season in County Donegal this year, according to the Irish Hotel Federation. The Donegal Chairman of the Federation Michael Naughton says he believes the

Labour Cllr Frank McBrearty is urging Donegal County Council to put a proper sewerage infrastructure in place in St Johnston. Cllr McBrearty says local residents are  suffering, and this shouldn’t be the case in this day and age. He said there is often a bad smell in the area,  and that’s been a partuicular problem

Gardai in Letterkenny are questioning three men in their 20s following what’s been described as a spate of crime across the town last night. The series of incidents began with attempts to steal two cars in Windmill View and Killylastin. Theyc were both set on fire. These happened between midnight and 1 o’clock this morning.

Almost 35 per cent of all babies born in the country between July and September last year were to unmarried parents. There were 537 births in Donegal, 32% of them to unmarried parents. The birthrate in Donegal was slightly below the national average. There were 298 deaths in the county over the same period. Nationally,

Senator Brian O’Domhnaill has been returned to the Seanad as an elected representitive on the Agricultural Panel. On the 19th count, transfers from outgoing Senator James Carroll saw Senator O’Domhnaill elected. His tally suggested he would take 22 votes, leaving him one short of the quota ; in the event, he took 24 votes and

Cllr Barry O’Neill has called on Donegal County Council to introduce a bye law to stop the practice of on-street casual trading on the Streets of Ballyshannon on the June Bank Holiday weekend. Cllr O’Neill said that up to fifteen chip vans lined the streets of the town last year during the Rory Gallagher Festival,

The counting of votes cast in the Seanad election is continuing with outgoing Donegal Senator Brian O’Domhnaill in fifth place, with indications that he will draw sufficient transfers from Fianna Fail colleagues to draw him over the line. After the 14th count, there are 15 remaining candidates contesting eight places. He says he’s hopeful, but

Donegal County Council has been urged to debate the urgent need for action on Finn Valleys roads. Cllr Gerry Crawford said the amount of potholes on some of the roads in and around the area is now at the stage of disastrous. And he highlighted one road in Tober, outside Lifford, that has completely collapsed.

The funeral takes place today of a 76 year old man who died after a tractor accident near Glenties at the weekend. Owen Ward was rushed to Letterkenny General Hospital after his tractor left the road as he drove up a laneway leading to his home at Mully at 3 o’clock on Saturday afternoon. He

The counting of votes cast in the Seanad election is due to resume at around 10 O’clock, with the remaining 9 seats on the Agricultural panel to be filled. Labour’s James Heffernan took the first seat on the Agricultural panel, with Fine Gael’s Paddy Burke elected after midnight last night. Of the remaining candidates, outgoing