Author name: oisinkelly

Police have been given more time to question two men arrested over the car bomb murder of Northern Irish policeman Ronan Kerr. The 25-year-old Catholic Constable died in a blast outside his Omagh home on Saturday. A 26-year-old man and a 40-year-old man will be quizzed by police for up to another five days.

New information has sparked an independent review into the deaths of three soldiers in the Lebanon 22 years ago. Corporal Fintan Heneghan, Private Mannix Armstrong and Private Thomas Walsh were killed when their lorry struck a landmine in March 1989 while on duty in south Lebanon. Privates Armstrong and Walsh were based at Finner Camp

The PSNI is responding to two security alerts around Strabane in C Tyrone. One is near the town’s police station and another on the Strabane to Omagh road. Meanwhile, police say a security alert in Strabane in the early hours of this morning was a hoax. A device comprising of a bag, with wires protruding

Today marks the the begining of the 150th anniversary of the Derrveagh Evictions, with a number of events taking place over the weekend. Tomorrow, the Australian Ambassador Bruce Davis and local historian May Mc Clintock will be in Gartan to help launch “A Deathly Silence”, a book written by Termon National School teacher Christy Gillespie

Graffiti praising the murder of PSNI constable Ronan Kerr and calling for further attacks has been daubed on a road in Strabane. A slogan was painted in the Ballycolman estate. The graffiti which cannot be repeated was aimed towards the Tyrone County Board Chairman; Ciaran McLaughlin who attended Ronan Kerrs funeral and helped carry his

Two men charged in connection with the bomb at Derry’s Strand Road PSNI station last August will face a preliminary enquiry next month, Derry Magistrate’s Court has been told. 22 year old Martin McCloone from Abercorn Road and 42 year old Philip O’Donnell of Baldrick Crescent, both in Derry, are charged with causing an explosion

A small amount of damage has been done to changing facilities at Naomh Conaill GAA club in Glenties following a fire last night. It’s understood the fire broke out in a boiler room, and was noticed by members who were attending a meeting. Gardai say they are aware of the fire, but do not believe

Police say a security alert in Strabane is over after a suspicious object left outside a shop in Ballycoleman was declared a hoax. The device comprised a bag, with wires protruding from it. The area was sealed off for a time, but was reopened early this morning

North West MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher says the sooner the EU allows decisions on fishing policy to be made on a regional level, the better. At present, region 6A off the North West coast of Ireland is closed as a cod conservation measure. Mr Gallagher attempted to move an amendment in the parliament this

Sunday evening is Census night – when every household in the country is obliged to fill out a form to help plan for our future needs. 203 Enumerators have been delivering the documents to households in Donegal for the past number of weeks, with reports that their task is being made increasingly difficult by the

It’s emerged that an Army Bomb Disposal Team was called to Milford Garda Station after a suspect device was handed in by a member of the public last evening. The device, described by an army spokesman as a ‘projectable enhancer’, had been washed up along Rathmullan Strand. The bomb disposal team arrived at Milford Garda

A house in Dublin has been searched as part of the investigation into the murder of policeman Ronan Kerr in Omagh last Saturday. Members of the Garda Special Detective Unit – at the request of the PSNI – searched the house on the north side of the city close to Dublin Airport. Two men are

A 42-year-old man has been found not guilty by a jury in Derry of  a series of sex offences against a girl including rape which were alleged to have begun when the girl was aged six. The man had been on trial in Derry Crown Court since last Thursday facing a total of 18 charges

Comments made by Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness were tantamount to incitement to hatred, UUP health minister Michael McGimpsey has said. Speaking to the BBC, Mr McGimpsey said Mr McGuinness was wrong to say his decision to postpone plans to build a radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin Hospital was “sectarian”. Michael McGimpsey said the DUP and Sinn

The Government will not return the Public Service Obligation (PSO) subsidy for the Derry to Dublin air-link. Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar, confirmed last night that he and his Government will not reverse the decision of the previous Government to cut the route. Donegal North East Sinn Féin Deputy, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Donegal North East T.D. Charlie McConalogue has called for a new Sports Capital Grants Programme. Deputy McConalogue raised the issue with Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Jimmy Deenihan, who said he believes a new scheme will be introduced, but he cannot say when. Deputy McConalogue suggested that the programme could be adjusted to take

Police in the north have arrested a second person in connection with the murder of PSNI officer Ronan Kerr. A 40 year old man was arrested when police stopped a car between Ballygawley and Omagh in Co Tyrone at around twenty past eight this morning. He’s been taken to the Serious Crime Suite at Antrim

The members’ bar in the Oireachtas is “a den of secrecy” and should be opened to all visitors to Leinster House, Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty has said. The Donegal South West TD is also said that a photograph of former building society chief Michael  Fingleton be removed from the wall of the bar.

Fishermen along the west and northwest coasts are set to reap the benefits of a new deal on boarfish. MEPs in Strasbourg have given the green light to allow fishermen along the west and northwest coast to catch Boarfish with nets with smaller mesh sizes. The relatively new species is fished for industrial purposes at

An Bord Pleanala has overturned a previous council decision to allow a quarry outside Carrigart  intensify its operations, including more blasting, and retain rock crushing machinery. The council had, in 2008, granted conditional permission to J.and F.Doherty Quarries (Donegal) Limited at Devlinreagh, but that’s now been overturned by the planning appeals board after two local

The IFA in Donegal says Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has failed his first major test. Details of the latest Agri-Environment Options Scheme were unveiled last evening, but Donegal IFA Chairman PJ Mc Monagle says there are serious questions over places and funding. The maximum available to each participant has been cut to by 20% to

Police investigating the murder of Constable Ronan Kerr in a car bomb attack outside his Omagh home on Saturday have arrested a man. The 26 year old was arrested in Scotland. Police have also said there was a “very significant” arms find in the Coalisland area of East Tyrone last night. The weapons included four

Family, friends and public representatives from North and South of the border will gather in Co. Tyrone later, for the funeral of Ronan Kerr. The 25 year old PSNI officer was killed last Saturday when a bomb exploded under his car in Omagh. Thousands of people are expected to turn out for a requiem mass

As the port of Killybegs continues to expand, a new brochure has been launched highlighting the port’s suitability as a centre for servicing offshore energy exploration and renewable energy projects. While the port’s traditional roots as a fishing harbour remain strong, Killybegs has been versifying to become a cruise ship destination, and a base for

The Chairperson of the Donegal County Community Forum, Paula Leonard, has been elected to the Irish National Community and Voluntary Forum (INCVF) National Executive. Paula was one of 10 out of 23 candidates elected to the Executive at its AGM in Dublin on Saturday, April 2nd. Over a hundred delegates from throughout Ireland attended the

The inquiry into one of Northern Ireland’s biggest ever roads schemes has begun with a series of meetings along the route of the A5 upgrade. The plans to dual the A5 from Aughnacloy to Newbuildings are due to go to full public inquiry next month and have attracted more than 2,400 objections. The meetings take

The Letterkenny-based Sweeney family has carried away the prestigious Donegal Business of the Year Award at the 2011 Enterprising Donegal Business Awards. The event was hosted by the Donegal County Enterprise Board, and was held in the Radisson SAS Hotel at the weekend. Their business, the Swilly Group, provides driver training, general training and transport

Graffiti praising the murder of PSNI constable Ronan Kerr and threatening further attacks has been daubed on walls in Derry. The slogans were painted in the Bogside estate, an area with a predominantly republican population. One read: “GAA cops, look what use (sic) got”. It refers to Constable Kerr’s membership of a Gaelic football club.

Police Constable, Ronan Kerr’s funeral will take place in his home town of Beragh tomorrow. The 25-year-old was killed on Saturday afternoon when a bomb exploded under his car in Omagh. His body was returned to his mother’s home last night ahead of his funeral mass at 12 noon at the Church of the Immaculate

Three men were today yesterday given lengthy prison sentences for their part in a Tiger kidnapping in Magherafelt. The three, 27-year-old Terence Lunny of 30, Nansen Street, Belfast, 34-year-old Richard Manson of 24, Oldtown Road, Analong and 25-year-old Ruarai Larkin of,11, Ballymena Road, Portglenone all admitted their part in the incident which occurred on October

The General Manager of the Redcastle Hotel Golf and Spa has it out at reports that jobs are under threat at the hotel. It’s being reported today that the hotel is to go into liquidation with 100 jobs under threat. But General Manager Ian Wynn has told Highland Radio News this morning, that this is

A County Meath man who raped a Donegal woman in her home after meeting her for the first time the previous day has been remanded in custody pending sentence. 42-year-old Sean Finn of Colehill, Kinnegad, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape on May 15, 2010. Mr Justice Paul Carney adjourned the case

A man has appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court accused of causing death by dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drink or drugs. Conor Breen, 18, from Corbo Road, Omagh, is also accused of causing grievous injury to two women, aged 48 and 23, and a three-year-old girl. The charges relate to a crash on

A Donegal based African American community worker says introducing racial or ethnic profiling in Ireland would be a retrograde step. A recent report from the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland found ethnic profiling is being facilitated by the state. Francine Blaché Breen, an American by birth, is married to an Irish man, has lived in

The Justice Minister is pledging ‘total co-operation’ and an ‘absolute commitment’ to bring the killers of Ronan Kerr to justice. The 25 year old PSNI officer died when a bomb exploded under his car in Omagh on Saturday afternoon – the incident’s been blamed on dissident republicans. The PSNI Chief Constable will join with local

Inishowen Councillor Jack Murray has expressed his shock at the living conditions that those residing in unfinished estates are forced to endure, and he wants a special council initiative to address them. The Sinn Fein representative, who was co-opted onto the council two weeks ago, says there are unfinished estates all over the peninsula, some